I am taking a break on a hard wood bench in a huge glassy atrium, sinking in
the great view of the well-kept plants and beyond, the city skyscrapers.
After a while of staring and straining my neck and eyes, I am simply
overwhelmed by the sheer magnificence of the complex construction and wonder
whose ideas begun all this. Bowing to relieve my strained neck, I see a
termite. Yes a termite! Right close to my huge size 12 left moccasin shoe. I
raise my foot and thoughtlessly aim at crushing this rather harmless tiny ant,
but a split second pain in my foot destructs my attention.
I bring my hasty judgement into thoughtful focus, asking myself what would I gain by
destroying this tiny termite. It is no where near my lunch box. I take a
closer look on the marble floor and realize there are several more termites
around and my interest begins to swell. I see my friend, the first
termite circling a brown crumb of food. This crumb looks like a grain of
fried rice. No, this must be bread from the nearby McDonald's. Finally, I
settle with my conscience it is surely a crumb from my lunch box. After a few
more circling and detours, my idol begins to carry out an amazing feat. This
tiny ant no more than one-tenth of an inch begins to move the 1-inch breadcrumb.
Come on "big guy" move it, I seem to say. In no time, several of his
companions join. They grow to a colony and move the crumb into a crevice, as
my eyes trail on.
Lunch is over and as I walk back to the office, I cannot help listening to
conversations around me. "I bet, we can accomplish this task today; get Joe
and Paul going." "Hi Jack, Long time." "True, I have just returned from a
pathetic jury duty.....about a deer hunter killing a neighbor's stray dog.
The neighbor said he was with his dog and could have been the victim so the court
must at least award him, not only for losing a friend, but also for his
trauma. Well, we did."
As I wait for the elevator, I imagine this could be my first Ananse Story.
How often do we step on others unaware or with little consideration? Could a
split second thought make a difference!
Disclaimer: All personal names in these stories are fictitious. Events may
reflect none other than my personal experience, imaginations and aspirations.
