Instinct or Fear at St. Paul River

Sometime in december of 1988. My younger brother and I decided to go to the river to fish. We were enjoying our december or anual break from school. One thing we enjoyed most at the time was going to fish, catching our own, and later frying or preparing pepper soup (a spicey and watery stew that is so common in Liberia). The mere fact that we are in the interior part of Liberia and not in Monrovia near our father give some extra sense of independence. It was this vacational independence that took us to the river side one saturday morning to fish. The St. Paul River is a big river by Liberia standard and extend into the interior part of Liberia, it is on this interior extention of the St. Paul River that our interesting story took place. We started by digging earth worms for bait. My younger brother was too fast in getting ready for the fishing,
I was always jeolous of him

MY VACATION ON THE ST. PAUL RIVER

The year was 1988 and I was just 14 years old, my best vacation was always the one spent with my grandmother (my mother’s mother). December of the above mentioned year was a very good one for me, because my academic report from Firestone School was too encouraging and my father could not turn his head from any thing I ask him for. For the first time in many years I felt the reward of hard study and love from my father. “Ngo Sekou” he said, that is how he call me, because I am named after one of his uncle who was so influential in his struggle to convince my mother those day to become his (my father) wife. One of the rewards for this uncle’s loyalty to his struggle was to name me after him later. “Anything you ask for, I will give you” my father said. “Any where you want to go for vacation, I will support it”, “even America”, I knew the America aspect was the biggest joke of that time, and understood that this simply means anywhere around Liberia. My decision was even older than the day my father made his offer to me, and so it was just the matter of voicing it out. “So where are you going for the vacation?” my father asked. I didn’t want him to know that my decision had anything to do with going near river because that is the only idea he disliked. Those days one of many places my father was against me going was near rivers or creeks and even near the Atlantic Ocean. So if he had any idea at the time that I was planning to go to Bong County to my mother’s home because of the pleasure of fishing, swimming and riding canoe on the St. Paul river, he would have cancelled my trip there without hesitation. My father did not like to think about the idea of swimming since his friends got drown in the ocean. He swore not to play around river. It was due to all of the above that my plan vacation was a complicated one and I had to exercise ultimate care in presenting it to him.

Early on a Saturday morning, I woke up and told my father that I will like to go to a friend’s house for study. “My son”, “you are warming your brain too much and so I think you should take some rest during this vacation and then you will be able to start fresh when school opens”, my father said, “so please cancelled the study plan and think about your vacation before the balance money from my salary get finish” He continued. “So I will be expecting your answer this evening”. I realized without joke that the truth in what he just said was clear like the water in the white bucket we drink from in our house, I have seen him and my mother quarreled before because of money mid way in months, and so I quickly connected what he just said and what has happened and I regretted why I did not tell him my plan yesterday. From that moment until his arrival time in the evening, everything changed, from my father waiting for my answer to me waiting to tell him. That evening when my father returned from work, I told him that I will like to go to Bong Mines to spend my vacation with my grandmother (my mother’s mother). My younger brother did not like school and very little attention was paid to him, he didn’t have any choice to make when it comes to vacations and other outings, he just asked where father will be sending me for vacation and hope we make the trip together. On some occasions I felt so sad when attentions where given to me so much for my good academic report because at those points he (my younger brother Abraham ) was like hoping our father get through with me and leave us along so that he will have some peace of mind. I imagined how he used to cope with that lever of isolation from our father because he didn’t do well in school. Early morning hours used to be his good time, but things changed and nothing mattered like before. My brother Abraham was clever in some instances, he was ahead of me when it comes to waking up in the morning clean and dry like the way he went to sleep the previous night, at that age, he never urinate in bed, I am two years older than him and didn’t missed a day to urinate in bed, I was always wet in the morning, at some points, my mother used to call me the fish, I felt too shame at those points and more embarrassed when I realized how helpless I was with that situation or sickness. Some nights it happened like a dream and the next thing I sensed will be my back or stomach lying in my urine. Those were the heroic days of my brother, now it was not about urine, but education, and in my tenure as hero, I realized that my little brother was too small for what he was going through, and felt sorry for him. I hope he’ll do well next time to avoid the kind of embarrassment he was faced with.

