THE STORY BEGINS AGAIN!
Here is the good part. During this time or before we left JFK International Airport for the hotel we made friends. As my daughter and I stood waiting for the bus to take us to the hotel, a lady came up to me and we started a conversation. The bus wait was another delay. We like fast and quick service everywhere we go. That is human nature! Anyway, I soon noticed that she was from Liberia. Exciting, yes really is. We started talking about the flight and bus delays. Finally we changed the topic and went on to other interesting topics. She introduced herself as Ms. Florence Chenoweth, who was traveling to Liberia with her three teen-aged grandchildren. I remembered the name from back in the days. So I asked her if she was the former Agriculture Minister and she said yes. As usual I do not ever remember faces. I told her why we were going to Liberia.
Who does not know why we are in Liberia! For the last several months, I have talked about Children LifeTime Educational Foundation and its mission and vision. So to get back to my traveling story, you can visit the website at http://www.childrenltef.org/ and follow us at http://www.childrenltef.blogspot.com/.
We talked about the library project and getting books. Later on in the conversation, I asked her for her card and she gave me one. That was when I knew she was the present Minister of Agriculture. What struck me the most about Ms Chenoweth during the five days we spent together is her humbleness and concern she has for everyone. I like her very much. So we talked and talked about our families, work and about the love for Liberia and its inhabitants. We feel the same changes that are storming Liberia, some positive, some painful, and some degenerative. Wow!
I want to believe that things are happening for the good of Liberians. She has done a lot of work personally as a private citizen and professionally as a public servant in Liberia. Can you imagine having a Doctorate degree in Agriculture? Not me!
Okay, okay, I do not want to go off rattling about Ms. Florence, who my daughter began to call Aunty Florence. You know our never-ending respect for our elders; always have to put a ‘handle’ before the first name as a profound sign of respect for someone who is older!
We went to the hotel together, and ate dinner together. She reminded us to be down early for breakfast. We had to be at the airport at 7:00 am. The hotel or airline shuttle bus driver was not there and there was only one bus. A hotel employee took the initiative to drive, but the trip, which was about 8 minutes long, was going to be longer since we were so many and the bus so small. Ms. Florence and I decided that we would take a taxi. We did just that and share the cost. Way to go, team work happened in a split second!
We arrived at the airport on time, went through security, and went on to our gates. The lines were long, but moved really fast and quick. I like going through security this time – nothing was taken away from me! You know the routine – when we forget something in our overnight bag that is more than 3 ounces we do not get t o take it on board the flight. We boarded the plane and took off for Monrovia, Liberia finally.
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