Starting To Write
I have decided to take a stab at writing. I bet that title caught your attention! Yes I will put my writings under the title “Chips”. As in the things made from potatoes and indeed the source of a lot of conversation in Kenya these last couple of weeks courtesy of Colonel Sanders KFC!
The title came up a while ago and how fortuitous we have a crisis that gives it enormous talkability. For some time I have thought about penning down stuff. I had no idea what I would pen or write, and still don’t by the way, so bear with me. I just know in the dead of the night, when insomnia would kick in, I would have all these wonderful memories and stories I wanted to share. I was advised to have a journal and pen them. I was also advised that failing with that discipline, I simply voice record. Absolutely sensible advice. And as with all sensible advice. I didn’t take it. So here I am today, trying to share a story line which will be of remote interest to just anyone. As you can see I am not choosy just yet.
So why Chips. I could be clever (or cheesy) and say it’s an acronym for maybe ‘Chats Hearsay and Insights Patricia Shares’. Gosh, I just made that up, and by my standards quite brilliant! Also being from a part of Kenya called Meru, potatoes are part of our DNA. I can hear some of you saying “ really? I thought you peoples DNA was miraa, stubbornness and fiery tempers”. Mscheeew! That is all propaganda. Our real soul is in potatoes. And on a good day bananas, of the green variety.
The simple truth as to how I arrived at this possible title was from a random seating and discussion with my daughter. How did the discussion arise? She asked what do I really love. I of course went to food, good food. The joy of millennials is everything goes. So we deep dived into this love, and Chips came up because it is the one food I absolutely love, cannot resist and is excluded from all the diets I have ever been on and I promise you, I’ve done all – Atkins, No carbs, keto, Southern Beach Northern Beach etc etc. Anyway I digress.
In our discussion I also felt all titles are taken, nothing really clever when we googled wasn’t already assigned to book, a movie, a documentary, a podcast or something. So I realized I have to use whatever we can come up with and somehow make that title relevant. Most of all, I figured that with a title like this, anyone around the world or at least Kenya, has heard of Chips. So when they see the title it could possibly raise some curiosity.
Chips I think will cover a number of areas.
My experiences and what I have learnt, stories I have heard that are worthwhile sharing, worthless stories that may be worthwhile to someone looking to pass time. Most of all, I want them to be short.
I am pretty sure I am a victim of undiagnosed ADHD. My attention span is at best low. Because of that I am very empathic to everyone’s attention span too. So when you read anything I hope to put down in writing, I will get to the point as quickly as I can. If you are bored after the first paragraph please move on, I understand, because I will have failed in my own test. What I hope is you stay with me. I will try wrap things quickly enough with the ambition to have you entertained, or helped you pass time, or at best advertently or inadvertently shared some wisdom.
Wisdom. The one benefit of growing older. You can claim it whether it is tangibly present or not. What is more, you just need to sport a couple of grey hairs anywhere visible on your body and voila! I repeat somewhere visible – no point in them under clothing. Those need to be dealt with definitively, I think. Now you understand why despite the wide shelf space given to every conceivable hair dye, I have not converted the greys on my crown to black, red, brown, blond or any other fashionable color!
That is it. The intro to Chips. I hope I have your interest piqued and you will look out for the first instalment. Now let me go think what it will be about…
