One of the things we take for granted, and often too, is the basic unit of the society. Family.
Family was the major reason I travelled to the US in 2024. I will share of the details with you, in no specific order.
New York with Uncle Gbaike.
This photo was take in New York at the residence of uncle Gbaike. Beside me is my nephew who took care of his cousin (my daughter) from the first day she arrived in New Jersey. He helped her to get to school and to see that there was always a family around the corner if she needed anything. My niece did not appear in any of these photos because she got married and lives in Texas. I understood she opened up her home to my daughter during one of the holidays.
The issue of how family works, or not work is beyond the scope of this essay. I just want to appreciate the Aderounmus’ in the United States for rallying around one of their own who came calling from Sweden.
New Jersey.
This was on one of the 2 graduation days ceremony. My nephews whom i have not seen in over 2 decades and who have now become mes standing by those of us who came from Sweden. The celebrant herself was not in this photo. She was up stage getting her rewards and awards.
I have to thank Damilola John for taking care of Eniola from day one until the day of her graduation. Guarding angels are not made in heaven. They are made by kind actions of humans to humans. As mentioned earlier, Debby acted as a big sister and opened up her home in Texas. All these under the guidance of Uncle Gbaike in New York.
Lawrenceville School New Jersey
We took a table at Lawrenceville and had a great time at the graduation ceremony.
Family is everything. May the future shine bright for you.
Aderounmu.
Extra picture showing the African community of graduating students from Lawrenceville 2024 along with the school principal.
I decided to write this, like many other stuffs I have written over the last 3 decades because if we don’t write our stories, someone else will do, and the distortions will not only be unimaginable, but also irreparable.
When I travelled to New Jersey with my family in May 2024, there were 3 friends already on the alert and holding brief on my behalf in different American states. Dele had travelled a day before our arrival from Houston to NJ. He had teamed up with Raphael. They were looking at the clock. Adeola is coming. Morrison was driving down from Maryland heading to Trenton.
My reason for travelling to America was to attend the graduation ceremony of my daughter. She graduated in May 2024 from Lawrenceville School, near Princeton. Prior to this event, there had been no other factor strong enough to convince me to travel to the US.
But here I was at Newark Airport, sitting comfortably in an American Ford we hired from Avis, heading to our first destination in Trenton. I would become bold to drive on American roads and adapt to some crazy driving, in a massive vehicle, for the next 10 days.
Dele and Raphael arrived at out Trenton residence about 7pm and guess what they brought with them. Made in New Jersey Nigerian jollof rice with Nigerian spiced meat. We were in the middle of the jollification when Mo arrived, and the amount of bottled water we stored away in the fridge increased exponentially.
Dele, Raphael, and I attended Festac Grammar School and graduated in 1989. Mo lived in the same building as me in Festac and he was not just another guy on the block, he also became my student. I will be unable, in a single essay, to describe my full connections to these guys. I mean, I knew Raphael before we became schoolmates. I first met him on the football field before we became teenagers. I knew he was good with his feet. Dele and I were just more of pals (old schoolmates) until he visited me in Sweden. I don’t know how to stop Dele from (telling) that I invited him to Sweden and paved the way for his eventual sojourn. Mo also visited me in Sweden, of his own accord, and he was my number one dependable ally in Nigeria before he settled in the US.
Dele won my heart on my visit to NJ for leaving his job, his wife and children back in Houston for a few days to enjoy our company in New Jersey. He attended the graduation ceremony on Saturday before he flew back to Houston. Morrison also attended the ceremony before he drove back to Maryland to prepare for our tour of Maryland and Washington DC. In Maryland, Mo gave us roof over our heads for as long as we wanted to stay. He even organized a welcome party for us, and the attendance was massive. The best part was seeing his dad, brother, wife and children. We re-invented Festac in Maryland. We were home away from home. I thought I would see Raphael again when he came to Maryland, but we were all so busy that our journeys at that point did not intercept.
Nevertheless, it was a good reunion not just for me and my friends but also for Mo who hadn’t seen Eniola since she was two and now to watch her graduate. Dele had not seen her since she was about 8, and to see her graduate too. They also get to see her mum and the little sister who is not little anymore. Raphael met all the 3 of them for the first time. I was uniting everyone and creating new bonds for Houston, Maryland and New Jersey.
I must mention that we stopped briefly at a major center on our way to Maryland. One of my former students came to say hello briefly even at a very short notice. I got to know that we drove through Delaware, thanks for her. It was also nice to see her husband. Two jolly, nice, amiable down-to-earth couples they are.
The value of true friendship is inestimable.
My American Diary, to be continued.
Appreciation.
Thank you Dele for your effort and for the gift of love and friendship.
Thank you Raphael for receiving Dele and for your good intentions..
Thank you Mo for also taking time off your schedule to show us Washington DC.
Thank you to Mo’s friends and family,
Thank you the Adenegans for driving from Delaware to meet us halfway on the way to Maryland. My dear Pinky!
I am indebted to Uncle Gbaike for receiving us in New York.
To my family, without you, I have not, these memories to share.
We could still have been happy just having each other and the children. She spoke out her thought as if Giorgio sat in the car with her. It was just an illusion. She wept unconsolably.
By Adeola Aderounmu
I have just finished writing the manuscript to my third book. The first and second book l published and sold myself.
The second one THE MADRILENIAN was also launched in Sweden and Nigeria before they went on sales.
I am going to take my time before releasing the new (third) book. This is because l am working on translating it to Swedish to meet the local language demand.
The manuscript needs proof reading and grammar corrections.
The story is set in Italy. It is about a family that has a history of mafia in its bloodlines. It focuses on the generation that gave up the mafia activities and instead became bank robbers.
The family had a history in the construction industry and this helped them to master their acts as bank robbers.
But tragedy struck as one of the mastermind died of cancer and his son has to take over his role in the criminal organisation.
The book is titled A MOTHER’S AGONY because his wife lost him and was helpless in allowing her son take over his role in the organisation.
This book could even be a best-seller for HOLLYWOOD if l get all the professional help in making the adjustments require before publishing.
Here are more quotes from the manuscript:
If there was anything in life that never waited, never stopped for anyone, it would be time. For some people, it went rather too quickly not allowing them to appreciate the beauty of life. For others, time crawled, showing them clearly their weaknesses and pains.
There was nothing she could change now that she knows that the best form of happiness is the one created from the perfect integration of work, play, and time spent with family. She wished they had been contented with what they had.
A View From The Scandinavian 