Inspired.....

Please read this as you listen to what's playing in the sounbyte - Kirk Whalum's - If Only For One Night


He looked at his watch
It was time
He stood up and roared to his men ‘Make we dey go’
His gang of not so merry men put down their bottles of ogogoro and staggered to their feet
Eyes red from intoxication
Feet unsteady
They picked up the tools of their trade
Metal rods, sticks, burlap sacks and a lone locally crafted pistol
And headed out

He led his men out of the slums called home
Onto the street
Across the empty field that was used to kick a ball around
To while away the time
Marching with single minded purpose
He led his men
Across the road
And they got onto the median
And began to walk slowly down it
Heading to the middle of the 3rd mainland bridge

Traffic was at its prime
Cars at a stand still
No one going anywhere
Bumper to bumper the cars were
Drivers resigned to the fact that this would not end anytime soon
Some with their windows rolled down
Wiped their faces as the heat made sweat drip down their faces
Executives asleep in the back of their cushy cars
After a hard day at work
Their drivers sitting upright in their white shirts and ties
Some drivers oblivious to the traffic
Courtesy of the music they were singing to
Some oblivious because of the company they had
Some drivers seemed lost in thought
Contemplating life and obligations
Everyone headed home

His band of un-merry men slowed down right at the middle of the bridge
Jumped onto the road
And it began

Windows rapped on
Some smashed
‘Bring your phone’
‘Bring your bag’
‘Give me all your money’
‘Open your boot’
‘I go fire ya head here my friend’
‘Move it morrafoker’

Some of the men laughed as they assaulted the innocent
Some said nothing
He walked in between the lanes
Weaving between the cars
Keeping his eyes on his men
And on the opposite lane
And on the passengers in the cars

He heard a guttural scream behind him
He turned around
For he had warned his men
No un-necessary violence
Smash and grab
Scare and petrify
But hurt no-one

He walked slowly back to the cause of the noise
A Toyota Corolla
Driver’s door open
A woman struggling with one of his men
In a dark suit
And bare feet
‘Please my phone’
‘Don’t take my phone’
‘Take my car, take it all but not my phone’

He heard his man
The one that the woman had locked in her grip saying
‘I go wound this woman’
‘You dey craze’
He stopped and said
‘Madam, I suggest you leave him alone’
‘Please my phone’

He looked at the woman as she let his man go
He was used to people being intimidated by him
6 feet 3 inches of solid muscle
Every inch of him as dark as coal tar
And at this time of night
He knew that the only features people would be able to see
Were the white of his eyes and his teeth
His voice scared even his mother

This woman didn’t seem to notice him
So focused on her phone
Oblivious to the kicks and slaps
She had tears streaming down her face
He noticed that in addition to the tears
She was crying
No. She was weeping
Making gut wrenching sounds as she screamed ‘my phone’

‘Let me have her phone’
They stopped struggling – his man and the woman
He sneered at her
‘All this noise and wahala over an ordinary Nokia 2210’
‘You want to die over this phone’
All the while she stared at the phone in his hand
Saying over and over ‘please, please, please, please’

‘Get into your car now’
He said in a tone that brooked no argument
He turned to his man
Threw the phone in the burlap sack
And they walked away
He heard the woman scream again but did not turn round

His men hurried along
For the window of opportunity was closing
Traffic was beginning to move

For an inexplicable reason
He turned around
While cars had started to move slowly
The woman was sitting on the bridge
In her dark suit and bare feet
Crying hysterically
Her car door still open

He walked back to her
‘Madam, get up and enter your car’
She seemed not to hear him
‘Did anyone hurt you?’
She looked at him then
And the look of pain and agony on his face made him take a step back
Yet she said nothing
Just continued to cry
‘Madam you can buy another phone. Even a better one’

She whimpered and said something
He didn’t hear
She said words again
‘You have taken my life’
For some reason, he could not move
He just stared at her

She pulled herself up
Into a kneeling position
Held onto his knee and looked up at him
‘I got married 6 months ago
My husband died last month
All I have left of him are the text messages he sent to me on that phone
Not on the SIM card
But on that phone
Please give me my phone’

He looked at her
‘The reason I can still breathe is because of those messages
Please’
He pulled himself free from her grasp
Turned his back on her
And walked away

