TAKE A STAND.

My minds wondering, am about to forget all the wonderfully profound, intellectual things I want to tell you. I . . .can't. . . remember.Oh, here comes one;

I was going to tell you that in christiandom, there's a saying to the effect that there comes a time when a christian has to stop running(from temptation, persecution...) and stand(to fight, I presume). I have a story to share.

Two gentlemen from Kenya came to our office this week. They were staying for the entire week and had never been to Uganda.I work in the PR department so I got to spend about two days with them. They were interesting gentlemen. I got along better with one than the other, you could say we hit it off. We seemed to compliment each other perfectly;we finished each others sentences. We had the same ideas, broke into the same tune when we was bored, I swear, it was uncanny! I might have thought this was it if he hadn't been 45years old, married and with kids my age. Plus he was wearing dreadlocks. Long ones.

Maybe am a hypocrite;I have dreadlocks too. I, for one, should know that people are not their hair but there was something about this particular rasta man which told me he'd be a marvelous friend:knowledgable, adventurous and comic but to let it go further would be murder. Once again, Els doesn't believe me when I tell her I can see them coming from a million miles away but once again I did .

He didn't do anything out of the ordinary, He was chilvarous all the way, flirted a little, nothing scary and joked(those ribald jokes which make chicks blush and men roar with laughter). I decided to give him the benefit of doubt but his colleague kept making things seem personal.

The dilemma was that Rasta Man (RM) hadn't done anything wrong yet but I saw it coming and I wanted to avert it but didn't know how. Plus his colleague was there trying to set scenes that didn't come. i got a triffle upset. RM and his friend suggested I take them around Kampala and I said I didn't mind. At some point, we exchanged numbers and when he called me later in the day. He asked me not to tell my boss about our arrangement. That made me feel like I was part of something I didn't even know about. I got worried.

I thought about just standing them up. But that would have been rude so I thought to myself, how about I call them and talk about the worst family crisis ever and how i can't come. That might work. Then that saying hit me. 'Take a bloody stand, man!'

So, I bought credit and called. It was pathetic. Something like:

Rasta Man(RM) AND ME (EB)

EB: He...hello?
RM; Hey baby.(men who call aquantancies baby are not to be trusted,ok?)
EB: Hi... I wanted us to ..uhm...get some things straight
RM: What?(bad connection)
EB: Wanted to...make a few things clear(I was eating words but I have edited so things can be legible).
RM: uhm... sure
EB: This evening, when we go out. We're doing it as colleagues and friends, right?
RM: What? We are going to Colleagues and Friends?
EB: I said, we are going out as colleagues. Period, ok?
RM(stutters abit): EB...really! Just come over.

Something like that. I didn't get an answer but atleast now he knew where I stood. And though I was as embarrased as sin, I felt lots better. That evening, he admitted that he had had plans for us but he wouldn't disrespect my position on the matter. As of now, i think we are tentative friends though he at times lapses.

The moral of this story was said earlier. Sometimes, running ain't the solution. Take a stand