First Gentleman with Wilson Orhiunu
Email: babawill2000@gmail.com Twitter: @Babawilly
I meet someone who had just forgotten important documents and a large sum of money on the bus and wondered how this was possible. Surely if it were that important it would be remembered. Armistice Day on the 11th of November is always remembered for that was when Germany put pen to paper along with the Allies of the First World War at the 11th hour of the day to mark the end of all hostilities. Artificial Poppies are worn in the lead up to the day and the forgetful are reminded.
The poor fellow I meet however had no one to remind him to take his bag as he stood to leave the bus when his stop came up. The subject of forgetting to do the most important things has been on my mind for a few days and a trip to Google lead to an article which claimed that 50,000 items had been reported being left on the buses in Birmingham in 2010. These items were all returned to the lost property department and they included a Zimmer frame with dentures attached to them (I do wonder how the owner got off the bus). Most surprisingly people forgot children on the bus. Now what mother would carry a child for nine months, go through labour and forget that child on public transport. Mums tend to have unseen electronic tags on their children (and sometimes on their husbands). They seem to know when the child sneezes even if it is in another time zone. But human beings being who they are, they err from time to time and loving mum’s can forget their children. Couples who have attended events in separate cars have been known to get home with each person thinking the other had the kids. Now before you exclaim, ‘Good Lord’, know that Joseph and Mary the parents of Jesus left the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem without him and only noticed 24 hours later. On returning to Jerusalem it took them three days of searching to find him. You can imagine the conversations.
“We are looking for a boy this tall.”
“What was he wearing when you last saw him?”
“I cannot remember? We accidentally left town without him.”
This just goes to show that anyone can forget anything. I recall how I placed a new book I had bought under my seat during a flight and fell asleep. I was pained the next day that I had left the plane without it. Now I take no chances on flights. Everything goes back into my bag when not in use for memory can be an unreliable friend especially when drifting in and out of sleep.
Some things are best remembered though. Important passwords, birthdays, where the money is hidden, wedding anniversaries and the arrival time of your lady’s flight. On the other hand some things are best forgotten. The genius is in knowing what to populate in which category. Never forgetting where you came from has its pros and cons. If you came from mediocrity why keep that in mind just to “stay humble” when what you really want now is to excel in all you do?
So John borrowed N2000 when money was money in those days and did not pay. What is achieved being bitter about it 30 five years later? Some adverse experiences teach us nothing but are just “large files” clogging up our memory space and slowing us down. Delete is the word that cures that problem.
History is an important subject but it should be studied marching forward not standing still. Lessons gained from the past can be applied to future goals but one cannot carry every detail of the past in one’s head and hope to be futuristic or visionary. Nostalgia is a soup best drank at the table of new achievements.
Human beings will forget things. Making sure that the important things are never forgotten would entail creating strong reminders that pop up from time to time. These are the “forget me nots”. A friend once said that a Calabar woman’s edikang ikong soup is such a thing, for once tasted it can never be forgotten. I have never tasted such and even if I did, I cannot recall the meal.
