Once Upon A Time, I Was A Ghanaian

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Dannybee 11 years ago

Humans have been created to live on this earth. It is our duty to make it a better place. We have to accept that generations will come and go, and life will still continue. We cannot assume humanity will vanish from the face ...
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Humans have been created to live on this earth. It is our duty to make it a better place. We have to accept that generations will come and go, and life will still continue. We cannot assume humanity will vanish from the face of the earth and so life has no meaning. As development goes on life keeps getting better for a larger number of people. Infant mortality has dropped, some dangerous diseases have been eradicated, several people have access to modern transport better than the colonial times you were referring to. Without development humanity will go into extinction.
don`t care !!! © Hmmmmm! 11 years ago

Hmmmmm!Daniel K. Pryce,thatz why.....When you jump 4 joy beware that no one moves the ground from beneath your feet....
The greatest tragedy in Life is not Death but life without PURPOSE..
Have a purpose in LIFE so that som ...
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Hmmmmm!Daniel K. Pryce,thatz why.....When you jump 4 joy beware that no one moves the ground from beneath your feet....
The greatest tragedy in Life is not Death but life without PURPOSE..
Have a purpose in LIFE so that some one may take you as a role model...

have blessed week,stay bless...
don`t care !!! © Hmmmmm! 11 years ago

i was having a very quietism time with sagacious when this words escape out of it mouth...

#1 Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them...

#2)The purpose of e ...
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i was having a very quietism time with sagacious when this words escape out of it mouth...

#1 Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them...

#2)The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.

#3)& 2 our system...Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.

#4).& to our leader or leaders...Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction 4 the nation...
“If you hang out with chickens, you're going to cluck and if you hang out with eagles, you're going to fly.”...
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

#5).2 you & I...we went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'Where's the self-help section?' She said if she told us, it would defeat the purpose. Hmmm! true or false?

#6).& 2 the NDCians..Don't fight forces, use them...& the next election will be Landslide victory...

#7).Oh fake Pastors...even The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.

#8)to NDC ministers...The whole purpose of education or duties is to turn mirrors into windows that people or humans can see through....is it too much 2 ask?...
When I chased after money, I never had enough. When I got my life on purpose and focused on giving of myself and everything that arrived into my life, then I was prosperous.

#9).and to NPPians propagandize ....The propagandist's purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human.

!#10)this was the NDC founders vision..NDC is here 4 a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will NDCians apply ALL their efforts to become the highest mountain of all and will strain their potential until it cries for mercy....Thank you Mr.Chairman..
A PURE GHANAIAN 11 years ago

PRYCE! ARE YOU MAD? HOW ON EARTH CAN AN EWE LIKE YOU PRYCE BE A GHANAIAN

PRYCE! ARE YOU MAD? HOW ON EARTH CAN AN EWE LIKE YOU PRYCE BE A GHANAIAN
don`t care !!! © Hmmmmm! 11 years ago

tell ur bigot father to buy an atlas not animal shit!

tell ur bigot father to buy an atlas not animal shit!
TRANS VOLTA TOGOLAND 11 years ago

YOU PEOPLE CAN SHIT BLOOD YOU WILL ALWAYS REMAIN TOGOLESE. KWAME NKRUMAH IS TO BE BLAMED

YOU PEOPLE CAN SHIT BLOOD YOU WILL ALWAYS REMAIN TOGOLESE. KWAME NKRUMAH IS TO BE BLAMED
oko Fio 11 years ago

You took me back to the village in and back to the West masterfully. I LOVE this !!!

You took me back to the village in and back to the West masterfully. I LOVE this !!!
Bishop 11 years ago

Very well written Danny, it took me back to those days when man was growing up in Ghana. After living in the States for years i have always longed for those days when man was in tuned with nature.

When i visited Ghana two ...
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Very well written Danny, it took me back to those days when man was growing up in Ghana. After living in the States for years i have always longed for those days when man was in tuned with nature.

When i visited Ghana two years ago i actually decided to spend two weeks in the village instead of been in the city just to experience nature once again in its raw form. All the same everything changes in life and I guess we just have to live with it and do the best we can whiles still here on earth.

Have a nice day bro.
Daniel K. Pryce 11 years ago

Interestingly, my piece is asking that the reader have a PURPOSE in life--it is implied in the piece. Good comment, my brother.

Interestingly, my piece is asking that the reader have a PURPOSE in life--it is implied in the piece. Good comment, my brother.
son of africa 11 years ago

REMINDS ME OF THE AFRICA WRITER'S SERIES WE USED TO READ IN SEC SCHOOL. BEAUTIFUL PIECE! THANKS FOR SHARING, DANNY.

