Happy Fathers’ Day to all the wonderful dads out there, more specifically a father figure like Godfrey Morake – a former convict. During his notorious days, ‘Godfather’ – as he is affectionately known by his peers – was the Pablo of Bongweni village, a rural town on the outskirts of the Mpumalanga Highveld!
Smooth with the tongue like ink to paper, he had many girls drooling for him. This was further justified by his family background. He grew up as the only child of the Morakes, one of the most respected families in the entire community. See, unlike many in his community, Godfather was raised with a silver spoon. He had anything and everything he wanted at the snap of his fingers, from the latest smartphones, gadgets, and clothes, to the most expensive sneakers that most of his peers would only see on television.
Both his parents worked for the government. His father was a lawyer for Legal Aid, and his mother was on midwife duties at the local hospital. They wanted the best for their son. Well, that’s understandable, given the amount of effort they had put in to ensure that their only son got to have the kind of childhood they never got to enjoy. Besides, that’s what any parent wishes for their children.
Before turning to crime, Godfrey was one of the coolest kids in the developing neighbourhood. He was also known for his silky soccer skills and for being a Casanova. He would dribble past a number of defenders on the field of play just as he would with beautiful girls’ hearts. Things started going south when he moved to boarding school at 16. A couple of months down the line, Godfrey was hooked on drugs. All this because of peer pressure, one would suppose.
He would suddenly use up his monthly allowance and ask for more money within two weeks, and this would raise eyebrows back at home. Of course, he was a spoilt brat! It was inevitable that they increased his monthly allowance by 100%.
“Kuyafana sisebenzela yena,” Godfrey’s mother would seldom say to the father, who was keener on teaching his son how to live on a tight budget.
His parents assumed that the lifestyle and cost of living in the dormitory was far more expensive, hence the increase. Little did they know that their ‘only hope’ was leading a hopeless life of drugs.
The inflated allowance dug a pit of addiction for the young boy, further than the six feet that both his parents would be laid under, a few months later. The unfortunate occurred, a double blow! Both his parents were involved in a fatal car accident, and buried a week later. Two services ran concurrently.
The situation worsened for the naïve teenager-turned-drug-addict. He eventually dropped out of boarding, as he had to make means to feed his habit. Security got tighter at the boarding school and he couldn’t get a fix as often as he wanted.
Money was there to take him through school, and even more for him to further his studies at the university of his choice across the country. Money was no object, after all. A high-school dropout, with druggie habits and a bank account brimming with Madiba’s face, he had the whole world at his fingertips.
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Tell us: Can money buy you happiness? Motivate your answer.