AN APPARENTLY uniformed member of an establishment told me there were no parking spaces available. Imagine my ire when I parked almost two miles away, only to arrive on foot and see that there were indeed two. To my surprise, when asked about the availability and if they had only just become vacant, the security responded, “No, they reserved.”
So, reader – I’m confessing my actions to you and you alone – I made a strategic (some would call it “political”) move. I handed over a ten-dollar bill and asked, “You could reserve one for me too?” Almost immediately, the security guard’s face fissured into a smile, as he nodded. I walked back to the car and happily drove into the car park as the guard gave me the thumbs-up, while he stopped a man with two donkeys who were to be part of a celebration.
As he assesses asses, I walk away feeling like one – $10 poorer, for a less than ten-foot space – having indulged his avarice with the mighty dollar.
I’m ashamed.
On a higher level – let’s say the governmental sphere – my behaviour would be viewed as unfitting and unexemplary. I mean, I’m not running for office or anything so, but isn’t what I did propagating this societal malaise? You may think I’m going a bit overboard here, but I will never forget the novel by Ayi Kwei Armah, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, where he writes about corruption in Ghana. In fact, according to Armah, nothing could be achieved with speed and efficiency in Ghanaian affairs without the almighty bribe.
How did it begin? I think both you and I know the hymn Let There Be Peace On Earth. It begins with me and you. So for all of you who, like me, have bribed for a park instead of taking the high road and driving away, how about vowing to never grease palms for selfish gain? Utopian wish on my part? You tell me.
On another note, I got a love note from a Ricardo Engano, with details that would make Fifty Shades Of Grey viewers blush. By the way, when Reverend Adrian Smith as quoted in Monday’s Nation last week referred to that movie to infer that women no longer need men, I wondered if we watched the same movie. (I am assuming it was viewed for research purposes on the part of the pastor.)
For those of you who didn’t waste your money to go see the flick – just for information purposes – the reason the female protagonist walked away in the end was because the man had sex-crazed issues, which she asked him to work on before they could go forward together.
Anyway, I digress. Thankfully, my Venezuelan friend was with me when I opened the letter. ‘Ricardo Engano’ translates into ‘Richard HoaX.’ Hoadie…was it you who penned those words and played that hoax? If so, it’s really funny.
If it’s not, Senor Engano, that was very shady behaviour!
Veoma Ali is an author, broadcaster, advertising exec and most important, a karaoke lover.