REMINDS ME OF THE AFRICA WRITER'S SERIES WE USED TO READ IN SEC SCHOOL. BEAUTIFUL PIECE! THANKS FOR SHARING, DANNY.

WTF! 11 years ago

For chrissakes get your who's and which's right.

"I stepped out of my front door and embraced the cool, raucous wind, WHICH (not WHO) whispered to me that the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof."

"As I wa ...
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For chrissakes get your who's and which's right.

"I stepped out of my front door and embraced the cool, raucous wind, WHICH (not WHO) whispered to me that the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof."

"As I walked twenty yards to the kitchen, a simple hut built from walls of red clay and roofed with thatch, my slippers roused the earth, WHICH (not WHO) retaliated by assaulting my exposed feet with her dusty embrace".
MARK A. 11 years ago

I SEE HOW ONE COULD PERSONALIZE THE WIND BUT THE SLIPPERS IS STRETCHING IT.

I SEE HOW ONE COULD PERSONALIZE THE WIND BUT THE SLIPPERS IS STRETCHING IT.
son of africa 11 years ago

BEAUTIFUL, WELL-WRITTEN PIECE OF ART.

BEAUTIFUL, WELL-WRITTEN PIECE OF ART.
Daniel K. Pryce 11 years ago

Dude, you can't teach me how to write. It's called personification. Need I explain that to you? Yes, everyone knows that, under normal circumstances, you cannot use "who" to refer to an inanimate object. I can tell that your ...
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Dude, you can't teach me how to write. It's called personification. Need I explain that to you? Yes, everyone knows that, under normal circumstances, you cannot use "who" to refer to an inanimate object. I can tell that your knowledge of the English language is superficial, but I am not here to pick a fight with you.
MARK A. 11 years ago

I'VE ENJOYED YOUR PIECES..KEEP WRITING SOME MORE.

I'VE ENJOYED YOUR PIECES..KEEP WRITING SOME MORE.
KOLA, LONDON 11 years ago

PRYCE DO ACCEPT YOUR MISTAKES

PRYCE DO ACCEPT YOUR MISTAKES
Daniel K. Pryce 11 years ago

Kola, are you going to fall for that, too? Don't you see that I used personification throughout the piece?

Kola, are you going to fall for that, too? Don't you see that I used personification throughout the piece?
Dr. SAS, Attorney at Law 11 years ago

Dr. Pryce is right.
The notional personification is correctly implied in his use of the relative pronoun "who" for "wind" and "earth".
While Dr. Pryce is a genius in the English Language, you are its poison pill. Never try ...
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Dr. Pryce is right.
The notional personification is correctly implied in his use of the relative pronoun "who" for "wind" and "earth".
While Dr. Pryce is a genius in the English Language, you are its poison pill. Never try to correct anybody!
Daniel K. Pryce 11 years ago

Sammy,

There was an article yesterday, titled "Coca-Cola must correct this error," that truly piqued my interest. In fact, I had hoped that you'd show up to give us your take on the issue. Well, I guess you were busy...

Sammy,

There was an article yesterday, titled "Coca-Cola must correct this error," that truly piqued my interest. In fact, I had hoped that you'd show up to give us your take on the issue. Well, I guess you were busy...
Kojo 11 years ago

... and tell us what he thinks as a Grammar Police.

But being a grammar police in today's world is a very tricky business. Acceptable usage is changing faster than the police can monitor. The Brits are doing things with th ...
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... and tell us what he thinks as a Grammar Police.

But being a grammar police in today's world is a very tricky business. Acceptable usage is changing faster than the police can monitor. The Brits are doing things with the grammar without considering what the Americans are doing. I don't know if it is because they think the language is theirs by origin but it seems they want the Americans (who produce more written material because of their numbers) to play catch up. Interesting since English is the only truly global language in the world - no two ways about that. And that means no one, absolutly no one, including the Brits, can claim absolute knowledge of it.

