A few days ago, I watched an old Hollywood movie and the almighty FAX machine was used to send message in the movie.
Memories of that machine rushed back in torrents. The good old days came back in black and white.
I said to myself, ‘Where’s the Fax machine now?’. Then I asked my son if he knew what the fax machine was; dude shook his head vigorously before I proceeded to educate him on that used-to-be-important but now forgotten and relegated machine.
Last Saturday, an about-to-marry adopted daughter visited me. In the course of our discussion, I mentioned the street phone booths we used to have in Lagos when I was growing up. I narrated how we used to fool around inside the booth as primary school pupils. Lots of mischief went on inside those ubiquitous phone booths To many in those days, those booths were lifesavers as important line of communication. But where are those telephone booths now? They’re are now relics of once-upon-a-time.
I remember Nintendo games and BMX bikes; they formed important part of our childhood. Nintendo games have faded in memory, while there are better bicycles today. Today’s kids have better games on varied platforms. These new games make yesterday’s games look like Zebrudaya.
Do you remember the cooler in the picture I shared? If you’re seeing it for the first time, then you’re a Gen Z 😂. Goan ask your mum about it.
No party was complete without that cooler in my days. The sight of that cooler used to make many mouths salivate and many hearts palpitate. Too many good memories are trapped in that red cooler. Yes! There was Eleganza cooler too. But where are those coolers of our childhood? They’re gone with the winds and today’s coolers look like ideas from sci-fi books. 😊
Where’s Nokia 3310 telephone handset? You mean someone killed their friend over that phone? Where’s Nokia company, the manufacturer gangan sef?
Where’s Sendo Phone? Where’s Saigem phone? Where’s that Motorola GSM phone that looked like military walkie talkie?
Where’s Yahoo messenger? My first chats, which were with total strangers was on it. I used to pay fees for all night internet use at cyber cafes.
Where are the ubiquitous cyber cafes?
Where’s BlackBerry and all the efizi connected to having one back then? And ‘back then’ is just less than 20 years ago.
Where’s Shagari Benz today? I remember someone who did money ritual to buy Honda Accord car. Please where’s that car today?Where do you think that mansion of yours will be in another 100 years?Just calm down and think this life through.
Remember the words of the preacher in Ecclesiastes: “Vanity upon vanity. All is vanity.”
All of today’s trending material things, peoples, fashion styles and even places will be out of vogue, out of reckoning, out of the equation, faded, irrelevant and/or dead tomorrow.
Nothing lasts forever. Why are you beating yourself so hard? Abeg, drink chilled water.
The last time I was at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport (one of Europe’s busiest airports) to board a flight back to Nigeria, I stood in line for boarding when Olusegun Obasanjo arrived to board the same KLM flight.
OBJ was accompanied to the boarding gate by someone I suspect was a protocol officer from the Nigerian embassy, who briskly handed over Obj’s hand luggage to the ex-president and went his way. OBJ cut a solitary image; he was as ordinary as I was that cold winter afternoon in Amsterdam. That image remains one of my most profound in life. It’s a rich lesson on the transient, fleeting nature of life. OBJ walked away carrying his own bag that day, no noise, no security gragra, no funfair.
Today, we’re here. But tomorrow, we’ll be yesterday men and women.
So why hold on too tightly to that wealth, power, influence, beauty and anything?
Free yourself from today’s entanglement. Live right, serve God and be prepared to give account anytime you’re called to do so. Nothing, absolutely nothing in this world is worth keeping or killing for.
By the way, if you try to keep your life, you’ll lose it and everything with it.
Shalom.
MBHS 95 Alumni Association 