Short story - Broken promises - cocosista15.com

                                      Photo credits: www.thomasvann.com

They sat silently and he rummaged his thoughts looking for the appropriate word to say. Both seemed lost in thoughts as the raucous birds fluttered here and there. They just sat and stared as Kunle struggled hard to contain his annoyance. His betrothed had just dashed his hopes. It was not meant to happen this way.

The young lovers had met in Kunle’s estate when Sade had just gone to visit Uncle Sotoye in Eket after her final examinations. Sade was slender, beautiful and quiet, though with a bubbling personality. She loved life and loved to get lost in the beautiful works of creation around her. She loved watching the clouds as it sailed across the sky, listening to the chirping of the birds at the break of dawn. Sade was cool headed and every father's dream. She had rather large eyes and feline looks. Her hair was usually done with the utmost care - her present look was akin to Kid's hair in House Party.

Kunle sat silently with tears running down his face as he lacked the words to express the way he felt at this most embarrassing turn in life. The two quickly became the cynosure of all eyes as they often walked round the estate. The couple usually went about with their hands innocently intertwined as if affirming the Biblical scripture that the two can surely walk together in agreement. Kunle and Sade were fond of going together to the library to read. They loved each other although it had never crossed Kunle's mind to sleep with Sade – theirs was a perfect love and like a sister, he tried to preserve her purity. Kunle was the perfect gentleman; tall, dark, handsome and every woman's dream. His broad shoulders and strong stately gait made him look every inch like an athlete. He had a deep baritone that would melt any lady's heart and was sympathetic and kind at heart. One day Sade's uncle asked her to introduce her love interest to him, seeing that she was a nubile and beautiful girl. Sade was bold enough to bring Kunle to the house because she loved him very much.

"Hello Uncle Toye, I have someone here I would love you to meet", said Sade one sunny afternoon. Hearing his niece’s voice, uncle Sotoye quickly dashed into his room to inform his wife about their august visitor.  "I hope you know what you are doing?" Sotoye's wife was skeptical about the whole thing. She preferred seeing Sade at home safe from" young boys who don't know what they want." That was her philosophy. Let sleeping dogs lie and do not go courting for trouble. She sensed this would bring trouble.

"Good afternoon sir, good afternoon ma" greeted Kunle as he bowed and prostrated. Mummy Nike smiled, she was pleased with what she saw.

"Good day", replied uncle Sotoye. "Take your seat". They all engaged in a long conversation as Kunle told Sade's uncle and aunty about himself and his background. All this was done to protect Sade from falling into the wrong hands. Sade had just turned eighteen and Kunle was only nineteen doing his industrial attachment in an oil producing company.

Why did this even matter anymore? Kunle could still vividly recall the embarrassment he had felt; that memory would last a lifetime.   He’d never knew that the day would end that way. He had called Sade as usual and informed her to get ready to go to the library with him. They’d both set out at about 8:00am that morning. When they got to the library they met some of Kunle’s friends, and after a few pleasantries outside the door they went in and found a good seat which would accord them privacy. Sade was still naive, she came from a rich home and had been pampered by her doting parents. The only reason she was allowed to visit her uncle was because they were off to Toronto for an annual meeting and were to proceed from there to Azerbaijan for a holiday. Sade wanted to spend time with her uncle since she had never stayed in Eket for more than 3 days She’d always wanted to stay for a longer period....

Idiomatic expressions - cocosista15.com

a penny for your thoughts
I would like to know what you are thinking about.

Usage: For several minutes they sat silently, then finally she looked at him and said, “A penny for your thoughts, Walter.”

EVENT IN HISTORY (TV &CINEMA) - cocosista15.com

5 OCTOBER 1962, 54 YEARS TODAY SINCE DR. NO WAS RELEASED.
DR. No is a 1962 Spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adopted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkley Mather and was directed by Terence Young.

In the film, James Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the death of a fellow British agent. The trial leads to the underground base of Dr. Julius No, who is plotting to disrupt an early American manned space launch with a radio beam weapon. Although the first of the Bond books to be made into a film, Dr. No was not the first of Fleming’s novel, Casino Royal being the debut for the character; however, the film makes a reference to threads from earlier books. Dr. No was produced with a low budget, but was a financial success. While critical reaction at release was mixed, over time the film received the reputation as one of the franchise’s best installments. The film was the first of successful series of 22 Bond films, a 23rd was released in 2012. Dr No also launched a genre of “secret agent” films that flourished in the 1960s. The film also spawned a spin of comic book and soundtrack album as part of it promotion and marketing.

