Every new day is a reason to be grateful to God. Today, I celebrate a friend who has stuck closer than a brother. Our friendship has lasted for about 37 years. His name is Izuogu. I just ate a piece of cake his wife, Mary, made for me for breakfast (I will share it in my studio with any of you who stop by today). This homemade cake is coated with caramel, holding grated coconuts sprinkled on the body! I was delighted she added caramel (which I enjoy), and Izuogu told her about my love for coconuts. That is my best fruit, any day. There is virtue in each of us. And yes, we have our moments of infamy and madness. I hold on to the good. This is to my future friends.
The story goes back to when I was 14 years old. I went to my village to be with Dad and would walk to swim in the lake every day. Izuogu lived with his grandparents in the town at the time. I noticed a coconut tree standing in front of his house, and he sent his boy to pluck two ripe coconuts. I was known for throwing these random parties in my town, so I made many friends. I have friends who know me better. I love open house parties. If a person cooks for the entire village, they will eat it up, but if the village cooks for a man, he will be unable to finish it.
I cannot remember how our friendship started, but our early bonding was around coconuts. Easily he peeled off the outer skin of a coconut with a machete, a task I was clueless about. Izuogu knew the locations of all the coconut trees in our town. There was this dwarf coconut tree by the Civic Center by the lawn tennis court that we loved raiding for fresh coconuts. At some point, I learned to peel the back of the coconut with my teeth. I just had to have the delicious fruit! The coconuts sold in the market were often not as fresh or were too dry and overripe.
At some point in my life, Izuogu was the man to see whenever I visited the town on school vacations- to get fresh coconuts and later to play Casanova. I stayed close to him. Some of our friends looked down on the village girls (It was hypocrisy because they would still be with them behind closed doors). I loved without judgment, never differentiating between the local girls and the other girls who lived outside the village. We teased Izuogu and called him Eze Akpuke, king of the town girls, a sort of local champion. He knew where they all lived. He was my go-to link man.
Growing up doing all sorts of craziness made teenage life so exciting. We became young adults together and shared so many memories. As an undergraduate student studying Art in Nsukka, I asked Dad to let me paint the three floors of our home. Izuogu helped me to achieve the task. He became my father’s son whenever I was not in town. While in secondary school, I got a letter from my mom that mentioned his friendship with Dad!
We reminisce on our youth whenever I visit him in North Carolina. Mary, his wife, has given my man the home he deserves, that he wished for. Thank you, Izuogu, and your better half (as they say) Mary! We have stayed friends through times when people gave up on Izuogu, making accusations about some incident that was a lie. How can we hold a grudge against people for their actions in their teenage years? My mom forgave me and still loved me. I held on to Izuogu because I trusted that man. I saw so much value in him. He was there by my father when I was away in school, loving him as a son will. He did not have an easy childhood and family life, but Izuogu has a heart of gold. These days, he is proving it in so many ways. He is celebrated daily in my village for all these acts of charity that blow my mind. In the month of our birthday (we are both tauruses), he bought 2 matching Versace sunshades and gave me one! I wear it with pride all the time. The memories we made growing up will never be erased. We lived in the moments- laughing, loving life, and celebrating each opportunity to be present.
So, my friends, I wish you live a life of being present- loving, laughing, and learning to make memories. I learned to be courageous enough to form a personal opinion. The coconut and caramel cake made me go back again. Here is to finding friendship and love everywhere you go.
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