ad was living and working in Accra in the early 1980s, so Dan and Chikay were with him and schooling at Morning Star School at the time. I was elated when I finally transferred from Pentecost Preparatory School in Takoradi to join my brothers at Morning Star School in 1981. During my formative years at Morning Star, fromClass 4 through Class 7, a number of people influenced me positively. The most impactful was our able and beloved headmistress, the late Mrs. Esme Prah Siriboe. She was an excellent educator, a great mother figure, a lady of faith, and a disciplinarian. I recall having a major disagreement with her when I experienced my first academic failure during the admissions test. I chewed the butt of my pen throughout that test because I wasn’t familiar with the topics. She then decided that I wasn’t ready for Class 4 and convinced my father that I should repeat Class 3. Luckily, I had attended vacation classes during the long vacation and had performed pretty well in Class 4. As such, when school reopened, I challenged her decision and asked her to give me a chance to retake the Class 4 mid-term test to prove myself. She was open to the challenge and was actually happy for me when I proved her wrong. She always encouraged me to be a better version of myself at that early age. I’m forever grateful to her. Today, as a result of technology, I’ve been able to stay connected with my Morning Star School mates and keep alive four decades of friendships. I don’t take those friendships lightly, and I thank them for always being there. During my Morning Star School days, a beautiful friendship blossomed. Despite the fact that John Kofi Ababio (aka Abe) and I went to different secondary schools, and at some point I relocated from Labone back to Sekondi, our friendship has always remained very strong. A cool, affable, and kind dude, Abe has almost always been there during key milestones of my life. To mention a few instances, Abe was there at my traditional wedding inMichigan, 14
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