She was numb
Unable to move
Over 200 text messages
That the love of her life had sent to her
Since he died, she spent hours re-reading those messages
Oblivious to funeral arrangements
Friends, relatives, in-laws
She went to bed cradling her phone
And selecting the messages to put her to bed
Because those messages were for her
He talked to her even though he was gone with those messages
Gone now
Everything she had of him
Gone

She looked up and it was the man
Holding a bag
‘Which one is your phone?’
Not stopping to think
She pointed at the phone at the top of the pile
He reached for it and handed it to her
‘Thank you’
He turned his back and walked away

*Inspired by my love for text messages, the movie P.S I love you, driving home on 3rd mainland bridge and the stories of these petty thieves which thankfully are not as common anymore*

Have a great weekend.

A little extra to the sounds of.....

Anthony Hamilton - Pass Me Over

I liked this song since i first heard it a little over a year ago....Enjoy!

Husband takes his wife to play her first game of golf.Of course, the wife promptly hacked her first shot right through the window of the biggest house adjacent to the course.The husband cringed, "I warned you to be careful! Now we'll have to apologize and see how much your lousy drive is going to cost us."

So the couple walked up to the house and knocked on the door.A warm voice said, "Come on in." When they opened the door they saw the damage that was done: glass was all over the place, and a broken antique bottle was lying on its side near the broken window. A man reclining on the couch asked, "Are you the people that broke my window?""Uh...yeah, sir. We're sure sorry about that," the husband replied.

"Oh, no apology is necessary. Actually I want to thank you. You see, I'm a genie, and I've been trapped in that bottle for a thousand years. Now that you've released me, I'm allowed to grant three wishes. I'll Give you each one wish, but if you don't mind, I'll keep the last one for myself."

"Wow, that's great!" the husband said. He pondered a moment and blurted out, "I'd like a million dollars a year for! the rest of my life." "No problem," said the genie. "You've got it, it's the least I can do. And I'll guarantee you a long, healthy life!"

"And now you, young lady, what do you want?" the genie asked. "I'd like to own a gorgeous home complete with servants in every country in the world," she said. "Consider it done," the genie said. "And your homes will always be safe from fire,burglary and natural disasters!""And now," the couple asked in unison, "what's your wish, genie?"

" Well, since I've been trapped in that bottle and haven't been with a woman in more than a thousand years, my wish is to sleep with your wife." The husband looked at his wife and said, "Gee, honey, you know we both now have a fortune, and all those houses. What do you think?"

She mulled it over for a few moments and said, "You know, you're right. Considering our good fortune, I guess I wouldn't mind, but what about you, honey?" "You know I love you sweetheart," said the husband."I'd do the same for you!"

So the genie and the woman went upstairs where they spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying each other. The genie was insatiable. After about three hours of non-stop fun, the genie rolled over and looked directly into her eyes and asked, "How old are you and your husband?""Why, we're both 35," she responded breathlessly.

"Really?! Thirty-five years old and both of you still believe in genies?"

He Sang, She Sang - 11

Knocks me off my feet

Its been a while since i put up a music post and that's because i was really off kilter. I have stopped spinning now so things should get back to normal now.

This song is really one of my favorite songs and was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1976. It appears on the Grammy award winning album Songs In the Key of Life.

In 1996, Luther Vandross and Donnell Jones recorded covers of this song. The versions playing on my soundbyte are the original by Stevie Wonder and the version done by Donnell Jones. Which do you prefer?

As a side note:

• Did you know that Donnell's dad is gospel great Bobby Jones? Does he still have a show on sunday mornings on BET?
• Donnell is also known as Ibrahim Akhter since he converted to Islam i n 2003

Enjoy!

A Meme.....

So with lack of time for blogging, here's a meme i found on a blog

1. Honestly, are you in love right now?
No

2. Honestly, what color is your underwear?
Pink

3. Honestly, what's on your mind right now?
So much work to do. I need sleep.

4. Honestly, what are you doing right now?
Answering this question. Preparing a financial report

5. Honestly, what did you do today?
Just got in about half an hour again. The elevators are being serviced so i took the stairs to the 8th floor...Unbudgeted exercise in heels and a suit SUCKS!

