Butterfly on the Metro

I saw a man in a snow white shirt this afternoon. He had a big beautiful butterfly sitting on his shoulder. The color contrast was fantastic. For a second I thought it was a huge lapel pin until it flapped its wings. I gasped! Then I thought it was his “pet butterfly” because he didn’t seem to mind it. My excitement caused one other passenger to bring it to his attention. He threw it off while I frantically struggled to get out my camera for the perfect shot pleading with him to let it stay. My selfish human condition was exposed. He probably thought I was crazy.

We all kept our eyes on the butterfly until the train came to a stop. He picked it up. Two times he threw it up and two times it came right back down. It couldn’t fly.

A young girl, around 16 years old came over and held it.

Girl: Oh what a beautiful butterfly. It wants to commit suicide on the tracks.

Her Mum: Butterflies have a shot life span, we need to find a place to put it.

They decided to place it in a tree.

By coincidence the Washington post shared a photo of a similar butterfly on Instagram this evening and so I found out that it’s an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) native to Eastern North America.  Have a great weekend!

Music Makes Everything Alright - Farrugut North

This corner of Farrugut North is full of life: people commute back and forth, cars zoom by, beggars ask for help, newspaper vendors and fruit sellers all seek our attention.

But nothing gets people to stop like good music. Live bands, opera singers, violin players, boys trying to make raise funds for tuition - it's a variety really.

Yesterday a crowd gathered as these young men played Pharell's "Happy" and Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time". No one cared much for the suppressive heat, or places they had to go. They stood and listened, bobbed along and dropped a little something into the bucket.

The man without a shirt and the old lady caught my attention as they reveled in the music, their cares shelved for this moment.

A "passionate" story

I walked into a Giant Supermarket the other day and saw dark purple bulbs that looked like passion fruits. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I looked closer and indeed they were passion fruits.

We celebrated like we had found a gold mine. I scooped the core clean, leaving no seed to waste. The result was just right. We savored every last drop.

“Don’t drink it too fast. Take little sips, then think about something else. Then when you remember it’s there you’ll be very excited and it will be fresh again.” No prizes for guessing who said this. My little girl on the other hand could not believe we could make juice at home.

Spare a thought for us when you next drink this passion at leisure (for those of you, especially my friends in Uganda). 

Did you know its scientific name is “Passiflora edulis”? Well, just in case.

My First Photo Exhibition with International Photographic Society

Booklet with Photographer bio's.

I’m taking part in a photo exhibition with the International Photographic Society (IPS). It's my first exhibition and hopefully the first of many more. IPS comprises members from the IMF and World Bank and gulp! I’m a part of it.

I'm exhibiting 3 photos: 2 on the theme of Still life and 1 on people.

Saturday morning was spent setting up, measuring, pinning and aligning. One gentleman seemed to know what he was doing so I sought his help. He obliged. He picked up his measuring tools and came to my section. I asked if he had exhibited before he said no but he’s always hanging pictures in his house, so he knew what to do.

This gentleman was the IMF representative in Uganda a few years ago. He measured the top, the side, the bottom and I was delighted to say the least.

Photo 1- Party time: Was taken at my parents 50th wedding anniversary. It has some of my favorite people in the whole world.

Photo 2- Tinsel and lights: This was one of the first pictures I took with the tripod Mr. O got me for Christmas.  💕💕

Photo 3- Music and mood: I attended my first live India Arie concert, Mr.O stayed home to watch the kids. His sacrifice to make his wife happy means a lot.

Grand opening of photo exhibition

When Chess Draws Strangers

It gets lonely sometimes, friends are busy sorting their own lives and so one is unable to hangout or do things together as often as one would wish.

I found a guy who solved that problem.

He walked into the Starbucks cafe, found a table, pulled out his chess board and set the pieces in place. Obviously I got curious. He leaned back and listened to music streaming from his head phones.
A man who had just bought his cup of coffee donned the most curious smile, before I knew it they were engaged in a game of chess. He left.

The next moment a girl took the seat and was making her moves. They barely talked, they just played. Strangers drawn by a game of mutual interest.

I'm reminded of "Queen of Katwe" and how Phiona Mutesi's interest in Chess opened the door to her dreams of becoming a grand master some day. smile emoticon.

"The size of your dreams must always exceed your capacity to achieve them" Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Freda Omaswa - A Life Well Lived

I visited a funeral home for the first time to celebrate the life of a pretty girl called Freda. 

She was a doctor, a wife and a daughter but to me she was just Freda - a friend I got acquainted with in September of 2014.

I arrived early to a friend’s birthday lunch and she walked in shortly thereafter. We introduced ourselves and spent close to 45 minutes talking about life since relocating to America, about intermarriage among people of different ethnicities. We discovered we were both from Teso land. Sitting in that restaurant and waiting for the birthday girl we had a lot to talk about.

I was struck by her grace; her sweet smile and I loved the way she raised her eyebrows when she talked. There was an excitement in her spirit. She expressed her ideas with clarity and precision. Talking fondly about her husband and her parents back in Uganda.

She didn't mention she was undergoing chemotherapy. That some days were dark, that she had stage 4 colon cancer.
I didn't mention that I knew. That the birthday girl and I prayed for her often.

She was careful about her dash, you know? The little flat line that sits between the years of life: 1982 - 2016. She was careful without effort. I soon forgot that she was unwell and enjoyed good laughs with her and her humorous husband at yet another party.

I got news of her death on Monday and on Monday I found out she was a sister to a good friend. A daughter to a well-known Professor in Uganda. It seems to have slipped through the cracks. I wished I had known but I'm glad I didn't because she was large all by herself, she left a mark all by herself.
Tonight as Dr. Omaswa talked about her daughter I couldn't agree more. She was kind, selfless, graceful, elegant and confident. Large!

I met her at the end of her dash. She finished it straight.

Tonight I think of Paschal her husband of 2 years, Professor and Dr. Omaswa her parents, Mark her brother and Gloria her sister and my dear friend.

May Freda's life be celebrated always.
#WeloveFredabecause: Beauty shone from her soul and her bright smile. Her quiet spirit resounded with wisdom. Our friendship brief and sweet.

Freda's body will be laid to rest on the 10th of February 2016 in Ngora district.

Freda shares her diagnosis and battle with Colorectal Cancer

Auction - Okisoni: Market Day in Serere

Teso on my Mind: The local market -  You've got to visit the Wednesday local market in Serere. We call it "okisoni" probably from the word auction ☺️. There is nothing like it. This was my favorite market growing up. You can get almost anything here:- cups, plates, basins, food, clothes, saucepans, shoes, cows, sugarcane, bicycles, bricks, solar systems, sugar, bread, cooking oil - see? The list is endless.