Bad Pay

The bus staggered forward from bad maintenance and bad roads. The capacity was built to be eight seaters but the greedy transporters always shift the seats around and fix their own extra seats and their common sense isn't even telling them that extra four buttocks are what they call overload. The bus makers knew the capacity they built the bus to handle. Two young girls that sat by my right on that seat were chattering away like parrots. They seem to forget that they are in public. Some of them don't even view public buses as public anymore. 

They were in that old dying buying and selling sector that suddenly seems to have a breath of new life thrown into it. Sales girls and typists. Their finance isn't good and they were vomiting their woes and relationships in that regard out in public without qualms. 

One was telling her friend that there is no paddy in the jungle as far as finance is concerned or be ready to battle hunger. I can reason with her. I was eyeing them as they buried themselves deep in that discussion from the bus station to almost the duration of the journey, more than thirty-something minutes. It's on how their personal finance isn't in order and how one of their other girl friends or acquaintances in the habit of giving financial advice is now suffering from the same crunch. "How come her advice isn't working on her?" They both wanted to know with a kind of anger hinted in that regard. 

 I recall past stories, woe ones relating to money. I heard a lot of them a lot and when you pass through the route I have in this world, you hear stories on public and personal finances, their state and how they handle them. Not good news mostly.

You can't fail to hear funny ones that will make you smirk and throw your face away and pitiable ones that will make you catch your breath and shake your head in disbelief. Not as if I don't know that money is a kingdom you will enter and never ever claim to be short of heard or experienced stories daily till you quit that kingdom.

I don't recall any writer on finance ever saying he was experiencing writer's block or something in that regard. There are always stories to tell as far as money is concerned. In fact, a public bus is an unlikely place to hear stories deep enough in that aspect but these days, the case is the reverse. Privacy, decrum and common sense have been swallowed up by the bad economy and people are overwhelmed and want to offload their woes.

If you need to hear financial woe stories just enter a public bus in the morning to nowhere and follow it to its final bus stop. There is no way you will not hear what to write about from your fellow passengers. They yarn a lot openly these days in public and I am doubting they don't even realize they chatter that way. 

 I heard this story about twenty-something years ago. This time in the bar. I had gone there not far from my base for a pint and I was not even half way into my pint when my ears adjusted to the noise that had been on my left side. I eyed that end, there were about three guys in their late twenties discussing money and their boss.

One from what they I heard, from the same boy about to be settled. It's as if the master 

 send the boy away empty handed and there  was probably a customary kind of kindred settlement of such a case as usual here and the boy was telling them to tell him to give him that evil money that he knows how to make it clean.

   "Let him bring the money first, I know what to do to clean it well" he said to one reminding him of the uncleanliness of the man's money and how it will waste his effort and turn him into something else. He insisted he knows what to do with the money and I was wondering why he started the story in the first place when he knew how to handle it or even why he wanted the money in the first place when he should silently run from the man once he realized that something isn't right with his master's money and might affect him.

I eyed the bottle on their table, about a dozen and probably more before I entered, observed the manner the boys were going at the guy's story, their demeanor etc. I already know who has problems.

Fast Forward to today, two Sundays ago, I went to honor an appointment and we all know here that Sunday's buses have their special routes and I waited for the scarce buses on my route each Sunday. The weather turned light brown everywhere. Everything is as dusty as usual this harmattan season. I was near ever increasing beggars and this girl of five was carrying a baby of about six months and was teaching her how to wave hands in front of people to ask for alm. The way the baby was catching up was making the girl laugh and laugh. I was like: "So these beggars even know something was not right with their begging?" 

As for my personal story in this regard.The story of money in my life was sooo numerous and some were pure hatred, some pure fearful, some open threat to sanity and common sense and all had my name directly and indirectly attached to them. Why I attract such stories on money is confusing to me. Recently, there was even another reward placed on me in regard to money helping in solving a case I was involved in.  

But I know myself well enough and I think I am reasoning like that bar guy with other reasons pushing my quest. Maybe I was just appeasing my conscience. I want that money as a sign to the other fellow I believe has the wrong idea of humans and what common sense stipulates. Do I know what to do to clean it like the bar guy? I will believe I do and that has to do with first making sure this is mine by right, left and center. Was this by any means mine but denied?

Did I contribute in any wrong way that made it bad money?

Was I intentionally working for this to the detriment of any life, health?

Give me that money and seat and await calamity to come from it to me and you will not be around when it starts multiplying itself.

I have heard long enough "Be careful what you wish for" line from many people and I am tired of hiding under the bed from such a line. Be careful how I fight for my rights or be careful why I am still breathing or what? Or maybe why I did not fall victim to the reward, right?

If you are after my head wrongfully with rewards and it backfires, why should I be careful when asking for the reward? It sounds like cowardly fear or even a guilty mind of some sort, doesn't it? If i don't merite the money, why give me? But I can see they are the ones that are supposed to be fearful for giving me that money amounts to acceptance of guilt on their part and when the setting in that flavors me, why would I be careful for what I wish for? I have been mulling this over and over and decided that any curse placed on the money before handing it over should be their concern not mine.if you try to bully me spiritually, why shouldn't I bulldozer you spiritually too? 

I heard that the rich also cry, maybe, those with reward for my head by their standard are the rich ones here, the wealthy, so they should be the one worrying about after and side effects. I am not rich so, my portion isn't crying and when it's not, let the rich worry about what they wish for.

Don't you think that not pressing for the money speaks volume and sending wrong signals to four corners of planet earth including the source of the reward?

I hate to be the one sending the wrong signal and the wrong idea of oneself to some people. I think People should stand up for what is theirs by right.

#Reedsyholiday