DR. SAS, ATTORNEY AT LAW 11 years ago

Dan, you should have called me to draw my attention to this interesting article....
We have two theories of grammar: prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar. Prescriptive grammarians, also known as the traditionalists, ...
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Dan, you should have called me to draw my attention to this interesting article....
We have two theories of grammar: prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar. Prescriptive grammarians, also known as the traditionalists, tend to be strict constructionists who give nobody any permission to vary the established norms of grammar. They like to keep to the original rules without changing anything. Idris Pacas' argument follows the philosophy of the prescriptive grammarians.
Descriptive grammarians, also known as the generative grammarians, theorize flexibility in language, pointing out that like an organism, language grows. Their real challenge is to observe the pattern of language and document its progression in an orderly fashion. I follow the latter philosophy, and so are many modern-day grammarians like Noam Chomsky.
But I think this statement by Idris should convince us about the wisdom in descriptive grammar:
"I’ll use arguments from three grammar authorities—Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Prof Michael Strumpf, and Strunk and White. OED (7th Ed) argues that ‘whom’ is more formal than ‘who’. This proposition implies that in less formal context, ‘who’ can be used for ‘whom’"
I totally agree.
This is because in the context of colloquialism, more flexibility is required. After all, to strict traditional grammarians, a sentence can never end in a preposition. Neither can an infinitive be split. But of course we know that these forms happen all the time in informal and formal conversation and have come to be accepted as grammatically correct.
Then also, if you conceive of grammar in mathematical terms, you will find that any part of speech can be substituted for another similar part. Thus, wherever a relative pronoun fits, another relative pronoun will equally fit without any grammatical problem; and the debate becomes more of semantics than anything else.
My conclusion is that the Coca Cola advert is correct.
Daniel K. Pryce 11 years ago

Sammy,

I actually should have called or e-mailed you yesterday! I thought the piece was fascinating and had hoped that you'd contribute. Well, you just did, which is great.

Sammy,

I actually should have called or e-mailed you yesterday! I thought the piece was fascinating and had hoped that you'd contribute. Well, you just did, which is great.
Danso TDOT 11 years ago

SAS, can you stop the "Dr. this" "Dr. that" nonsense? This is a public forum not an academic one! By the way, how many of your colleagues call you by your title? How many of your white mates affix titles to their names on ...
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SAS, can you stop the "Dr. this" "Dr. that" nonsense? This is a public forum not an academic one! By the way, how many of your colleagues call you by your title? How many of your white mates affix titles to their names on public forums? Sometimes Ghanaians are too much..geez!
Kojo 11 years ago

Danso, that topic of SAS calling himself Dr. has been adequately dealt with on these pages. Today, whether SAS has the right to call himself Dr. or not is not here or there. The guy can call himself whatever he wants on ghana ...
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Danso, that topic of SAS calling himself Dr. has been adequately dealt with on these pages. Today, whether SAS has the right to call himself Dr. or not is not here or there. The guy can call himself whatever he wants on ghanaweb. It is his right. But I guess you also have the right not to call him Dr. This shouldn't cause any sweat on anybody's part. Indeed, SAS can call himself Prof. or Professor Emeritus, or even Pontiff, if he likes. I don't think we should bother ourselves with that...
DR. SAS, ATTORNEY AT LAW 11 years ago

I have the full right to call myself Doctor, having had the Doctor of Law degree conferred on me by dint of very hard work.
My adversaries agree to this; their only argument is that lawyers in the USA, many of whom have the ...
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I have the full right to call myself Doctor, having had the Doctor of Law degree conferred on me by dint of very hard work.
My adversaries agree to this; their only argument is that lawyers in the USA, many of whom have the JD, do not use the title Doctor. This is the most spurious argument under the sun. What has it got to do with me if someone else is not using his title but I want to use mine? I intend to use the title "doctor" for the rest of my life, especially since I have realized that it causes my enemies great grief! Wosu koraa na meeye no more.
Goateater 11 years ago

The right u claim to have in calling yourself Doctor is specious at best. Being conferred a degree, especially in America, is never a complement for one's intellect nor academic achievement. Some of the dumbest people I know ...
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The right u claim to have in calling yourself Doctor is specious at best. Being conferred a degree, especially in America, is never a complement for one's intellect nor academic achievement. Some of the dumbest people I know have had 'degrees' conferred on them. So please stop blowing your horn, and realize that it is simply a validation from people who wish you to return to Africa to continue the mis-education of black people.
Asare Bediako 11 years ago

You are a quack doctor. Having a juris doctorate does not make one a holder of a doctorate degree. You do not even possess a Master in Law, let alone a Doctorate in Law. Quit fooling yourself.

You are a quack doctor. Having a juris doctorate does not make one a holder of a doctorate degree. You do not even possess a Master in Law, let alone a Doctorate in Law. Quit fooling yourself.
SKILLO 11 years ago

I don't know, man. There is a reason why you were born in Ghana. You have now acquired some knowledge and experience in life. Please consider how you can use it to help your homeland. And let's explore this topic in detail s ...
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I don't know, man. There is a reason why you were born in Ghana. You have now acquired some knowledge and experience in life. Please consider how you can use it to help your homeland. And let's explore this topic in detail sometime...
bestar1000 @ yahoo
Kojo 11 years ago

Pryce, even the use of "which", which would have been more normal in this case, will still show you personifying those inanimate things. What personifies them is not so much the pronouns you use to address them but what you h ...
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Pryce, even the use of "which", which would have been more normal in this case, will still show you personifying those inanimate things. What personifies them is not so much the pronouns you use to address them but what you have them doing - the human characteristics you give them. For instance, it is the earth "assaulting" your feet that really personifies the earth since you will normally use "assault" for persons. And once you said hello to the birds "which" (and they) responded by telling you to have a good day, you've personified birds even if you didn't refer to them using the personal pronoun.

