This is August, the eighth month of the year. I hope you’ll join me to exclaim: “Thank God It’s August!”I decided to veer off the path of the two preceding editions of our conversations. There might be a need to return to the O-King-Live-Forever series. Perhaps, to do the concluding part of it. But, before then, why am I talking about August? Is it not just like every other month of the year (if one may ask)?
I think it is something very good to start from the point of the above question. We have run for a number of months now, but never have we taken out some time earlier to specifically think or talk about the beginning or arrival of a new month. There was never any such specific attention to a given month in the past editions, as those of us following up can attest. Is there anything very peculiar – I mean, negatively or positively peculiar – about the month of August? The answer is a ‘Yes-No’ or ‘No-Yes’ one.
I thought I should tell you that this is a month of great, if not greater, expectations. In this regard, too, I want you to note beforehand that these words ‘expect’ and ‘experience’ have been repeatedly used to call our attention to the fact that we need to ‘up’ our experience by ensuring that we ‘up’ our expectations in this month. In essence, the use of the words ‘expect’ and ‘experience’ to, almost, an extent of ‘over-use’ is particularly deliberate.
You and I must have at one point in time or the other heard people talking about august visitor(s). I guess it is not a new expression to some of us. Nevertheless, I thought I should just leverage that popular (and or peculiar?) saying in this first edition in August. So, one should expect to have (some) august experiences in August. And that is why I am thanking God that it is August. I am happy this journey through and across pages of life and thoughts has gotten to August and I do excitedly ‘expect’ that, in this month of August, we should ‘expect’ and ‘experience’ the august expectations of our lives to materialise.
What about the ideas of august and august visitors? For the first time (I guess), I have had second thoughts about the expression. It (august) has to do with something unique or dignified whereas an august visitor has to do with a dignified or unique visitor. In light of the above, and by way of wishing us all a better month, we have got to expect the august in this month of August.
If you expect to experience the august in this August, it also means that you need to act and react in an august manner in this August and rest assured to receive your august visitors (in this case, goods in store of expectations) will come in grand style.
Thank God it’s August!
Eze Echie, a Scholar, Prolific Author, Poet, Editor, Music Minister, Critic & Columnist, writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
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