Sooner or later, you feel being fatherleess...

A junior member of our big club came to me. Junior, because I joined the club before him. His three paternal uncles swore and were working tirelessly to dispossess him of a Petrol Filling Station he inherited from his dad. They had used the police and other illegal outfits to harrass and intimidate him. Finaly, the matter ended in the law court and he came to me for some advice. While his father was alive, even while he was bedridden by stroke for months before his demise, the paternal uncles never contested his assets. These were uncles that benefitted in many ways from his father's generosity. His ordeal in the hands of the paternal uncles reminded him most that he was fatherless. I was luckier... I am yet to be harrassed by kits and kins who are supposed to console me. Reactions from club members are strongly welcome!

What expectations from the actor ( a dying father )?

As a man grows old, he should prepare his mind that this world is not our home. One lousy fellow teased his friend that he should not be too serious with this life because he will never come out of it alive. Yes, that's true. None of us will survive it. It is a debt. The men who grow old are lucky. That's everyones aspiration. If one is priviledged to reach there.... get old, it beholds one to make sure he leaves a WILL for the upcoming generation. I hate to remember the sad story of one of my patients whose very rich father departed wiyhout a WILL in a polygamous home. The enmity and in-fighting among the siblings was worse than that between the Arabs and the Israelis. This should be a great lesson for all

Looking after the other half...

When one joins the big club, especially as an adult member, it places some responsibilities on one. If ones mother is alive, the responsibility of caring for the mother shifts immediately to the club member. I was already married with kids when I joined the club. With dad gone, I had to play the role of a husband to mum... take care of her medical bills, feeding and some stipends. It gives some joy to care for mum. The mum - child bonding gets stronger, like the good old days when one was a child. In some of our societies where a widow is subjected to some inhuman treatments by other family members, a fatherless club member should be ready to defend ones mother. Fortunately, that culture was not obtainable in my family. And I didnt have to fight that war.