Even though I won't go as far as WTF! and KOLA, LONDON, in faulting you for writing "bad English", I kind of understand where they are coming from... Maybe you've brought a style more suitable to poetry to a prose piece and they are bamboozled.

But, no hard words... Let's enjoy the piece for the existential concerns it touches on. And, Daniel, if you go back to Ghana and your village, some of those simple ways that you miss so much are still there. But they are disappearing fast from there also so you better hurry up and go catch some before they are all reall gone FOREVER.

Thanks for a nice piece that doesn't have to do with Akufo-Addo (Bokor), Alan Kyerematen (Okoampa), Mahama is a thief (Sarpong), prejudices against Ewes (Akadu) or Adofo Rockson's rantings. Sometimes I wonder if Adofo himself understands the things he writes...
Daniel K. Pryce 11 years ago

Thanks for your contribution, Kojo. Yes, I have to go visit the village soon!

Thanks for your contribution, Kojo. Yes, I have to go visit the village soon!

Joe Kojo 11 years ago

Please just pause and reflect over his style of writing and appreciate it, rather than being mechanical about the use of "Who" and "Which".

You probably nedd to be schooled in the use of metaphors and other forms of writi ...
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Please just pause and reflect over his style of writing and appreciate it, rather than being mechanical about the use of "Who" and "Which".

You probably nedd to be schooled in the use of metaphors and other forms of writing.
princewilly@ymail.com 11 years ago

PRYCE LAST DAYS WITH THE CHICKEN IN GHANA STORY.

Ahoofe the rooster was the biggest,baddest,meanest rooster in the world,
he used to pick on all the farm yard animals.
one day he picked on the farm yard cat,
unfortunat ...
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PRYCE LAST DAYS WITH THE CHICKEN IN GHANA STORY.

Ahoofe the rooster was the biggest,baddest,meanest rooster in the world,
he used to pick on all the farm yard animals.
one day he picked on the farm yard cat,
unfortunately for the rooster the cat beat the crap out of him.
which just goes to prove; no matter how big the cock, the pussy can always take it.

THE STORY IS VERY UNIQUE AND GOD BLESS YOU.
ADONGO 11 years ago

NAUGHTY PRINCE

NAUGHTY PRINCE
KOLA, LONDON 11 years ago

PRCYE IS SIMPLY WRONG

PRCYE IS SIMPLY WRONG
Seriously thinking 11 years ago

I have written on this subject, but I must admit that you have a better command of style and diction. If we do not have respect for the philosophy that has preserved our kind, we will become extinct.

I have written on this subject, but I must admit that you have a better command of style and diction. If we do not have respect for the philosophy that has preserved our kind, we will become extinct.
Yaw Okodom 11 years ago

This is a great piece and should get us thinking. After reading it, I began to wipe my tears.
I could not agree with OKO Fio anymore. Its a great piece man, and continue with your good works.

And to those of you who visi ...
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This is a great piece and should get us thinking. After reading it, I began to wipe my tears.
I could not agree with OKO Fio anymore. Its a great piece man, and continue with your good works.

And to those of you who visit this page to mark grammar and give unconstructive criticisms, as well as insults, please let us respect ourselves. Let us putr outr selfish interests aside and appreciate the people who are taking steps.
This is a Public website and foreigners as well are reading it. If we cannot encourage ourselves, the westerners won't do that for us.
======= 11 years ago

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PIECE TO READ. IT BROUGHT BACK A LOT OF MEMORIES.

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PIECE TO READ. IT BROUGHT BACK A LOT OF MEMORIES.
Bonsu 11 years ago

It seems to me that the the gist of the narrative is lost in controversy over grammar.Is it because the story line is so loaded that it lost its meaning.No one seem to be discussing this fine piece other than extraneous matte ...
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It seems to me that the the gist of the narrative is lost in controversy over grammar.Is it because the story line is so loaded that it lost its meaning.No one seem to be discussing this fine piece other than extraneous matters unrelated to the piece.
Daniel K. Pryce 11 years ago

Bonsu,

There should be no controversy with the grammar if those making the argument knew anything about personification in written language. Hopefully, they've learned a thing or two today.

