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For once, even the High Priests (Spin doctors) of ex-President J. J. Rawlings could not decipher the relevance of the story he told at the National Congress of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), held at Tamale, from January 15 to January 17, 2010. According to the DAILY GUIDE issue of Tuesday, January 19, 2010, Honourable Inusah Fuseini, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, said on METRO-TV�s programme, �Good Morning Ghana,� that he personally did not understand the import of the story. Even then, Mr. Fuseini also reportedly said that he was unhappy that Mr. Rawlings chose to use a name that the sitting President was using, adding that President John Evans Atta Mills neither smokes nor drinks. Mr. Fuseini reportedly felt that the former President�s story showed disrespect for the Presidency. President Mills also got it wrong, when he apparently thought that Mr. Rawlings was referring to him. He said that, on a lighter note, he was temporarily dropping the name �Atta� from his names. What was the story, as has been reported by the media? Briefly this: Mr. Atta Kwabena Kumah, a Mortuary Attendant at the 37 Military Hospital, could not go home one night, because it had rained rather heavily. He decided to stay the night at the Mortuary. As it began to get cold, Mr. Atta pulled a white sheet off one the corpses and wrapped himself in it. He began to feel like urinating so he went outside, still with the white sheet wrapped round him. While Mr. Atta was urinating, a soldier passing by saw what he thought was a ghost, so he quickened his steps in the attempt to escape the apparition. Mr. Atta, also probably thinking that the soldier had seen something dangerous or unpleasant, also followed the soldier. The faster the soldier moved the quicker Mr. Atta followed the soldier. Both men eventually found themselves in the safety of a guardroom, only for them to discover that they were both human beings, but no apparitions. When a person delivers a speech, he may spice up his delivery, by introducing appropriate proverbs or illustrative stories that effectively and delightfully clinch the point he wants to make. It means that the stories or proverbs must have relevance to the time, the occasion and the purpose of the speech. It has to be admitted that there was no discernible relevance of Mr. Rawlings� story, as far as the time and the occasion were concerned. Still, if we detach the story from its spatio-temporal dimensions, and treat it by itself, we can learn one or two important lessons from it. First, consider the main story of the Mortuary Attendant and the soldier. Mr. Rawlings did not say how long Mr. Atta had worked as a mortuary attendant before his encounter with the soldier. But a mortuary attendant who can easily take a sheet off a corpse and wrap himself with it in order to keep warm, must have enough experience not to be afraid of ghosts. So what was Mr. Atta running away from? Remember that he did not run after the soldier to assure him (the soldier) that he (Mr. Atta) was not a ghost. He was running away from whatever had scared the soldier. So do mortuary attendants fear ghosts? If not, what do they fear, after working on corpses all the time? And the unnamed and unknown soldier!!! A soldier is trained to defend his country. In actual combat situations, he may have to kill, maim or take his enemy captive. He is trained not to fear since, in actual combat situations, a display of cowardice, even by a single soldier, can endanger the lives of the rest of the troops. In the final analysis, however, a soldier is only human, like his fellow human being who is a civilian. If he can kill, maim and capture, he can also be killed, maimed and captured. No matter our training or calling or occupation, the primeval fear that makes us fight danger, or flee from it, is in all of us. The soldier demonstrated his essential humanity. In any case, even if he had a gun, how do you shoot at a ghost that is coming after you faster and faster, and steadily so? The story also tells us how our fears can be baseless. We can sit back and enjoy a good laugh at the expense of Mr. Atta and the soldier. But, in all sincerity, how many of us would have behaved differently from what Mr. Atta and the soldier did? Our fears can make us kill. Our fears can also kill us or disable us in some way, say, by giving us a stroke. Ponder over the long-lasting friendly between two persons whose ages, and social and economic circumstances could not have been more different: an 82-year old mortuary attendant, and a 60 year old man who holds the record of ruling his country for almost 20 years. Under what circumstances was the friendship struck? Note that Mr. Rawlings cared so much for this man that he even advised him to stop drinking, because he (Mr. Atta) was wasting away. Imagine the joy of Mr. Rawlings when, the next time he saw Mr. Atta, he had kicked the drinking habit, and changed physically for the better. Not only did Mr. Rawlings present his friend with a parcel, but he also decided to do something about his smoking habit. If Mr. Atta has stopped drinking and Mr. Rawlings has stopped smoking, then the two men deserve congratulations. Drinking and smoking are serious addictions that are very difficult to break. An ordinary mortuary attendant influences an ex-President to kick a habit that was destroying him! Perhaps, no amount of priestly preaching could have induced the strong-willed Rawlings to stop smoking. Note the depth of their friendship: Mr. Rawlings caring very much about Mr. Atta, and Mr. Atta, perhaps half-seriously and half jokingly, telling Mr. Rawlings that if he (Mr. Rawlings) died, he (Mr. Atta) would treat the presidential body very well. He would powder his face! Only people who are very good friends can crack �unpleasant� or ghoulish jokes at each other�s expense. Mr. Atta is the happiest man on earth today knowing that, all these years, his friend had not only remembered the story, but had also �elevated� him in the eyes of the public, by recounting the story. If Mr. Rawlings could stand for elections again, you know whom Mr. Atta would vote for. Martin Luther King is reported to have said that even if you are a street-sweeper, do your work so well that everyone will recognise your efforts. Mr. Atta has done his work so well that after 42 years of active service, he is still on call to help. He can still walk, he can still work, he can still see and he can still talk. Is there no National Award for such long and dedicated service? What was the point in Mr. Rawlings� story? I confess I cannot enter his mind. But, I also do not believe that he had President Mills in mind. He would have been forthright, as he has always been.