My father arrived in the evening from work wearing a face masked by fatigue and anger. This got me confused for few minutes until he changed his mood after half an hour of rest. I did not play any trick or game this time with my decision and quickly told him that I will like to go to my grandmother for my vacation. He again show good mood after hearing my words and asked me to get ready along with my younger brother the very next day for the trip to Bong Mines. Hearing this make me so happy. I wish I had some means of lifting my father up till my shoulder to show appreciation for the answer. Without delay my brother and I hurriedly counter checked some to the things we bought already for the pending trip. They included marbles, fishing line, watches, and some toys that was scarce in that part of the country, cause these things show the difference between us (the city boys) and our friends that live in the country side (the country side boys).

After many formalities in the morning, we were on a old bus heading for Kakata, the County capital of Margibi County. Margibi County is next to Montserrado County on the Way to Bong County in Liberia. The city of Kakata is a major stopping point to connect many other areas in Liberia, and Bong mines in Bong county is one of them. We disembarked at Kakata after almost two hours on the old Toyota bus. The next car we got on was older than the first one from appearance. Our aunt (Lorpu) that accompanied us was too familiar with the cars on the road, she make us got on the very old Datsun Taxi. She later explain to me that the newer cars stop in Bong Mines and the older cars goes as far as Haindi Waterside which is very close to the Island village (Dinshu) we were going. Her explanation make sense to me because I was not prepare to walk from Bong Mines to the water side of Haindi, that is a distance by Liberian standard and would have gotten us exhausted before reaching the village square. I pondered eagerly on the expected reception from my old friends in the village thus making the road to appeared too far. We arrived late in the evening at the waterside. My aunt did the village call at the water side to let the Islander know that strangers were on the other side of the River and needed the canoe to cross the river. The call was like “Ooooooooooooooooohhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!....... Ooooooooooooooooohhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!....... Ooooooooooooooooohhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......”. Later after some seven to eight minutes, some young men arrived on the other side of the river. They recognized my aunt and started peddling the canoe toward us, my younger brother and I couldn’t hide our feelings. We were too happy. After few minutes we were getting down from the canoe on the other side of the river with our few belongings. We led the way to the village while our aunt Lorpu and guys that came for us were discussing the latest gossips of the village. We were welcome by our grandmother and the other family members, the feeling that we were finally in the village make us feel so fine, and I particularly had a sleepless night eagerly hoping day light come soon so that I will start enjoying freedom that make me to like this venue for my vacation. The days that follow our arrival to the village was great, my grandma took us with her to the farm and we ate roasted potatoes, cassava, and drank fish pepper soup, but with

all of that, the pending freedom to go and fish alone on the river was the biggest vocational project on our minds, and we were in no rush to go about it, because we were here already.

After some days of eating fruits and others food our grandma used as surprises for us, we met with friends in the village that told us about venues on the river bank that were ideal for fishing and other few spots on the rock center the river that were also strategic for good catch.

We (me and my brother) started our show on the bank of the river one morning and catch some fish with our new fishing lines; the experience was good but had one thing lacking. Our friends we fish with told us continually that if they had the lines we were using, they would rather to on the rock in the center of the river and catch big fish instead of standing on the bank catching smaller fish. At home we discussed it, my brother and I decided that we will go to the center of the St. Paul River on the rock to catch big fish all by ourselves. Early the next morning Our grandma ask us if we were going to the farm with her, again we said no, our reason being that we will like to stay in town and play with our peers. She accepted our lie and give some food for breakfast and kept some food in the kitchen for our lunch. We walked them to the way that led to the farm and off we went to our fishing spot we discussed about the whole night. We dug enough earth worms and put them in a old ovaltine cup.

The passage we used to get to the center of the river on the rock was very dangerous, at my present age it still scare me to think that we did that. The river current was very strong there, there were ( I don’t know if there still is ) huge rocks from the bank of the river to that center point. The rock stretch up over forty yards from the bank to the center point we were headed for. The first risk was the mold on the rock that makes it slippery and the powerful current of the river was forcing everything it could control to the deep that was just one or two yard from our passage. The layer of mold on the rock was thick, the current strong, and the river deep. The St. Paul River by our standard is one of the biggest. This makes me to always imagine what would have happened if any of us has slipped on that moldy rock In that powerful current. With all those dangers we didn’t foresee, we made our way to the rock in the center point. This center point was ideal because near it, the rocks were circularly form at a point that diffused the current of the river, around that spot the river current is absent because it is like a lake in the center of the river. The water there was calm, this make the area a very good catching spot for fishermen, and this time the fishermen were not any familiar one, but two little boys on vacation taking some huge risk.

