I have three brothers and no sister, and if you hang out with me for a while it isn’t hard to figure this out. Some of my earliest and fondest memories of myself (to the dismay of my mum), is tagging alongside the little boys in my neighborhood. Though I was always up for playing with dolls, I loved even more so to climb trees, chase cats and taste worms J
Fast forward to today and aside from my
more advanced pallet you can find me on any given day hanging with “the
dudes”. I have a great affinity for my
guy friends and cherish their friendships a great deal. Furthermore, I refute
strongly the idea that guys and girls cannot be just friends. From my personal experience, guys and girls
can indeed be the best of friends without anything sexual involved. I actually
get a kick out of saying that at least half of my closest friends are guys. So
world, meet one of my best guy friends Ismalia Konate from the Republic of
Mali. (aka Fireboy ).
with Isma on his wedding day
I always say that if you’re interested in getting the low down on all the scandalous things I’ve done so far in my adult life, just holla at Isma; for he knows every sordid tale about me. My friendship with Isma is that of the New York City immigrant story. We’ve known each other since our teens, and as we maneuvered our lives in the tough state that is New York, we became each other’s family. For together with the rest of our other friends, we saw each other through the success of our college graduations, the ordeal of finding our first apartments, the excitement of finding our first jobs, and a support system for each other over the heartbreak of a job loss. As the saying goes, you are a product of your environment. Accordingly, I am convinced I wouldn’t be “the Juanita that I am today without the presence of people such as Isma in my life during the most formative years of my twenties”. Through him, I learned to speak pretty decent French, became a soccer expert, and an honorary citizen of Mali.
Since I always make Isma sound so interesting, people usually say to me – so why don’t you just date him.lol. Well, first of all, Negative!! He is not my dating ‘type’ (inside joke). But on a serious note, it’s the issue of “friendship” once again. I believe people are placed in your life for a reason, and the reason Isma is in mine is so that we will always be the best of friends.
ISMA’s WEDDING
I made it back to NYC just in time for Isma’s wedding this spring. This was a big deal. For you see, it was like watching your little brother grow up before your very eyes. It felt like just the other day he would call me on a Sunday evening to explain excitedly about his weekend tirade with girls, or to help him choose who to date, etc. Earlier in the year when he told me he was marrying his girlfriend Mariam, I did the happy dance for him. Btw, the “approval part” is a big deal. Nothing sucks as much as having a guy friend whose wife/girlfriend you don’t like. In Isma’s case he had put me and his other girl pals through torture in the past regarding this very issue ( another inside joke)….But this is now water under the bridge as along came our fabulous wifey Mariam Dao Konate.
Isma and new wife Mariam
Aisha with groomsmen: (Badara, Boa, Musa)
Aisha from the Gambia is married to one of the groomsmen
Garan and Mouna
Mon Petit and I
The crew supporting Isma on his big day
LA FETE
Party time…..
The Malian Fellas looking swerve…….
Coupe Decale…..
Musa and his daughter Nandy sharing a moment…
Aisha and pal….
Muna (the other tomboy in the group) and I
The wedding itself was a joyous affair.
What can I say, I’m a sucker for African Weddings, and ain’t anything more
vibrant than a Malian wedding. So much culture, color, poise, and then
some. It is no mistake that some of the
most celebrated African musicians hail from Mali….their culture is amazingly
rich, and usually on full display during a wedding ceremony. It was also a
great day for me since I had been gone all year long and got to see all of my
Malian friends under one roof. In the
end, all I can say is that it is an amazing feeling to see your guy friends
evolve from boys, to men and into fathers. So this one’s to Isma and to my many other guy
friends! May we continue to be a blessing in each other’s lives.
CHEERS TO US
AND TO TRUE FRIENDSHIPS!!
Take one……..
Take two………
Finally got it right!!……… My Boys 🙂
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