I am not an architect or a builder but obviously not oblivious of terminologies
in the civil or building engineering terrain. “A house with too many windows is
indeed very compelling”.
While living in this earth for quite sometime now in different neighborhoods and
country, I find it intriguing what has transpired in the past and what is now
taking place? Do you imagine what such houses face or are predisposed to? Your
guess is as good as mine.
Such houses are host by design whether they like it or not to varied group of
animates (Human and non-human) alike such as:
Rodents
Cats
Snakes
Mosquitoes
Thieves
Truant children
Eloper/escapees
I once lived in a country where the windows are too many, occasioned by the
broken or non-existence of operational Laws in the Land and moreover when the
windows are at the mercy of either the rodents, the cats, the snakes, the
scorpions, the mosquitoes, the thieves, the truant child the eloper/escapees
just to name a few.
Rodents as you may come to understand are very destructive. They forage on
anything that the open windows of the house could allow them to have. Amazingly,
they communicate details of the loopholes of the house management to other
rodents that they come across during their lifetime. They do not care if they
are trapped or not. But rather prefers that they ruin the house and cause
shortages in food supplies. Most often than not they mess up all already
beautified adornments in the house. A place visited by rodents usually losses
all decency, chaos is the order of the day.
A cat on the other hand comes after the rodents in the house. Thanks to the
numerous entry points in the house that makes for the easy passages. In the
process of checkmating the rodents, things are turned over, leathered settees or
couch suffers molestation and degrading. They many a times are torn literally
apart. Furs deposit by them, an ominous sign for the allergic. Over time the
cats eventually becomes friendly with the cats and they both then tangle in all
they do, causing more mess.
The snake’s known for its crawling abilities and speed under cover, comes into
houses normally through cracks in the walls. Snakes giving that a house has many
windows, makes it less cumbersome for its exploits. Once inside the house, I bet
you, every occupant has the need to feel very uneasy. The snake is very sleek
and dangerous. They could poison, bite, constrict, and swallow you up without
any suspicion. Snakes do not belong in the house. their presence is deadly.
Nothing positive comes out of their presence in the house. Fear and anarchy is
the order of the day.
Building a house with many windows is analogous to spending much with its
upkeep. One of such spending is in the area of curbing the dangerous effect of
mosquito bites. Owners of such houses must be up and doing unless they cherish
the deadliness of fever in all shades and lately the West Nile Virus. The
presence of mosquitoes translates to ill health and a sick house. The GDP (Gross
Domestic Product) of such house is always below that which is prescribed by the
international finance institutions. Development is compulsorily slow, death is
rampant, wailing and mourning is the order of the day.
There come the thieves taking advantage of loopholes. A house with many windows
obviously gives up itself for penetration. The cost of securing the various
entrances with burglary proofs and the fact that in modern times they no longer
could keep away thieves has made living in the house a severe anguish. Come to
think of it, thieves in this regard come in different shades and with different
authority. They also come in diverse appellations like in Bandits, Gangs, Armed
Robbers, Pen Robbers, Governors, Counselors, Local Government Chairpersons,
Honorable, President, Judges, Traditional Heads, Pastors and Bishops,
Ambassadors, Police, etc, just to mention a few.
These categories of thieves rain terror in the lives of occupants of this good
intentioned multiple windowed house. Their domestic freedom is taken away,
poverty reigns, affluence is displayed in the streets; value system cogent and
concise for forward growth of the house is thrown to the wind without caution.
This brings me to the fact that since the rule of law is now broken in such
house, truancy of children becomes the order of the day. No one could account
for the whereabouts of members of this good intentioned house. The windows
gradually gave way to become doors and going through them all in the name of
escaping unnoticed over time became a lot easier. I was once told that going
through the window is an act of a thief. But with time I realized that going
through the window is also an act of a careless owner who misplaced his keys and
felt that since the window is less costly to replace, goes through the window in
which ever way so long as access is gained.
All said and done, when it becomes unbearable for some in the house to cope,
they seek alternative houses to live in. they simply elope. Some would blame
them for eloping. They would rather suggest fixing it. But do they ask where the
knowledge to fix it would come from? Everyone in that house appears to be on the
same page of a vicious life circle towards doom. It would take a look from afar
to appreciate the quagmires that the house is into.
Some would say call the elders to fix it, some would say call the expatriates,
but most often they forget to mention the builders for correction. Who are the
builders? Is age a factor in building? Is position acquired by hook or crook a
factor to consider? Is outright destruction a factor to consider? Must you
belong to the thick and thin of the society to be considered?
As I pondered over these, I asked myself this question? Why can’t we ask the
Rodents, the Cats, the Mosquitoes, the Thieves, the Truant child and the elopers
to be part of this problem solving exercise? The only answer that came through
was that nobody agrees to be any of these that have over time caused the house
such pain.
Sincerity, truth and progress continue to slip away from this house. The reality
is that the multi-faceted windowed house remains the same. How long will this go
on? Who can tell?
Ijomor Ifeanyi
Maryland,
USA.