We settled well on the rock and began the show, I was on a rock that was little higher than what brother was sitting on. The gap between us was almost two yards and we were almost facing each other. All was going well for some fifteen minutes from start until my brother put up a face that in all our time together was the strangest. I tried to ignore it by mentioning the success we have had so far with our fishing but he seem to keep going deep into whatever he was in. I on few occasions tried to ignore it but could not succeed because the more time that follow, the more stranger he became. I pondered on his mood for some while and just could not understand it, I turned to the other side and continue fishing, I decided to ignore him and give a corner stare at intervals, I even told him that I will take the biggest share of the fish when got home cause I am catching more fish and he was just there standing. Still my brother did not answer and remained silent, the last time I stared at him, his facial language send some strange feeling through my body. He had since stop fishing and wrapped his fishing lines and was just staring at me directly, it was too difficult to interpret what was on his mind, he then told me that he was not fishing again, and that we should stop and go home, this again was strange. I answer no, I told my brother that I was staying. He then started making his way toward me. Seeing him coming toward me was not strange because this in fact was our way out of the river, He was far from the shore than me, the only other thing that puzzled me a little bit was the way he walk around me on the rock. Where I stood was the best way to pass, but he took risk from my understanding by passing too close to the edge of the rock that was slippery and close to the deep. His body shivered as he passed by me, he look scared to the limit, I just did not understand all of this and continue catching fish. He succeeded in reaching on the shoreline without falling or slipping on the rock. He then sat in the sand on the shore staring at me in the same strange mood. He asked me again several times to quit and that we should go home, I refused. My show was going well until I decided to change position, I decided to go to where he was standing fishing because I didn’t know what was making the fish in the clear water to go that way, and so I carefully walked to where he was. The next time I look at my brother on the shore. He had his hands on his head, In Liberia that is not a good sign. I still didn’t understand what has come over my brother.

When I stood where my brother was and threw the fishing line in the water, I quietly and attentively looked at the bait for a fish to eat; it was during that moment that I reasoned with my brother departure from our plan. My eyes begin to sort the difference between the rock underneath and something else that was moving. I blinked several times to make sure of what I was seeing and what I saw was a boa constrictor in that river, the big snake was under that rock I was standing on, I lifted my head and look at my brother, he make a sign like yes, without saying anything I left all the fish there and make my way out of the river. On my way out, I shivered like he did, and when I got on the shore, we did not say anything to each other, we walked home and it was on the day that we were on our way back from Bong Mines that I ask him if it was the boa that he got scare of, he told me yes, I did not quarreled with him as to why he didn’t tell me.

Facing The Odds in Olympics Preparation

By Sheik A. Kamara

The odds always surfaced in unexpected moments. There is always no little type of olympics when it comes to preparation, it might look little by look but huge when it comes to executing your task or duty. The Ricks Olympic was one such program. We planned and prayed well, we trained and talked well to our kids and other guests, we proposed and prepared well, and yet when it comes to seeing the results of what we've been planning well for some months, the guests or other visiting schools provided situation that over take our expectations, they even counter checked some of the extra measures we had in place for such situation. That was the day we realized that our ways of training students at Ricks Institute was far ahead and better than many if not all in Liberia. The committed staffs of Ricks Institute had to work over the over time to make things happen according to expectations. We were not over worked by only the students in other schools, but some of the staffs as well. What we consider serious academy offense was consider A NORM IN SOME OF OUR VISITING SCHOOLS, Lies, cheating, and other forms of offenses that cause eye brows to raise at Ricks was what staffs in many schools laugh about when we (Ricks Staffs) make so much comments on them. This resulted to our staffs at RICKS INSTITUTE being over worked to the last. (the picture above is and example of how over worked we were to make sure that other students obey our good rules here at Ricks). From Left, Mr. Francis Jaryan (Dean of Students at Ricks Institute) and Right is Mr. Sheik Kamara (Special Service Coordinator at Ricks Institute). This picture is a visible evidence of the fatigue experience at the hand of guests that behaved unexpectedly.