For the past few years, you have been reading 'Fresh Air Matters' with me in every Monday Edition of the Ghanaian Business and Financial Times, and online at freshairmatters.blogspot.com - and we have covered many topics!
Over these years, this column has upset, encouraged, supported, inspired, motivated and educated, it has, I am led to believe, touched many people. The many e-mails and other feedback received has inspired me, and thus this has been a two way process.
Sitting down to create over one thousand words every week takes a lot of time and energy, and in these days of challenges we all have to manage our resources. Therefore, over the next few months I will be concentrating my writing on books in progress. My biography has been requested many times, and is well advanced, as well as some children's books that have been hanging on the end of my pen for many years. George the Monkey, Cyril the Giraffe, Edward the Elephant and the long travelling around the world 'Tales of Mumford Mouse'; all stories that I have told to many children, all from the fresh organic fields of my imagination - from long before my first step on the African continent. Now, I have new characters hatching and looking for paper to spill onto: Kwame the crocodile, Kwesi the Cattle Egret, Ama the Hoopoe, Hanna the chicken, Ellis the Monitor Lizard - and others are all hatching their stories in my mind. There will be a special character, one very close to my heart, called 'Patricia the Pilot', who will have her own series of adventures - and those stories will be heavily based on the true life transformation of Patricia Mawuli from living in a simple, traditional home in the bush to building and flying aircraft in Ghana, along with the struggles, challenges and achievements along the way. Each of these stories, as and when they publish, will have three aims: to enthral, to educate and to inspire. The target age group will be from 8 years to adult - for I hope that all the grownups will read these stories to their children, grandchildren or just to the next child they find themselves having to entertain. I hope that these stories will carry the energy and momentum to drag folks away from their computers, tablets and smart phones - a much needed transformation in our society. We all need stories. We all need inspiration. We all need to take a fresh look at reading!
The time it will take to bring these embryonic characters fully to life will draw on my creative time, energy and resources. Therefore, Fresh Air Matters will be taking a break for a while. However, I will still submit articles and items to the Business and Financial Times as the 'inspiration and opportunity' hits me, which will, generally, also find their way to the blogspot.
To those who have been upset by what has been written in this column: a) if it was the truth that hurt you, I offer no apology. b) if it was a misunderstanding, I seek to clarify. c) if it was your sensitivity, please grow stronger and d) if I was wrong, I apologise.
To those who have learned from this column, I am thrilled to share knowledge - it is an amazing gift - now go and build on that knowledge and use it to the good of mankind and the positive growth of our nation.
To those who have been inspired, I am humbled, and inspired in return. Take your inspiration and keep it warm, never let the fire die down, fan those flames and let the bush fire spread to all around you. All it takes is a well placed idea to change the world.
To those who have been encouraged, stay strong and never let anybody get you down - you are your own person! Each and every one of us can do anything we want - it is inside of us, and we 'can-do', if we are ready to take the bull by the horns and accept that there will be good days and bad days!
Whatever your walk of life is, please remember that 'Fresh Air Matters' - whether it is the air that your breath, or it is related to aviation, we know that we must always have it! Without the air that we breathe we would soon cease to exist, and likewise without aviation our modern society would not be the same. Imagine spending weeks in a boat to get to Europe or the USA... months to get to China or Australia. What would be the consequence of not being able to express deliver mail or parts across continents? Consider not being able to visit another country for just a few days or hours... Aviation is the life-blood of our new society, and as essential to our economic survival - just as oxygen is to our beings.
I hope to be back with you all soon, and look forward to hearing from you by e-mail if you get a chance.
To quote two of my fictional heroes;
'May the Force be with you.'
and may you 'Live long and prosper'.
Capt. Yaw is Chief Flying Instructor and Chief Engineer at WAASPS, and Pilot/Engineer with Medicine on the Move, Humanitarian Aviation Logistics (www.waasps.com www.medicineonthemove.org e-mail capt.yaw@waasps.com)
Hey, we truly appreciate your posts.It requires alot of continuous effort to keep such a blog up. Keep it up mate.
ReplyDeleteReading is good habit. In my childhood i was also fond of listening stories from my grandmother. and i truly appreciate the effort you put to write and share your thoughts and experiences with us.
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