Guys! This January has simply refused to end. Eh! Honestly, one wouldn’t be wrong to say either the hands of time simply stood still this month or someone was maliciously rewinding the days.
I don’t know about you, but heck, most geezers I have met or talked to, this sunshine has simply been felt most in the wallet! Cynics among them have in fact said the situation will get worse before it becomes better; why not with school fees knocking loudly on our doors.
One geezer has taken matters into his hands and simply placed a bumper sticker on the rear window of his car: “I don’t have money, I am married.” Whatever that is supposed to mean, trust the January blues to get the most of innovation of us.
Previously, independent and proud geezers have had to swallow humble pie and approach their parents for a shot in the arm. Borrowing from a wife or girlfriend is one of those options that were exhausted way early in the month. Now, it’s for ignoring them or simply being unapproachable – and you all know how best you do that.
I don’t need to tell you how empty bars are or that many cars have been packed, even in the wake of an unprecedented reduction in fuel prices. Stuff is tight!
And this is cutting across all fellows, from corporates to government officials down to businessmen and village farmers. Now, whether some with dimes are also hiding and crying wolf among the genuinely broke to avoid being used as a cash cow is another story to tell.
All the weight that was gathered by some during the festivities when we all ate with reckless abandon is slowly fading without much of the usual exercise. Trust an unsettled mind to be the best weight control measure, the absence of money even more efficient.
But again, trust the resilience of the male folk. In the middle of this brokenness storm is when we are at our best to think of the best ways to survive and, for some, even thrive. The best ideas are being mooted now, proposals of genius proportions being crafted and belt tightening antics at the tip of the mind. The challenge, of course, has been on how to translate this into tangible and fruitful action especially when the rains come.
One less is glaring. Always save for a dry day; only this time, it’s been many days and still counting. Problem is that in celebrating survival of these harsh days, we shall go down and blow whatever we shall get at month’s end, buoyed by the survival mantra of ‘I have seen worse days’.
Folks, we have tasted the bitter pill of hand-to-mouth living. 2015 should be a year of serious reflection on how tenable that is for a geezer worth his name. Forget resolutions made in the bloating time of December when everything is in plenty and prospects are high; now is the time to make resolutions that are practical and needs based. Let’s see how it goes, folks!
