How This Blog Began

After writing a short social-romantic story set in a Liberian village my fingers were still inching, so I decided to write another short piece inspired by a real life event that took place in Monrovia, and write it in the style of an amusing satirical resume I had once read on facebook. The short piece that I now considered a short story in its own right only took about an hour write, but the more I reread it, the more I found allegory and morals had seeped into it subconsciously. So I pasted it on my facebook notes and tagged a few family relatives and friends to find out what they thought. The results were quite astounding. A number of people I hadn't tagged commented immediately to my immense satisfaction, but some of the more interesting comments came later in my private inbox. Some people had found the story absolutely hilarious, but at least one person claimed to have been brought to real tears by some emotion it had triggered.

Personally, the short piece generated a complex combination of feelings in me; and I had left the ending of the story open intentionally, with no intention of continuing it. Again to my surprise a large majority of comments from the readers requested a definite ending. I had no clear idea of an ending at the time, and certainly no outline of how it should continue, but I figured what the hell — I'll just use the same character and use him to explore different national events from his perspective and write one story at a time till I had enough to combine in an anthology.

By the time I completed the second story I knew I didn't want to revisit some of the more haunted events of Liberian history, but I did want to explore some of the less savory idiosyncrasies of Liberian culture, and some of the positive ones as well. Contrary to my usually solitary nature, I also knew that I now craved response. Response I was no longer getting on facebook. The reason for this? Your guess is as good as mine, but I have a feeling the reasons are at least threefold: (1) I have never cultivated a broad readership, (2) a longer story would not be quite as interesting — most Liberians are not avid readers, and the colloquial language style made it difficult for non-Liberians — and who want to read a lot of small print of it in facebook? (3) Maybe I was being read but nobody wanted to respond publicly using their real name. Then again, maybe I was just plain annoying.

Whatever the case may be, I decided to continue writing the story as a public blog, and eventually edit and print some of the results in book form. A vague outline emerged in my mind, but I never wrote it down or fleshed it out on paper. Leaving open possibilities for the story to develop helped me to explore both the reality and the fictional material with fresh insight each time I sat down to write.

I decided to evolve the story into an interactive blog. Therefore your opinion counts! I am open to the idea of revising each new posted chapter according to public opinion. By voting on character decisions, you can determine in which direction the next story flows. I don't claim to be bound by democracy, but public pressure counts for something. Everybody is welcome to comment. My only request is to please try to be courteous — at least to one another. If I draw fire, I figure I deserve it, so please feel free to blast at me to your hearts content. None of the stereotypes I reflect are written in stone, and yes, even I make mistakes… sometimes.

The subject matter is not necessarily pleasant and the opinions and stereotypes I present are not necessarily my own; although I have to admit, some of the peculiarities of my thoughts do come out in the various characters voices, including that of Mr. J.d. Kato himself. I do exaggerate a lot. Unfortunately, concerning some issues, the reality on the ground is even more gruesome than the fiction. If you have been in Liberia anytime recently, or even in the past, you can probably often tell the difference. Although, it never fails to amaze me that many people, and surprisingly, even many Liberian people simply can't.

This is probably not a fault. I have had the benefit of studying psychology, sociology and anthropology and have been professionally trained to rapidly assess sub-cultural values for the purpose of analyzing and effecting population control in times of natural disasters and emergencies. Among other things, I am a population officer in what can questionably be considered a humanitarian relief organization. Don't ask.

I hope you enjoy reading my posts at least half as much as I enjoy writing them. It has helped me explore some of my own views. My hope and challenge is that it will help you explore some of your own as well.