You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February, 2007.
We were having friends over, and while us adults were having adult conversation and eating adult pizza in the adult living room Nolan and his buddy Jacob were eating their slices at the table. Well, I suppose they were eating, because the pizza eventually dissapeared from their plates, but it was so funny to be in the the next room, because their cute jibber jabber NEVER stopped. Mostly it was just a buzz of high pitched little boy voices, but occasionally I could make things like “I’m a race car Jacob! Hnnnnggggggggggmmmmmm” and “Here Nolan read this!” (Jacob passed Nolan the pizza menu while he said this). It was especially fun to witness this interaction because Nolan and Jacob have know each other since before Nolan turned one, and they’ve ‘hung out’ often socially and at church, but they used to acknowledge each other more by playing along side one another, and occasionally fighting about the same car, so it’s so cute to actually see and hear them have little boy conversations, even though they make no sense what so ever.
Me and the little stinker braved the cold this afternoon to run out to the Arboretum. Nolan LOVED it, he was running around like a puppy noticing “the rocks!” on the paths, and the waterfalls where the “water is splashing!” and then he ran off yelling “I am going to get those little purple birdies” to a cluster of orange birds that quickly flew off at the sight of him. He made it VERY clear he loves to go there and I am expecting many many requests to go back to “take a walk in the garden again?!”, which is good, because I love going there, but I seem to always forget. I need my boy to help me do the fun stuff.
Yesterday Beppie and Milko got a great phone call from a new lawyer, one of the leading ones in the country as a matter of fact; Mr Jobarteh, and he is going to take their case!
So they went to the court house today without a lawyer (Milko is meeting with the new lawyer later) and asked for an extension and a new court date given the circumstances. The new court date is the 28th of this month and Beppie and Milko are looking forward to two weeks of rest, at least as far as this madhouse is concerned. My mom did tell me that the judge gave them both a helpless look as he gave them the new date, the man just doesn’t know how to deal with this case, Beppie actually feels bad for the guy and the position he is in.
Tomorrow, valentines day, February 14th is Milko’s court date. Beppie and Milko feel strongly about their case, but here are a few facts that make them nervous:
- The judge assigned to this case didn’t want anything to do with the case, but was forced by ‘higher authorities’ (and we all know who that is)
- Even their lawyer, the one who has been helpful up to this point now claims that “he is really actually too busy for their case, and he has no time for it”. so they are now scampering to find another lawyer that has the guts to accompany them in court tomorrow, as if anybody dares take that position.
It’s evident still, and more every day that people are terrified to have anything to do with this case, and we are hoping that this will not cloud their morality when it comes to judging time.
On a lighter note it’s good to know that business is picking back up for their company. The three weeks of events that brought the business to a screeching halt really hurt, and in addition Milko’s arrest also made it into the paper which doesn’t help client confidence, but luckily everybody they talk to has told them they already knew Milko is innocent.
On average we are asked begged 20 to 50 times a day if we can please please, pretty please put on the Cars movie. Nolan has been into cars ever since he was old enough to stick toy cars in his mouth, and it’s never diminished. As he developed new obsessions for vacuums, fans, smoke detectors and bob the builder, there was always his healthy fascination for all things cars in the background. When Greg and I first saw the commercials for the Cars movie we knew Nolan would love it, but it was not until this Christmas that Nolan got his first taste.
He only gets to watch it on Saturdays, though occasionally he gets a special viewing as a reward for pooping on the potty, and a few extra runs still when he was sick and feverish last week. The moments that he is not watching the movie he walks around quoting lines from it back and forth, things like “you are one heck of a racer mommy” and “katchow!!!!”
Yesterday Milko and my mom received a phonecall from the police, telling them that the manager of Kanilai farm, who had given them the request and permission to get the generators picked up, was at the police station for confrontation, and they asked them if they could hurry up and get there. This is the day after they have been told by the boss of the investigation department that they couldn’t make a case of the ’stealing’ of the generators (because of the overwhelming proof against it).
When they arrived at the police station, the Kanilai farm manager was not there, and suddenly Milko’s case got passed to prosecution. When my mom, stunned by this, started asking questions to that same boss she was then told that the case was no longer about the generators, but it is now about the fact that they made a profit on the parts. My mom was mortified!
