Propositioned with corned fish
HaHa! Well I have been laughing to myself every time I remember this incident which happened almost first thing in my workday today.
I am in my office and the secretary calls to say that one of the construction workers on the project outside my office building, wants to see me. Now I parked my van sort of unusual, so I thought it was about that he must want to see me. So I let him in.
I am at this time preparing for my regular Monday morning staff meeting and would not have allowed interruptions ordinarily. But I thought just a few minutes and I would deal with this. In walks one of the workers not in usual construction work clothes but street clothes. I recognize him because every morning I come to work he makes it a point to say hi. He will walk closer to where I park just to make sure he tells me good morning.
So now I am curious to know what he wants. I see it is not my vehicle that is the concern...I am wondering maybe he has come to seek assistance under the project I manage, as that is what we do..help improve income earning possibilities for rural producers.
I would have never have guessed what he had on his mind though. He asked, "Do you eat corned fish?" I nearly burst out laughing but I contained myself. I ask instead with a straight face "Corned fish?" And he went into a long explanation about how he catches rock fish and then cleans and salts and dries it in the sun etc. And if I would like some as he is known to do some of the best corned fish around.
This was so unexpected and as he spoke I am asking myself “Does this guy have a loose screw? Can I tell him am not interested in his corned fish and that I am quite busy? Will he lose it? Is he a stalker kind? How do I manage this situation?" I am in a strange place not home and it aint easy trying to decipher who is who in this place. Generally, Grenadians are quite friendly and hospitable people but I have been warned by they themselves to be very careful nonetheless. Grenada is changing a lot and not for the better is the general warning.
So I finally decide to tell him, yes, I would be interested in corned fish and I would buy it from him. He was not interested in taking my money for his corned fish. It was a gift from him to a nice lady. "Whey papa!" is my thought.
I eventually managed to get him to leave by telling him I was quite busy preparing for a meeting. But that was not before he made it clear however that he would like to get to know me better and whether I had kids and a few other questions? To those questions I responded by saying that he asks a lot of questions, thank you for the offer of corned fish, that I would accept the first as a gift and pay him for any more after and that I was very very busy.
After my meeting when I had had some time to reflect on the offer, I wondered how long he took to come up with that angle. I really do hope for my sake he is healthy mentally, 'cause I do not want to have any drama to deal with outside the office. I have enough at work as it is.
I am in my office and the secretary calls to say that one of the construction workers on the project outside my office building, wants to see me. Now I parked my van sort of unusual, so I thought it was about that he must want to see me. So I let him in.
I am at this time preparing for my regular Monday morning staff meeting and would not have allowed interruptions ordinarily. But I thought just a few minutes and I would deal with this. In walks one of the workers not in usual construction work clothes but street clothes. I recognize him because every morning I come to work he makes it a point to say hi. He will walk closer to where I park just to make sure he tells me good morning.
So now I am curious to know what he wants. I see it is not my vehicle that is the concern...I am wondering maybe he has come to seek assistance under the project I manage, as that is what we do..help improve income earning possibilities for rural producers.
I would have never have guessed what he had on his mind though. He asked, "Do you eat corned fish?" I nearly burst out laughing but I contained myself. I ask instead with a straight face "Corned fish?" And he went into a long explanation about how he catches rock fish and then cleans and salts and dries it in the sun etc. And if I would like some as he is known to do some of the best corned fish around.
This was so unexpected and as he spoke I am asking myself “Does this guy have a loose screw? Can I tell him am not interested in his corned fish and that I am quite busy? Will he lose it? Is he a stalker kind? How do I manage this situation?" I am in a strange place not home and it aint easy trying to decipher who is who in this place. Generally, Grenadians are quite friendly and hospitable people but I have been warned by they themselves to be very careful nonetheless. Grenada is changing a lot and not for the better is the general warning.
So I finally decide to tell him, yes, I would be interested in corned fish and I would buy it from him. He was not interested in taking my money for his corned fish. It was a gift from him to a nice lady. "Whey papa!" is my thought.
I eventually managed to get him to leave by telling him I was quite busy preparing for a meeting. But that was not before he made it clear however that he would like to get to know me better and whether I had kids and a few other questions? To those questions I responded by saying that he asks a lot of questions, thank you for the offer of corned fish, that I would accept the first as a gift and pay him for any more after and that I was very very busy.
After my meeting when I had had some time to reflect on the offer, I wondered how long he took to come up with that angle. I really do hope for my sake he is healthy mentally, 'cause I do not want to have any drama to deal with outside the office. I have enough at work as it is.
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