I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
Excerpt from “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman
The day was hot, but ripe for adventure
Daboe and I crammed into the car awaiting the national football match
It would be my first time visiting the national stadium
Independence Stadium, a monument of Gambian footballing pride
Gambia against Guinea and it seemed that the whole country packed into that little stadium
Approaching the stadium we saw a sea of 65,000 people
Waving and pulsating, entering a stadium stating MAX CAPACITY 40,000
The rush to enter the stadium left the world in a blur of colors
The consequences of our tardiness sunk in
Our paces steadily increasing to a jog into the stadium grounds
Barbed wire fences, screaming and pushing were our greeters
People, mostly young males, were desperate to get in and were climbing over fences
It appeared as if the authorities sold too many tickets
Not that I was able to see the barricades come crashing down
But I had the feeling that this was as close as I might ever come
I told Daboe I had never seen a crowd so unanimous in their anger and desire
But alas, all the entrances were bolted, closed, and blocked
Held firm by armed guards from the army and police
I felt bad for the men in uniform as they shouted at their countrymen, GET BACK, ALL OF YOU GET BACK
But still the crowd surged forward, trying to break through the doors
Pushing and shoving until we reached the tipping point
And as we toppled we fell right into the guard’s retaliation
Using their belts as whips they lashed out at the crowd
Creating panic to some and boyhood glee in others
But the crowd burst forward once more, teasing the guards,
playing a game of chicken with the guards
The crowd volleyed their movements between inching closer and being driven back
We became a moving mass of desire
Desire to see a football game,
desire to be part of national pride and identity,
and we moved as one, one goliath figure that would not stand down
Pushing and shoving together, bound to one another by our desire
Against the bared doors the crowd was a wild mass of raw determination
My arms felt trapped, my body squeezed
I felt a hand in my pocket
I couldn’t react quickly enough
By the time I turned to see a face
The thief was long gone
It was a classic textbook pick pocket
A cell phone lost to the crowd of determination
A lone act in a sea of desire
We were locked out of the stadium the entire day
Our fashionably late arrival to blame
The Gambian national team lost the game, 2-0 on silly mistakes
Eating our rice porridge dinner we remembered what is important in life
That we had our health and food was in front of us
Sports and material goods would come another day
For now we had the simple joy of a quiet dinner
It was a humbling moment on a long journey to discover ourselves.
2 comments:
Nice post, sorry you fell prey! I was just nearby the stadium with my brother, visiting my sister who lives about half the way towards the traffic light. We flew out on Friday night so unfortunately couldn't go to the game ourselves.
can we safely call that "getting (h00bt"? Sucks your phone got stolen but it sounds like you've developed a very strong spiritual attitude leaning more towards the blessings of the day than the losses of the day. It is something we as Americans struggle with (myself definitely included) but we need to learn. I'm glad you're pioneering it for us :)
Now on to my recipe of the week (sorry I've been on hiatus lately...quitting my job isn't an excuse since I have TONS more time now)
Roasted Chicken and Potatoes
take a chicken (whole is best but if unavailable the pieces will work) and soak in a brine. For a 4-lb chicken you'll probably need 2 gallons water combined with 3 cups salt. Soak for 4 hrs. This serves to keep the meat much more moist and tender.
Combine rosemary, tarragon, olive oil, and salt/pepper in a small bowl. You'll probably want 1/2 cup oil and enough rosemary/tarragon to balance it (probably 1/4 cup each). Salt/pepper to taste. Remove chicken from brine and put in a roasting pan. Pour oil solution over chicken and rub in with your hands. Put in oven at 450 degrees.
Meanwhile, chop two potatoes into 1-inch cubes. After chicken has been in oven for 20 minutes, remove and put the potatoes in the pan w/ the chicken. Toss in oil/drippings. Feel free to put some potatoes in the chicken cavity as well..they will probably absorb the most flavor.
Cook about 30 minutes longer. Everything should be a golden brown, and the potatoes fairly crisp. This is a tasty recipe.
Since I've left my job I've read a lot more about cooking, etc. I've got several good links to recipe/specialty cooking pages, so hopefully in the coming weeks I'll have had a chance to experiment/perfect some new and awesome recipes that I can pass on to you.
When are you going to Vienna? Jealous! The jobs I'm applying for mostly give opportunity after some time to work abroad, which would be 1337 45 h311. It would mean that I'd be overseas for a few weeks at a time. Not sure if/when I'll start one of them, but I will def keep you posted. Miss you buddy.
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