They then wait for a while at the prosecution desk, and she asks again what this is about, to which they then answer once again that it’s about the stealing of the generators. In short they are being lied to left and right, but they have not a clue why.
The boss of prosecution then comes to them after going through the file and tells them they have to go to Brikama which is about 40 kilometers from where they were, to the court there. When they get there it’s a shack of a courtroom that at that time was handling cases of juvenile pushing over the goal posts at the local soccer field, and a man who cut down 4 trees in order to feed his family. The Co of the Brikama police looks through the file and he also tells them that they can’t make a case from this for the judge because the charge of the stealing of the generators was immediately proved wrong with the proof in that same folders of the request to transport them etc.
The Co of the police then calls the police in Banjul and tells them very clearly that he was not able to bring an innocent person into a courtroom, so he would get him bail. The answer out of Banjul was “well then put him in jail until Tuesday.”
When their lawyer got there he and the Co dissapeared into the judge chambers, and returned with somber faces; the bail had been denied. Milko, the Co and the Lawyer left for the Brikama police station after, and there the Co does give Milko bail on his personal title, because he said he was a person of faith and he could not in good conscience put innocent Milko in jail until Tuesday (when the case will be judged) so fortunately he was able to go home again.
They are pleased to now see that there are also many people surrounding the case that are doing good things for them. That day they had brought along three Gambian men that worked for them as witnesses, who were there when the generators were picked up. My mom thinks this helped because it made the others see the unconditional trust they have for Milko and Beppie and that it made the others embarrassed that they were playing along with the game a few people at high powers in the governement were playing with an innocent man.
People are handling this case like a hot potato according to my mom, nobody wants to touch it so they are just trying to toss it on to the next person.
Given by none other than his daddy!
To be quite honest I was a little scared when I was on my way home from a show in Richmond this past Saturday and I check my messages on my cellphone, as this is what I head (Greg:)”I just gave Nolan I haircut (snickering) eeehm, you might need to do some damage control (giggle).” I didn’t really know what to expect, I was expecting anything from a reverse mowhawk to a choppy bowl cut.
Fortunately he had exaggerated and when I snuck in Nolan’s room when I get home to survey the damage all I saw was a sleeping little angel with a perfect little buzz cut.
We can tell too that Nolan is more than happy to be free of that mop that had been on his head, with the ends sticking into his exes for the past couple of weeks.
This morning though after his shower I found the only sneaky mishap that had successfully hid itself until now.
Just a single tuft of long hair that is happily sticking out from the back of his head. The only “damage control” I need to do, that’s pretty darn good! Way to go G!
Got the great news this afternoon that Milko has been released on bail for now. They do have to come back tomorrow, but it sounds like even the police doesn’t know what to make of all of this. We will see what happens. I was able to instant message with him for a minute too before he was excited about going to have a dinner “with a knife and fork, yippy!”
Also as a heads up for those of you who have been staying updated on the progress by reading this, I may have to take these entries off the site for a while, as I’ve been up front about all things happening, which may not make certain people involved terribly happy. We’ll see later if that’s necessary, Milko seems to be of the opinion that we’ve been honest about the whole thing, and even if that hurts some people, that’s their issue and not ours. I do agree with this, but I don’t want to make things more difficult than they already are.
So according to the consul Milko is getting charged with stealing those three generators that he has standing in his shop, the ones that he’d been requested to look at to repair, and also the ones they’ve sent account statements and repair requests for to the state house several times since they arrived. Too ridiculous for words, no? This is obviously a bogus charge, but I guess they figured they’d have to come up with something since they’ve held him for ten days, five of which “hidden.”
This morning my mom and the attorney are getting their opportunity to show all the documentation of everything related to those generators to the police, showing what a bogus charge this is, and they are hoping they are able to take him home by the end of the day. I am crossing my fingers and praying that all goes as planned, and anxiously awaiting the news.
This morning when Greg woke me up with a piping hot cup of coffee he pulled aside the curtains to show me it was snowing!!! Though I despise the cold, I LOVE LOVE LOVE snow.
This is what the back yard looked like, though at this point it’s probably already more covered in white. Last I heard we are supposed to get one inch of show and it may start raining freezing rain later so make for a slick and slippery Raleigh.
So Nolan and Lucky decided it was a perfect morning for hanging out on our cozy bed.
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