TONYE COLE: HOW MUCH IS THAT ITEM WORTH?

The young lad’s excitement know no bounds. His chest inflated with joy, adrenaline pumping through his veins, his voice carried at the loudest octave he could muster to let everyone know that he was special, for on this day, in an unbelievable throng of human bodies jostling and positioning for a glimpse, a touch or a photo op with by far the biggest and most famous heavyweight champion their shantytown has seen, he of all people, had been singled out for favour. The Champ, on a whim that only he can explain, took off his self branded, customized face cap and handed it to him. Only him!

An iconic collectors item on his head, the lad made sure any and everyone he saw knew with no iota of doubt, whose face cap adorned his head and how privileged he was to own it. An invaluable collectors item had just received and the possible range of opportunities it presented to young man was endless so I was intently interested when another national icon, aware of the inherent value of the merchandise offered to buy it off the lad. “Sir, I don’t want to sell. Just bless me today” was the young man’s response, an answer I thought showed he cherished the symbolism of the collection over the fleeting gratification of money. The cap, after all had just got him talking to one the the lands foremost comedian and entertainer and only God knew where next it would take him. The Lord of Heaven and Earth, at Creation, made all men equal in His sight but after the great fall, all men are no longer born equal even though they spiritually remain created equal. The circumstance of life dictates what we would hold valuable and the importance we attach to men and things. As I settled to marvel at the uncanny intuition that the lad had to what the item could unleash in his life, an offer, the equivalence of $80/- was presented to him and before I could blink, it was accepted and the deal was done. To the one, living at $1/day, it was the deal of a lifetime, to the other, an icon collector of iconic items, it was the deal of a lifetime. Who was better off I wondered? Only time would tell. May we have the wisdom to value what is valuable and hold dear to what is invaluable. For your comments, contributions, connect with me here: @TonyeCole1 on Twitter.