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When Grandpa turned 70
Ghanadot.com
Grandpa is very old
(Dr. Alfred Clayton Bannerman). And funny! Very funny. I
heard people say that about him all day long the day he turned
70.
He is much older than my Daddy Kofi, who is his son.
BB is my Daddy's older brother.
Val is my mother. We live in a place called Westbury, LI.
Grandpa and my Grandma Mary have been living here for a very
long, long time. I go to pre-school here and my Daddy also grew
up here
My Grandpa is a big doctor (a retired Professor of Neurology,
Columbia Presbyterian teaching Hospital). Lots of friends,
colleagues and family members came to see him that day. They ate
and drank and made fun of my Grandpa.
Grand Auntie Anna, my Grandpa’s sister, came all the way from
Virginia with her husband Granduncle Joe. He is usually the
quiet one but I am told he is a big trouble maker and is very
funny in his own way.
Granduncle Dr. Ofei Djoleto and his wife, his sister Eileen and
her husband Barry came from Canada. I suspect they all had a
lovely time judging from the way they laughed and carried on.
But would you believe Grandpa, the old man who was 70 that day,
also had an uncle? I don’t know what to call him (Great Grandpa
Djoleto). He was at the celebration and was dancing as hard as
everybody else.
The food was delicious. It was prepared by my Auntie Ama. I ate
a lot of cake and drank many cans of soda. I would have had some
more but both my Mummy and my Aunties (Christine is the other
and older auntie) kept a watchful eye on me.
I saw Grandpa dance. He was funny. He reminded me of a picture
of a man I saw once. They called him the “The Godfather.” My
Grandpa is a good man. “The Godfather” was a bad man. Grandpa is
a very good man, kind, and gives me all kinds of things. But
it was Grandpa’s suspenders and belt
and large stomach that day that made
him look like “The Godfather” in the picture.
My Grandpa has a friend (Granduncle Niapa. His wife Joana thinks
I am very cute). He is the one who is stealing my thoughts now
to bring them to you. He is also the
one who said to me that I was as full of mischief as my Grandpa.
He said Grandpa was a ….a… a… (spontaneous) mischief maker. I
didn’t know what that meant but looking back and seeing the
sparkle and the twinkle in Grandpa’s eyes as people spoke about
him that evening, I think I understand that
now. I get those feelings too, except sometimes they get me into
trouble.
Grandpa can’t get into trouble because he is old. But I suspect
my Grandma Mary keeps a good eye on him all the same, same way
she does to me. How else could he have lived this long?
Grandpa is a much traveled man. I am told he has been all over
the world, seen many places and stayed in all the best hotels in
the world. He lives in Ghana now but he is often here in America
with us.
A doctor who worked with Grandpa at a Hospital in a place called
New Mexico, (Dr. Regina Lacy) came all the way from there to
give him a necklace. It was a present from some natives of New
Mexico who also worked at the hospital. That tells you how much
my Grandpa is loved.
When Auntie Ama spoke to wish my Grandpa a happy birthday, she
said no one could take him away from her because he was her
Daddy. Well, I’ve got news for Auntie Ama. As much as I love
her, she is not going to take my Grandpa away from me either.
Happy birthday Grandpa!
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Auntie Christine and her
Daddy |
There is my Mom behind me.
Hey, I am just having fun on Grandpa's birthday |
More pictures |
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Photo by Albert |
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