6. Honestly, do you think you are attractive?
Heck yeah....And the whole house echoes - Yes

7. Honestly, have you done something bad today?
At 7.54am? Nope...Actually – i cursed someone out on the way to work. But i was in my car with the windows wound up and the person didn’t hear. Does that count?

8. Honestly, do you watch Disney channel?
YES

10. Honestly, what makes you happy most of the time?
The little things – text messages, surprise phone calls, books, my family....the sun shining, puppies...You get the idea

11. Honestly, do you bite your nails?
No...but i used to

12. Honestly, what is your mood right now?
Indifferent

13. Honestly, who do you want to see at this very moment?
*smile*

14. Honestly, do you have a deep dark secret?
Em...Well i haven’t killed anyone – not physically anyway...  I mean the broken hearts i have left in my wake is a type of murder right?...Okay let me stop....

15. Honestly, do you hate someone right now?
Nope. A waste of emotional energy

16. Honestly, who/what do you want to hug right now?
*smile*

17. Honestly, do your wrists hurt?
Em...Should they hurt?

18. Honestly, are you in denial?
YES. About all the smiles above.....Figure that one out

19. Honestly, wouldn't you rather be having sex right now?
Em..NO

20. Honestly, is it easier to talk on Blogger than in person?
NOPE

21. Honestly, does anyone like you?
*smile*

22. Honestly, is it going anywhere with them?
*smile*

24. Honestly, did you answer all these questions honestly?
Yes...

Ish....

I try so hard not to be a cynic.

Sure we all have our stories and experiences with the opposite sex...If i started today, it wouldnt end.

But despite that, i try to take each man that comes my way as a decent enough fellow. Except when its glaring but even then - i can be naive to a fault.

But sometimes...

I have known D for months. 8 months exactly. He hounds and chases, professes love, sends me gifts which i return, flies into town to see me or so he claims...But he just will not accept my no.

So on Valentine's day,s he sends me flowers and a loooooooooooooooooooooog text espousing sweet nothings and telling me to check my email. That he has a surpise waiting for me

I immediately figure its an e-card but cant be too bothered. So literally 20 minutes ago, i bother to open it...

So why on earth is the e-card addressed to UCHE?

I hate to say it here but let me give in - MEN...........

And its cos

I changed jobs....So i am still trying to settle in.

I am also trying to catch up on my blog reading.....

More on the foot....

I am taken aback that the anonymous commenter would call this ghetto fabulous and then go on to talk about stomach contents.....I dont understand

But anyway...I went to Kaduna for my dear dear friend's wedding. The festivities started on wednesday but i got in on saturday....

This is mehndi on my foot...you should see the bride's body. Amazing. Daddy's Girl and I had this done as well in India but the one done in the Northern part of the country is darker...

More on the wedding tomorrow....And a bit more blog rounds as well....

Also some information on why the once diligent blogger has been MIA....

Look what i did......

There is a story to this....tomorrow...

Enjoy He Sang, She Sang 10 in the post below

He Sang, She Sang - 10

The Closer I Get To You

Those who know me will attest to the fact that this is one of my fave songs....

Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flack did this song in 1978 and its truly one of the best duets ever.

Beyonce and Luther Vandross (who is my favorite artist ever) went on to re-record this song in 2003.

I try not to give any opinions on this series so i shall leave it at that...

So which version is better?

Changes...to the sounds of.....

Bobby Tinsley - Time

One of those artists i discovered randomly. I fell in love with this song immediately so i hope you enjoy...

Should be back to regular blogging pretty soon....Life is really hectic right now...Lots of changes going on..But good stuff....

He Sang, She Sang - 9

Dont Cry For Me Argentina

This song is from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical - Evita based on some of the events in the life of former Argentine first lady Eva Peron.

Julie Covington sang this for the first time ever in 1976 on the Evita album which is how this musical started. To the suprise of many, Julie refused the role of Evita in the stage adaptation of Evita and the role went to someone else.

Madonna went on to star in the film version of the musical in 1996 and recorded this song for the soundtrack. Madonna's version was a big hit and became her secong number 1 hit after La Isla Bonita.

Artists such as Olivia Newton John, The Carpenters, Sinead O Connor, Sarah Brightman etc have also performed covers of this song.

On the sound player are the only 2 versions i could find: the original by Julie Covington and Madonna's version....What do you think?

Enjoy!