Gates of Ghana

The plumeria trees are blossoming.

Marsha and I had an “aah-ha” experience this week.  You know what an “aah-ha” experience is.  It is a brief moment when the light bulb clicks, when enlightenment and understanding flow into your mind at a time you least expect it, for example, when you are staring at the large holes in your cedar fence, wondering what kind of a cruel person would have done such damage to your property, and why would he have made such unusual holes only a foot off the ground, and as you are trying to figure out this puzzling situation you see your dog run up to you grinning with cedar splinters in his mouth.  Aah-ha!

Marsha and I were in our small kitchen at the same time, which we try to avoid because of its size – I can simultaneously touch the countertop on two opposite walls and am about one foot short of touching the countertop on the third wall and the door to the kitchen on the opposite wall -- because when we are together in the kitchen each of us has to directly visualize the other before making quick moves, especially when sharp instruments or hot dishes are involved.  Marsha was preparing food on the one available counter top and I was putting away dishes.  I opened the cupboard above her head intending to put away the plates.  I said “above you” to warn her of the incoming plates.  Without looking up from her food preparation she replied “I love you, too.”  I stopped putting away the plates.  She turned to see why I had stopped.  I looked at her, puzzled by her unexpected reply.  She looked at my quizzical expression and was similarly puzzled.  And then we had the “aah-ha” moment.  We simultaneously figured out the communication – the light bulbs clicked -- and said, quietly, “Oh, isn’t this growing old together going to be fun!”   “Above you, I love you, too” has become our new mantra. 

Speaking of dogs we saw a yellow lab this week.  He was full size and on a leash and was being held at bay at an intersection.  We had only a fleeting glimpse of him as we drove by but we could see the characteristic Labrador enthusiasm for life: the sparkling eyes, the smile, the excitement of being outdoors, and the straining on the leash wanting to get going.  It brought back fond memories of our previous dogs, despite the holes in the fence.  We both wondered if this lab even had the faintest idea that he was living in Africa.  Probably not.  And he didn’t care. 

I have been working on a blog entry about really important topics:  a double light pole crash, a “twofer” (one car taking out two poles – I even have a blurry picture to prove it), more cockroach encounters (we have had several more cockroach encounters just as we did last March, it must be the season of African cockroach migration, like the Great Wildebeest Migration in the Serengeti during the month of July), Accra gastronomique delights, such as chicken light soup and banku eaten Ghanaian style,

and sweating in Africa (I thought because of the hot season this would be a great topic to talk about.)  But Marsha has strongly suggested that I skip these boooooring topics and instead focus on things appealing to a wider audience, meaning men and women, not that all women would be turned off by sweat.   So I, I mean we, are going to prepare a blog posting on Fabric, Fashion, and Footwear.  Marsha says it will help me get in touch with my feminine side, whatever that means.  The four levels of sweat will just have to wait.

Because our exposition on Fabric, Fashion, and Footware is not quite ready to post I will show some photographs of gates in the neighborhood. 

This is the gate to Alema Court, our apartment complex.

These are some entries to other apartments.

         

These are gates to private homes.  Note the detail at the bottom of the gate of this first one.

This is the entry to a complex of three homes very near us, recently built, allegedly belonging to someone who is involved with the gold mining here in Ghana.  The homes are probably the nicest we have seen in Accra.  The gates have panels of 1/2 inch stainless steel that have been acid washed to take away the sheen.   A little over the top, perhaps, but then gates of gold would have been too ostentatious.    

Please don't look at these gates and get the impression that all of the housing here is really nice.  Except for this last one the gates are probably the nicest part of the apartment/house.  Just as in so many other things of life, first impressions tend to be most emphasized.  

 Here is a closing photograph of another beautiful child.