Sunday, August 23, 2009

Haiku 082309

past the channel
the speedboat revs up
Reeboks ahead


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Recently, we read the following:

BBC: “
Kenyan renews Chelsea goat offer

“A Kenyan man has told the BBC how happy he is that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has agreed to renew his marriage offer to her daughter.

“In 2000, Godwin Kipkemoi Chepkurgor wrote to Mrs Clinton's husband Bill, then US president, offering 40 goats and 20 cows for Chelsea Clinton's hand.

“In Kenya on the first leg of her African tour, Mrs Clinton was informed by a journalist of the proposal.

" ‘My daughter is her own person. I will convey this very kind offer,’ she said.

“If Ms Clinton, 29, accepted she would become Mr Chepkurgor's second wife, as he has married since his initial proposal.

“Mr Chepkurgor, 40, a councillor in Nakuru in Kenya's Rift Valley, said his first wife knew about the renewal of his affections and ‘did not object’.

“The BBC's Muliro Telewa in Nakuru says the offer of 40 goats and 20 cows for the bride price is very generous in Kenyan terms..."

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And we thought:

…We assume Mr. Chepkurgor is serious about his offer and is not simply out to claim his 15 minutes of fame. Nonetheless, it appears unlikely that his proposal will be accepted.


Obviously, some things are done in some manner in Kenya, and they derive from its culture. The same things are done differently in the U.S. More likely than not, these cultural differences would preclude a union, or even a serious consideration of the offer…



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