WHEN PHOTOGRAPHY, CHESS AND CULINARY ARTS MET IN MY ROOM

WHEN PHOTOGRAPHY, CHESS AND CULINARY ARTS MET IN MY ROOM

By way of introduction, I am a handsome “Homo Sapien”

Born and Christened “McEstus Oshinowo”

My wife calls me “Honey mi”

My replica of a son prefers “Daada”

While friends choose to tag me “Mac”

And l nicknamed myself “Makeke”

I am a polio-victim on wheelchair

A challenge you might want to envision

However, its no pride but please don’t pity me for once!

With sheer determination and zeal for a better lifestyle

I have been able to swim out of that quagmire that life wants to trap me in

Just so I can affect my generation positively

Alongside creating a niche for myself by being a role model

And eventually leaving my name in the sands of time!

Why Photography, Chess and Culinary Arts?

My life evolved and revolves around ALL THREE

I do not shy away from them for any reason whatsoever

All because, happiness can’t be bought with a price

Any price at that!

Its in me to make myself HAPPY

I owe no one that, I repeat, no one!

All I need, is to create a primrose path

To accommodate happiness by any means necessary

And the rest becomes an unfolding history

And talking of these moments in picture,

They captured a remarkably symmetrical reflection of my life

The avenue simply tells my story better!

These THREE RINGS have me in their very center!

A picture they say, is worth a thousand words

It describes a whole lot in a nutshell

To me, PHOTOGRAPHY makes my memoirs linger

My everyday life is being captured and preserved

In the lens of my heart and that of my mini Samsung camera

Years after, I am reminded of how much I have grown

What has changed, shaped and sharpened me?

How more Einstein have I become overnight?

And how much I yearn to turn back the hands of time

Just to embrace those unforgettable days again

While not forgetting the accompanying goosebumps!

That inevitably comes with just walking down memory lane

The nostalgic feeling of wanting to relive that moment again

You don’t just take a picture, you make it!!!

Whenever I crave for the cloud nine effect

Or just want to boost my confidence in tackling issues of life

My CHESS board and men are just a fingertip away

The game makes me wiser and clear-sighted

And its all about wits and strategies

A battle of nerves and I don’t sweat the techniques

I enjoy taking myself and my opponent to an unknown ground

My opening is like a book,

My middlegame is like that of a magician and his tricks,

While my endgame ends like a machine

At the very end, I am left mentally satisfied

I’m filled with a confidence that unlocks almost every door

Confidence that envelopes my whole being subconsciously

And like Oliver Twist, I still beg for more!

The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach

I’ve got a beautiful woman whom I sit daily with in the kitchen

She can design for Africa, hence my CULINARY ARTS skill

Her classes brought out my innate desire to prepare food perfectly

I am no flash in the pan when it comes to cooking

Putting together a state-of-the-art dishes

Its like a walk in the pack for me

And this I do in style without breaking any sweat!

My delicacies are mouth-watering

My passion is fired up in my small kitchen

As I put raw materials and ingredients together

Arranged in order that is so inviting and salivating

The aroma is always so tempting you will want to come uninvited

I believe good food should be well prepared!

WHEN PHOTOGRAPHY, CHESS AND CULINARY ARTS MET IN MY ROOM…it was an awesome moment not to be forgotten!

-McEstus Oshinowo