19.1.10

A CARROT, AN EGG AND A CUP OF COFFEE

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...Maybe with
this you will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about
her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she
was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting
and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three
pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to
boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and
in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil,
without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.
She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the
eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and
placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you
see."
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel
the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then
asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell,
she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the
daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich
aroma.
The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had
faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being
subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg
had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior,
but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After
they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When
adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or
a coffee bean?"
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems
strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose
my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but
changes with the  heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a
breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become
hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter
and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually


12.1.10

INCREDIBLE GHOST_A TRUE LIFE STORY

 > Late in 1994, an 87 year old great grandfather of a friend passed
> on in> a village close to Amai, Kwale, Delta State, Nigeria

> The late man's grand son by name Ufiaka (26 years old
> and fairly educated) was given some money and asked to
> travel to Agbor, Delta State (Nigeria)  and buy a fine Casket for his grand
> pa's burial. Ufiaka left base early and arrived Agbor
> in good time to purchase the Casket and make the
> return journey same day. He was fortunate to get an
> open back white coloured Peugeot 404 pickup heading
> for Amai. He, however, had to ride in the back of the
> pickup with the Casket because two market women
> traveling to Amai were already seated in front with
> the driver.
>
> On the home journey, they ran into a heavy rain storm
> close to Uronigbe and Ufiaka quickly opened the
> Casket, lay himself nicely in the well padded
> interior, covered the lid and used the folded
> newspaper he had with him to leave a small opening
> between the lid and the main body of the white Casket
> to ensure adequate ventilation. The interior of the
> Casket was very comfortable and Ufiaka fell into a
> very deep sleep.
>
>  The rain had subsided at the time the pickup van
> arrived at Umutu and during a brief stop there, two
> men travelling to Amai entered the vehicle at the back
> and the same happened at Ubiaruku where a man and a
> woman travelling also to Amai entered the vehicle. All
> this while, Ufiaka was enjoying his beauty sleep
> inside the Casket completely unaware of the new
> passengers who boarded at Umutu and Ubiaruku.
>
>  The pickup van arrived Amai just after 5 PM and the driver,who was
> now very hungry, stopped in front of a busy bukataria to have a quick
> bite before proceeding to the next village.
>
> The sudden stoppage and reving of the pickup's engine
> woke Ufiaka who then opened the lid of the Casket and
> rose up.

Trouble come start!

> The passengers in the back of the pickup jumped out of
> the vehicle from various points and took to their
> heels in various directions.
>
> The people eating in open type bukataria (including
> the mama-put and her service girls) who saw the white
> Casket open and a 'ghost' step out, ran off all over
> the place some with balls of eba and akpu in their
> hands.

   Ufiaka, seeing people running 'helta skelta'
> was convinced that armed robbers were operating and
> decided to take-off in the direction three of the
> passengers, including the woman, were running. When
> the three passengers realised that Ufiaka was running
> towards them, they increased speed and shouted ghost
> ghost and to further worsen the situation, Ufiaka was
> dressed in white up and down with white shoes to match
> that day.
>
> With the shouting of ghost, other people in their
> homes came out to see what was going on and on seeing
> people running at high speed all over they joined in
> the race for dear life and the number just swelled.

The driver and the two market women were the only
> people who knew what was going and they had a hell of
> a time calming the people down.