Conversations-12

Yes, we can. …. Yes, we can….. Yes, we can…..

Enuf, Zack. Enuf!

What’s bugging you, Boss? Why you getting itchy?

Itchy? My foot. Stop imitating Obama.

Ah! You don’t like his pet phrase, “Yes, we can” which he beautifully orchestrated in his victory speech at Chicago?

Not a question of like or dislike.

Then, what?

Nothing.

No, no. Something is bugging you. Come clean, please!

You’re incorrigible, Zack.

Boss, don’t be a hypocrite. Sallu uncle told me you were crying bucketful while hearing Obie….

Who’s Sallu uncle? You mean, Salman Khan?

Don’t act funny. You know I mean Salman Syed uncle, your colleague at office.

Ooof!

Tell me, did you cry or not hearing Obie?

Is it confession time or what?

Whatever.

Listen. It was tears of joy. Tears of emotion. Tears of relief. That a Black …

Stop it. No Black etc. Afro-American, he is. You are talking like the CNN anchors. Maybe calling Obie the first Black president-elect sounds easy on their tongues than the first Afro-American president-elect.

I was not alone, buddy. Reverend Jesse Jackson wept silently. Oprah Winfrey also. A lot of others.

Trying to tell me that you were in that Big League, huh?

Trying to tell your bird-brain that it is no crime to shed tears.

Boss, mind your tongue. Tina is not around does not mean you go on the offensive. I represent her in absentia.

By the way, where is Tina?

Tina has gone visiting her folks, for a change. You know, Tina is also Obie fan. Actually she flew out in joy to shake her legs to celebrate the US elections.
Omigod, the world has gone crazy really. The American election is like circus. Won’t be surprised if someone were to tell that polar bears entered the Eskimo tents to catch a few glimpses of the nail-biting election results night. Crazy.

Sarky, na?

You mean Sarkozy?

Sarcastic, I said. Not the French prez. Huh, that reminds me of Carla Bruni. Not seen or heard of late.

With Michelle Obama becoming the first Black – Ok…. First Afro-American Lady, the limelight will be on her for sometime.

Boss, did you notice her wardrobe that night?Fabulous red and Afro-…. Sorry, red and black.

Nothing spectacular. Typical the neighbourhood dress. I like it. No fashionista stuff. Thank God!

Yeah, she was wearing a black cardigan over a scoop-neck black sheath with splashes of red in the upper and lower half separated by a band of black at the hips.

You know someone said Michelle’s dress sense was atrocious. A fashion guru aptly put it when he said that her dress said,”be who you are. Don’t let someone else tell you how to be.”

The kids: Malia and Sasha were just that: kids. Unpretentious. Adorable.

Zack, can I tell you something...

Go ahead, Boss. You need no permission from me!

Watching this Obama family reminded me of JFK and his foursome family in the 1960s. He was equally youthful, charming and adorable.

JFK? Who’s he?

He was the President in the 1960s before falling a victim to an assassin’s bullet on November 22, 1963. A Democrat again. I still recall a pix wherein John Kennedy is busy working at his table and the kids play under his table. A remarkable photo….

What happened? Why are you crying?

Get lost, Zack. Leave me alone, pleeze!

Ok, Boss. Take care.