I was very glad to
read in The Punch this morning that
the three Orekoya boys kidnapped by their nanny were found alive and reunited
with their parents. After found abandoned at Shasha area of Lagos, the children
were immediately taken to the hospital for a thorough check up and treatment.
On hearing about their kidnapping last week, my heart immediately went out to
the boys’ parents who were no doubt out of their minds with worry, especially
after the kidnappers’ demand of 15 million naira for the safe return of their
little boys. Just to show we should be more
than careful about the hired help we bring into our houses! And what’s
worse, the nanny was hired via olx.com; a popular online trading website. No one could have possibly
foreseen such a thing like this to happen and lord knows how olx.com’s owner or
owners will get over this stain in its reputation.
Image courtesy of : newspunch.org
And even more good
news; the “ Olx nanny”; who called herself Mary
Akinloye when she was hired by the unsuspecting family was arrested last night;
according to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti; thanks to
the police investigators' smart move of tracing her through the cell phone used
to contact the children’s parents. Her accomplices, however, are still at large
but hopefully the police will get them eventually; beforethey go after other
children.
The Orekoya boys are
safely back with their parents now and time and love will help them get over
their 8 day ordeal. All’s well that ends well. But in the meantime it would be
best to stick to buying and selling online; not
hiring a stranger online to look after your kids.
Two years ago, on the 13th of April, two young horrors, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev planted bombs at the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring several people. Today, a verdict was reached and the surviving of the two who caused so much pain and chaos- has been found guilty on 30 charges; making him eligible for the death penalty.
It still baffles me how anyone could have such a low regard for human life. It's heartrending to see Islam's teachings blackened and misunderstood and used as a reason to cause mass destruction. For those two to do what they did, one cannot imagine exactly what was in their heads when they planted those bombs- nothing except the intention to cause a major tragedy and for what?
The Tsarnev boys chose to throw their lives away; Tamerlan's now dead and Dzhokhar, at 21, will probably be given the death penalty. He's probably not afraid of death since he regards his brother as a martyr in paradise, one wonders if the thought of being executed would even terrify him.
Looking at his pic on the internet, I'm filled with nothing but disgust for him. When I think of the people who were killed and injured on that fateful day, I'm reminded of how he and his brother showed no regard for human life and causing Muslims to be likened to terrorists. Killing and bombing is not way to win God's favour! Whatever punishment that awaits this young man, he more than deserves it. I can say no more than that.
If anybody asked me the first time I watched THE SOUND OF MUSIC; I wouldn't know. This movie was an "often watched" one when I was a child; mostly on weekends. Dad would pop in the tape in the VCR and my brothers and I would watch the beautiful woman (Julie Andrews) appearing on the mountain and burst into song- a sight we were never tired of! The nuns didn't have to give their differing opinions about Maria- the main one being "Maria is not an asset to the abbey"- it was obvious to us even then that Maria stood out, despite her protests the abbey was her home and life. So we were rather glad the Reverend Mother (Peggy Wood) sent her off "only for a little while" to experience the world by being a governess to the Von Trapp children (Lisel, Fredrich, Louisa, Brigitta, Kurt, Marta and Gretl). Little did Maria know her life would be changed forever after meeting their handsome and initially forbidding father, Captain Von Trapp( Christopher Plummer).
Image: www.theguardian.com
Maria proved to be the family's guardian angel as she made some positive changes in the household, befriending and earning the trust of the children, teaching them to sing and there's the epic scene where she stood up to Captain Von Trapp and accused him of shutting out the children; drawing him back to their arms. I think the part where he realised she was right and apologised to her afterwards was when I started liking him; I couldn't see why any father would treat his children the way he did, even if he was still grieving their mother (how I hated that whistle he initially used to summon them). Hence it was wonderful watching the change from a cold man to a warm father.
Even a heart warming story like this wouldn't be complete without a little conflict, the conflict was in the shape of the elegant Baroness (Eleanor Parker) who immediately saw what the Captain felt for Maria before he even realised it himself and her subtle move of keeping them apart only brought them closer and I must say, the woman showed maturity by gracefully admitting defeat and leaving them to be together.
To this day, the scene where Captain Von Trapp admitted his love to Maria at the gazebo is my favorite and the song 'My Favorite Things' was actually the inspiration behind this blog's title.
And there's the other conflict, the Nazis occupying Austria and the Captain, refusing to be one of them- "and joining them... unthinkable"- hence their flight from Austria to Switzerland and the beginning of a new life. As this is a true story, to the uninitiated fans; the Von Trapp family became professional singers, their legacy still continuing to this very day; one of which includes a music institute.
I have The Sound of Music on DVD presently and I rejoice with the cast as they celebrate its 50th Anniversary. I remember its last anniversary where Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews appeared on OPRAH (still handsome, still beautiful) but was more enthralled when the children were summoned, via whistle! It's so great to see them all together again to celebrate this wonderful classic's anniversary. The Sound of Music is a tale of faith, unexpected turns of life and importance of family. It will always be a delight to me and millions of fans over the world and I wish it a very happy golden anniversary.