Bonsu,

There should be no controversy with the grammar if those making the argument knew anything about personification in written language. Hopefully, they've learned a thing or two today.
DR. SAS, ATTORNEY AT LAW 11 years ago

We have two theories of grammar: prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar. Prescriptive grammarians, also known as the traditionalists, tend to be strict constructionists who give nobody any permission to vary the establi ...
read full comment

We have two theories of grammar: prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar. Prescriptive grammarians, also known as the traditionalists, tend to be strict constructionists who give nobody any permission to vary the established norms of grammar. They like to keep to the original rules without changing anything. Idris Pacas' argument follows the philosophy of the prescriptive grammarians.
Descriptive grammarians, also known as the generative grammarians, theorize flexibility in language, pointing out that like an organism, language grows. Their real challenge is to observe the pattern of language and document its progression in an orderly fashion. I follow the latter philosophy, and so are many modern-day grammarians like Noam Chomsky.
But I think this statement by Idris should convince us about the wisdom in descriptive grammar:
"I’ll use arguments from three grammar authorities—Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Prof Michael Strumpf, and Strunk and White. OED (7th Ed) argues that ‘whom’ is more formal than ‘who’. This proposition implies that in less formal context, ‘who’ can be used for ‘whom’"
I totally agree.
This is because in the context of colloquialism, more flexibility is required. After all, to strict traditional grammarians, a sentence can never end in a preposition. Neither can an infinitive be split. But of course we know that these forms happen all the time in informal and formal conversation and have come to be accepted as grammatically correct.
Then also, if you conceive of grammar in mathematical terms, you will find that any part of speech can be substituted for another similar part. Thus, wherever a relative pronoun fits, another relative pronoun will equally fit without any grammatical problem; and the debate becomes more of semantics than anything else.
My conclusion is that the Coca Cola advert is correct.
Bonsu 11 years ago

Impeccable analysis.Language is dynamics and the rules of grammar must change to go along with it otherwise there will be a fracture and disconnect somewhere along.

Impeccable analysis.Language is dynamics and the rules of grammar must change to go along with it otherwise there will be a fracture and disconnect somewhere along.
RtyRich 11 years ago

Great piece of thought.....life in itself is amazing.

Great piece of thought.....life in itself is amazing.
Dantankwa 11 years ago

Pryce, thanks for this splendid masterpiece. It brings back to memory the nostalgic feelings of African village life, while making at the same time a beautiful contrast between the simple, yet meaningful life that our folks i ...
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Pryce, thanks for this splendid masterpiece. It brings back to memory the nostalgic feelings of African village life, while making at the same time a beautiful contrast between the simple, yet meaningful life that our folks in the villages go through, with our expensive yet empty life in the West.

I must say that you have not given us such a beautiful piece in a long time: Your diction was simple, apt and straightforward, the personal flavour you have added to this well-known phenomenon was very innovative, not to mention the natural flow of the thoughts, the magical connection between the varied-sentences, etc. We look forward to more of this soon. Regards.
Dantankwa 11 years ago

Pryce, thanks for this splendid masterpiece. It brings back to memory the nolstagic feelings of African village life, while making at the same time a beautiful contrast between the simple, yet meaningful life that our folks i ...
read full comment

Pryce, thanks for this splendid masterpiece. It brings back to memory the nolstagic feelings of African village life, while making at the same time a beautiful contrast between the simple, yet meaningful life that our folks in the villages go through, with our expensive yet empty life in the West.

I must say that you have not given us such a beautiful piece in a long time: Your diction was simple, apt and straightforawrd, the personal flavor you have added added to this well-known phenomenon was very innovative, not to mention the natural flow of the thoughts, the magical connection between the varried-sentences, etc. We look forward to more of this sooon. Regards.
Dantankwa 11 years ago

Pryce, thanks for this splendid masterpiece. It brings back to memory the nolstagic feelings of African village life, while making at the same time a beautiful contrast between the simple, yet meaningful life that our folks i ...
read full comment

Pryce, thanks for this splendid masterpiece. It brings back to memory the nolstagic feelings of African village life, while making at the same time a beautiful contrast between the simple, yet meaningful life that our folks in the villages go through, with our expensive yet empty life in the West.

I must say that you have not given us such a beautiful piece in a long time: Your diction was simple, apt and straightforawrd, the personal flavor you have added added to this well-known phenomenon was very innovative, not to mention the natural flow of the thoughts, the magical connection between the varried-sentences, etc. We look forward to more of this sooon. Regards.

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Once Upon A Time, I Was A Ghanaian

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