All We Got Was the Pet Sitter
by Fern and Maddie
At the end of August we noticed the worst, suitcases in the bedroom. They were closed and standing on the floor so we hoped our meowmie was just redecorating. Fern and I talked it over and figured her taste in decorating was a bit strange, but we were ready to believe anything. After that, piles of folded clothes appeared on the table. Okay, we thought the best and figured she was clearing her bureau drawers. Then the worst happened: she opened the suitcase and began packing. Gracie, the dog, was as oblivious as usual but the two of us knew. The woman was going away and leaving us. We found out she was going to Ghana, Africa for two weeks. That’s right, fellow kitties, we were being abandoned for two whole weeks to a pet sitter. We knew Liz and her daughter Sophie were coming as they always came, and Sophie was generous with the treats, Temptations, but we pouted anyway. Who was she to leave us? But, after hearing her story, we decided we had survived, and we had also eaten more than our share of Temptations. We’d like to share her story. Our meowmie was in the Peace Corps in Bolgatanga, Ghana from 1969-1971 and had never been back there. Ghana was the first Peace Corps country and was celebrating fifty years of service, and our meowmie decided it was time to go back, after forty years away. She attended all the ceremonies in Accra, the capital, and then headed north. Bolga, as she calls it, is about as far north as you can get and still be in Ghana. She hired a car and driver and the trip took two days each way. In Bolga she stayed at a hotel with a strange name for Ghana, Comme Si, Comme Sa. She laughs because the hotel is a perfect symbol of Ghana, the new and the old: the room had air conditioning but no hot water. She had to take a bucket bath every night. Our meowmie was hoping to find some of her students from forty years ago. Many were FraFra, the local tribe, so she figured some would have stayed around. Here’s the best part of the story: on the first night, meowmie went to the hotel’s dining room which was outside. She passed a table with two men and two women and said to them, “Sanda Yini (excuse our spelling as we only heard the language, never saw it written)” which means good evening in Hausa then she sat down. She was reading but listening to the conversation beside her and heard the word teacher in English. She then decided to interrupt and asked if they were teachers. One woman said yes. Our meowmie said she was looking for students who went to Bolga Women’s Training College, a school now closed, and the woman pointed to the other woman. She was asked what years she was there and she said she finished in 1971. Meowmie then told her that she was a teacher there from 1969-1971. The woman looked and looked at meowmie then yelled, Miss Ryan, and ran over and gave her a gigantic hug. She had remembered meowmie even after forty years. Meowmie met seven of her students that week, shopped with them in the market and had a farewell dinner on her last night. Now meowmie can’t wait for her next trip. We figure we'll be fine. We already have dreams of all those Temptations for one more time.
|
