The LadyWho Caught My Eye She was my headteacher’s little daughter. I was just one of his pupils. Neither of us could have imagined how our story would unfold. I rememberedHelenas the littlegirlwho often followed her father, Mr. Matthias Attah, around the school compound. Years passed, life took me away from home and eventually into the Navy, but our paths would cross again. While receivingmy formal training as a naval officer in theUnitedKingdom, an unexpected connection brought Helen back into my life. I met a fellow Ghana Navy colleague, Patrick Attah, who happened to be her brother. Patrick had come to the United Kingdomwith other Ghana Navy sailors to bring a ship, GNS Asuansi, back to Ghana. Wemet inPortsmouth, andsomewhere in our conversation, I asked about Helen. Patrick gave me her address, and I began writing to her. At the time, I could not have known where those letters would eventually lead. She told me that she replied to some of them, although, strangely enough, I never received her letters. Still, something had begun. When I returned to Ghana in 1965, fate seemed to lend a hand. The Navy posted me to Takoradi, where Helen was completing her postsecondary education at Holy Child Training College. This time, she was no longer the little girl I remembered following her father around the school compound. I remember going to see her, dressed smartly in my white naval uniform. Shewas therewith her brother, smiling beautifully. I took one look at her and thought, “Wow, this is the lady.” And I think she liked what she saw too. We clicked. This time, the little girl frommy school days had grown into the woman who would become my wife and my companion for more than five decades. The Birthday Journal 33
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTAyMTM3NQ==