EVENT IN HISTORY (PEOPLE AND SOCIETY) - cocosista15.com

4 OCTOBER 1582, EXACTLY 434 YEARS TODAY SINCE GREGORIAN CALENDAR WAS ADOPTED.

The Gregorian calendar, also called the Western and Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by pope Gregory XIII, after whom the Calendar was named, by decree signed on 24 February 1582. The reformed calendar was adopted later that year by a handful of countries. In those countries the last day of the Julian calendar was Thursday, 4 October 1582 and this was followed by the first day of the Gregorian calendar, Friday, 15 October 1582 to 14 October 1582 (inclusive) and are valid dates in many countries, but invalid in others.

Are You a Lover of Riddles? Check These Out - cocosista15.com

Q What is the best way to double your money?
A: Put it in front of the mirror of course.

Q: What has to be broken before you can use it?
A: An egg.

Q: What gets wetter as it dries?
A: Towel.

Q: What goes up but doesn't come down?
A: Your age.

Now, I need you to answer these riddles:

Q1: Ella's mother has three children,
The first child is named Monday,
The second child is named Sunday,
Now, what is the third child's name?

Q2: Before mount Everest was discovered as the highest mountain, which mountain was the highest?

Addictions - cocosista15.com

                                                     Photo credits: Las Vegas Mayor’s Faith Initiative.


Habits die hard; it is a fact that habits do die hard. Habits are easy to form but difficult to break. I can decide to drink a glass of alcoholic wine today and then maybe I love the taste and what it does to my senses and take two more glasses tomorrow and then four another day. It won’t be long and my day will not be complete without a glass of an alcoholic beverage. Addiction has set in. First let me define the word addiction. Addiction is when a person does not have control over what they are using or doing.
So that is how addiction starts. From one glass, one biscuit, one whiff or sniff and it becomes a habit. A day will not go by without me taking a glass of alcoholic wine or without me taking a sniff of cocaine and so on.
These habits become destructive. Addictions can be destructive. Drinking excessive alcohol we are told can destroy the liver, sniffing cocaine or shisha will destroy you completely, it will give you a temporary high. That feeling of being on top of the world will not last. It will make you feel good for a while but it will not last long. What happens next is that you will be really depressed, edgy and crave for more. It is a known fact that those who take cocaine don’t eat or sleep properly, they experience increased heart rate, muscle spasms and convulsions. You wouldn’t want that, would you? You felt high momentarily, after a few whiffs you are left angry, hostile and anxious. I can go on and on,it damages the heart, liver and kidneys. Did you know that users are more likely to have infectious disease? That is a bad addiction.
Alcoholism can make you lose your relationship. If you are an addict, your partner is likely to be unhappy and critical of your drinking behaviour. There will be communication breakdown. Your relationship will suffer from poor communication, lack of intimacy, frequent criticism and increased anger and the list goes on. Marital abuse is really common where one party is an addict.

We are animals of habits, what we do everyday is habitual. 70 percent of what we do is habitual; like eating, sleeping and so on. Addiction means that it does not serve you positively. Addiction does not have to be drugs. People are addicted to giving excuses over everything and this stops them from growing and taking responsibility. If you are already struggling with an addiction, the fact is everyone is struggling with one addiction or the other. It just may be different from yours, for example procrastinating, lying, soft drinks, food and so on. At a point people become very self aware and try to stop it. There are various ways of avoiding addictions;
5 ways of avoiding addictions are:

1)Avoid tempting situations: if you know you are addicted to biscuits, avoid storing them in your refrigerator. It is dangerous to do so. You may be able to avoid it one moment but what happens next? Steer clear of any situations that may place you in the way of temptation.

2) Develop a positive support network: surround yourself with people who do not engage in smoking, if you know you are addicted to smoking. It is really important to have healthy people who will be able to support you in challenging periods. You have to sever relationships and ties to unhealthy people.

3) Create a healthy schedule: Do not give room to boredom. Get busy so as not to get entangled with that negative habit.

4) Don’t get complacent: As you get out of a destructive habit, do not get complacent. If you find out what can keep you away from that destructive habit, you need to follow through.

5) Don’t view relapse as a failure: If you relapse, do not think you have failed. It will make you feel sick. If you were able to stay clean and sober before, believe you can still do it again. Process the events and emotions that led to relapse, so that they will not be repeated. By so doing you will learn from your mistakes and this will help in your journey to recovery.

So it is quite clear that habits die hard and habits are easy to form but difficult to break. Your best bet is to abstain from addictive substances and destructive habits.

Idiomatic expressions - cocosista15.com

                                          Photo credits: Sandiegozoo.com

a leopard cannot change its spots (saying) people cannot change their character, especially if they have a bad character.
For example: You didn’t really expect her to be on time, did you? A leopard can’t change its spots.