By CONRADE NYEKAN
By that time na, Liberia was under civilian rule. The yanna boys were going from mat to mattress and the market women had U.S. dollars to spend.
Sophie had ice cream and Relda had “Love Brewed in the African Pot.”
You could even get “poor boy” at Rooster
and cold water was in your ice box after coming from the Y.
Glass window shopping was in style and men showed off and competed with exotic leather shoes, nice watches, and top-shelf colognes. The girl’s hair was pressed neatly or beautifully plaited corn row or Megcan (american) plait.
Boys bravely penned letters and girls bluffed, but they replied (everyone could write!). A letter had to be a persuasive instrument representing the author or you would get a non-negotiable “no” answer. Most kept stamps and that colorful border envelopes in their bookbags because the mailing system worked!!!
The “real” in-town high schools competed at ACS gym with the Spartans being the team to beat. Catholic, Episcopal, and Methodist schools topped WAEC as well as T-High with St. Pats leading the pack. T-High also led all parades with the “come let us graduate” schools positioned at the tail end. They were proud of being the “pupu platoon” with a great imagination of the sound of the band!
Children found ten cents, ten cents, Tom Tom got married at the E. J. Roye, and boys and girls respectably danced at parties. There was even something called “slow dance” at weddings and parties that created future marriages!
Jamaica Road was bullfrog camp, Logan Town was mosquito camp and New Kru Town was jigger camp. Times are hard, so no more jiggers I guess…
Paynesville was considered out of town, and there was little or no commercial transportation to Gardnersville, so if you had your friend there and you were not driving, you were on your own.
Auntie had fried chicken by the Bronx and the Malians made bone soup on the lane. Diana, Condoe, and Salvatore competed to attract first dates.
It was only a dollar (U.S.) to swim at Ducor and the relevant teams in the country were I.E. and Barrolle. Children played nafoe (my foot), hoscot (hopscotch), ziggy zaloma, kickball, and football. If you had to play blay, you couldn’t be dumb or your chicken thigh will suffer!
E.J. Roye High School talent shows had to have a band, Valentine Browne, Eddie Mendscole, and John Sheriff. Ade was right there with them!
Monte Carlo had pool tables, but Spoon preferred and build his Kingdom in Roxy. After, it was Splendid, Garage, Lipps, Blacksugar, or Shanana. Barcadi became a late favorite because of the “LAW”!
Liberia had nine counties, needed not a ‘thousand’ district representatives and no one paraded and added “honorable” to his birth name. No political party was a military organization shouting battle cries! That was left to the University of Liberia students and done only during an election period.
If you know, you know!
I come in peace…
Note: The original article was Written by: Conrade Nyekan not by A Manneh Sumo* who plagiarized Mr. Conrade Nyekan’s work and posted it on Facebook as his own.
