One of the joys of childhood is that at one point you enjoy the experience of being an errand boy or at least that was the case with my generations. Things could be different with the current generation of youth but during our time it was a pleasure to be an errand boy of course up to a certain age when teen rebellion sets in because of changes in hormones as medical scientists would attest.
One of the aspects of being an errand boy was the levels it took for one to reach the top chief level where you would then be not only carrying a message but becomes a negotiator as well. No matter which level one was involved sticking to getting the correct item sent for, keeping the message content intact or presenting it as the sender would have loved it to be, were the most important elements.
The first level at ages perhaps three to somewhere around five involved errands within the house where you would be sent to the bedroom for example to take one thing or the other for the sender. It was a weird experience as at times mid way on your journey because you are still thinking of the game disturbed that you were playing, you would forget what you have been sent for making you to turn back and ask again what it was that needed to be taken. Depending on the friendliness of the sender on being asked for the third time after forgetting for the forth time, some would then shout at you and retake the responsibility themselves, others would laugh it off and lead you back to teach you how to take steps that would remind you as you go along what the errand was about. This forgetfulness was also prevalent on the other upper levels.
Having graduated from the first level depending on the adults around one would then be promoted to errand boy level two which involved being sent to the shop to buy items most notably salt, bread, sugar and or cooking oil. The next stage of which involved trips to the market to buy relish. As stated above the forgetfulness would also be prevalent on this level albeit to say because of the level involved and risk the mistakes would be huge such as buying milk when you were sent to buy bread or buying salt instead of sugar.
What would be considered level three of an errand boy involved going to neighbours house to borrow tools and at times ask for food ingredients that would have been low in your own home such as salt and with more notorious neighbours tea or sugar even maize flour. Such a level required courage as these were not simple matters since they involved announcing the wellness and wealth of ones household.
In between the levels for some you would be an errand boy to go and deliver insults to others within your neighbourhood. The opposite of which involved being sent to greet or give a goodwill message to others. Of course nowadays such messages are easily sent using gadgets such as mobile phones an alternative of which as technology got advanced was being sent to deliver a postcard or letter.
The other spectrum of errands involved being a go between of teen lovers. Such required skills of the errand boy in being empathic to restore the impact of the message as the sender would have intended it to be. Part of this involved errands to check and call a lover from their house to meet with their sweetheart on the roadside, again requiring skills as you would have to manufacture a lie to take the recipient off from the watchful eyes and ears of their guardian to deliver them to their ‘loved’ one.
Later levels would involve the errands boys learning negotiation skills as they graduate to a stage where they would be sent on difficulty assignments to negotiate a deal or to appeal for mercy on behalf of the sender. Such would be for example being sent to borrow money or negotiate purchases on credit. In some cases just being sent to huggle over an expensive item to bring the price down. While extreme errands would be when one is sent to negotiate a ceasefire or plead for forgiveness on behalf of the sender.
Such was the beauty of youth it’s role if one were lucky to be an errand boy or girl which you would be reminded on initiation that an errand boy cannot be the principle as he will have to always remain such.
This week’s quotes are from a book I have just acquired and read having met its author and hear his inspirational stories. I am sure you will learn one or two things from these quotes, read and enjoy:
THE BLESSING OF RELATIONSHIPS by Dr James Hansen-Sackey
“It is through the agency of other people that God answers our prayers, therefore if we understand friendship from God’s standpoint, growing or nurturing it well will greatly benefit us. It is unfortunate that some of us cannot maintain friendships over a long period of time, and have lost out greatly because we did not understand why certain friends were placed in our lives in the first place. We must understand that every friendship has a divine purpose and divine role; we all need people in our lives that will comfort, strengthen, and invest in us; it is therefore important for us to identify the purposes of the relationships that we have with others as well as to take intentional steps to maintain them. If we are able to do so, our lives will be richer and more fruitful as a result.”
“I remember that at the age of eleven, there was an unfortunate misunderstanding between my father and I; as a result of an inaccurate report presented to him by my step mother. My father got so angry and without taking time to listen to my side of the story, threw me out of the house in the night and asked me never to return. As I didn’t have anywhere else to go, I approached a night watchman in a school within our neighbourhood, who allowed me to spend the night with him. For a couple of days I had to attend school in the morning wearing the same clothes I had been wearing the night I was thrown out! I was due to write the Common Entrance Examination which was the standard entry requirement for admission into secondary schools in those days. I had neither paid the fees nor signed up to take the exams, and the deadline for registration was due that week. I had no one to give me the money because my father had flatly refused to see me. ————- One day, as I was playing with friends at the school park, a lady came up to me and asked if I was Mr Hansen-Sackey’s son (This is not surprising because I am an exact replica of my father). On answering affirmatively, she then asked me my mother’s name and I told her. She asked me to follow her home and I innocently complied. It turned out that she had been my mother’s house keeper 15 years earlier when my mum was married to my dad. She saw my dire situation as an opportunity to return the kindness my mother had once shown her. She paid my registration fees, let me lodge with her and got in touch with my mum on my behalf. Needless to say, my mother was ecstatic, at the turn of events. I passed the exams and went on to secondary school away from the city where my dad lived. Eight years after this incident, my father got in touch with me, made peace, apologised profusely, and asked me to tell him my side of the story. I also had the opportunity of meeting and making peace with my step mum later on. Both of them passed on to glory years later.”