Shackles Across Time

The young men, they are fools. They go to the towns and leave their heritage, the land and their culture behind them. And then, when they become old men like me, they want to return home, to their ‘roots,’ but there is nothing there for them. They have not made an investment in their ‘roots.’” Grandfather Odei came from around the corner of his hut and settled down quietly near Chester. “You are enjoying your chop?” “Oh, yes, sir. Thank you.” No other words seemed necessary. The old man always made Chester feel like a raw recruit, a greenhorn, a tenderfoot. It had something to do with his serenity, his cool. He finished eating and sat there, sipping his tea, watching compound life unfold. As the sun climbed higher, the women retreated to the shadiest places to do their work, leaving the forever energetic children to play in the sun. One little boy ran away from a too rough impromptu soccer game (played with a rolled up bunch of rags), crying for some reason, straight into Grandfather Odei’s lap. The old man cooed and hugged him for a moment and pushed him back into the fray. He exchanged eye signals with Chester, as though to say, you see how it is. Chester replied with an answering smile. Yes, I see how it is. That was it. He was becoming accustomed to the quiet shorthand. There was no need to talk about it if an exchange of looks, expressions, could say everything. A few minutes later, the old man stood up in front of him, a small person who had suddenly become a giant. “This evening I will give you instructions of what to do and my elder son will take you to the bush.” That was it. The old man entered his hut, leaving Chester on the veranda, breathing heavily. The bush? What the hell am I supposed to do there? How will I survive? I don’t know anybody in the bush. The last thought caught him by surprise and made him smile. I know people in Chicago, L.A., New York, Denver, Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Accra, Lagos, Cairo, Jo’berg, Athens, and a whole bunch of other places. But I don’t know anybody in the bush. I guess I will soon get to know somebody. Or something.