Always Be Closing

I put some photos up on Flickr CLICK HERE

There are descriptions for each photo so....read them. If you want. I mean..it's your life.

STORY TIME:

I lost my insulin pen before I even stepped foot on African soil. Left it on the plan. This was unfortunate because I liked that insulin pen. It helped me. Luckily, I had extra insulin. Unluckily, in less than two days I broke my extra needles. So I was stressed out. Monday, we were at the village and I looked down at my pocket and the cap came off my last needle and was sticking out like a sharp, bent, stray thread. I decided I needed to pursue new needles. So we went driving around Jos to various pharmacies. None of them had needles. Finally, we found a place that did and I bought 50. Which cost 500 naira. $5. That's not the point of this story.

As we drove around the city in search of these needles there were people selling stuff all over. Walking in the middle of the street hawking papers, jewelry, phone cards, sugar cane, etc. Pretty normal I guess. Except for on one corner. There were guys selling posters. Huge 24x36 posters. Quickly, for one second, picture the kind of posters you think they'd be selling..... futbol players (futbol is HUGE in nigeria)....any sports team really- they seem to love the yankees..... political figures/slogans.... propaganda. All of those seem possible, right? Well, the posters these guys were selling were of fat, white babies dressed up like Benjamin Franklin. Powdered wigs and diapers. Chubby loafs holding gavels. If they sold even one they are the best salesmen of all time. Get those closers some coffee. Or some phone cards. And forget the expression "selling snow to eskimos." How about "selling founding father-babies to Nigerians."