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He
is normally booked first class on best chartered carriers and upon arrival he
is chauffeured around in some of the best cars that ooze class and can deflate
one’s ego if a rival of petty means. Many a time I usually think this is a ploy
to pamper him to retain his immense wealth of experience acquired over years in
blue chip corporation. As such he never uses the bus as we head to the rural
areas via the hectic and uncomfortable buses found in Machakos bus station. He
has become a common face in country's millions of dollars loss making and
bourse listed airline riddled in a financial mess.
He
lives in the suburban bliss and when I did visit while still a scholar, the
security guard would look at me the way a supercilious and grandiose Karen
resident sneers at an impecunious Kibera micreant. I learnt to condone
them owing to the fact that they thought I was of pitiable pedigree. As such it
was hard making friends with them. Since it was a long distance from the main
road, I could not be able to afford the price of the motorcycles that ferried
most to the highly secured, picturesque and beautifully manicured pads.
The
other day we had an extended family get together. Some of my aunts came in the
latest Japanese machines that I must confess did evoke jealousy among those who
had prided in previously owning automobile. One of my uncles had just joined
the SFB (Subaru Fan Boys) club. His iconic contraption was what caught the
attention of all and sundry. The toy had big wheels and with an equally
aggressive body work that subtly shrieked of his newly acquired fortune. The
hood was vented and it had a whopper of a rear spoiler in place. He had also
upholstered it so that it produced the safari rally noise common in such cars
while revving.
Then
it was time to exit the scene. Being a curious fellow, I told all of them to
let me test drive the cars considering I had a jalopy I inherited which
hitherto had served me well. I can’t complain since it is fuel conservative
(literal translation) and efficient and most of the time the previous owner (my
old man) comes to my rescue to service it once in a while.
I
never saw my elder brother enjoin us in the hullabaloo that ensured as everyone
congratulated the new car owners. He was seated somewhere slowly mulling over
this disturbing and humiliating experience on his part. He did not have his own
personal car. He was most of the times out of the country and that meant he did
not have a car of his own. Seeing people he thought were not as financially muscled
as he being congratulated, he retreated and became envious as he also never
knew how to drive albeit he had a DL. He had tasked that role to a driver he
was assigned as he usually behaved like an ‘engineer.’ What’s up with some
engineers by the way, they think they are more learned having only done basic
maths in campus which is even too easy. Even a class eight drop out can tackle
them effortlessly.
A
week later, we were at home. I was watching my favorite comedy series ‘Big Bang
Theory.’ Sheldon had just kissed Emmy (In real life Sheldon is gay). The next
thing I saw was part of the fence fall down as a Bavarian monster was literally
struggling to go beyond the damaged fence. The ignition was still on and I
could still hear the accelerator pedal was still being pressed by the driver
inside. One of the car tyres was hanging and revolving at a very high speed
while the other was on top of the derelict portion. Inside was a man who was
wrapped in airbags. He was screaming for help.
How
could one resort to damaging a brand new Bimmer when he had already arrived and
it was only a matter of parking the car that waited. Since the impact was not
quite catastrophic when the revving stopped, I saw a bulky figure emerging out
of the car looking disheveled and weary. Alas, it was my brother. He was
shaken.
He
had wanted to surprise us by coming back in style but all that had backfired on
him when he was on the verge of completing his journey cementing his grand
entry. I had to come in handy as an expert driver to remove the car from the
wreckage and being a certified first aider from Red Cross, I did basic first
aid to him. Inside I noticed some bottles of fine Scotch whisky that can pay a
regular campus student’s fee for a whole year and you still you would still get
a rebate. The car’s interior was luxurious and angelic white plus everything
was fully automated.
My
father’s fence was to be repaired. That he declared tacitly. He also had to
take the guzzler to Bavaria as there are no cheap spare parts and mechanics in
Grogan. Those were just but some of the woes that had afflicted a wounded lion.
I bet it’s never prudent to act out of jealousy and envy.
Later
when he was taking the contraption back for repair, his co driver later
admitted that he never knew how to even control the air conditioners, the
headlights and a variety of other things that were in the car. In fact they had
to use the indicator while driving at night.
I
later learnt it was a hired vehicle. The following day upon receipt of the car
the owner called the police and that night the two spent a night behind bars as
there was no one to come to their rescue. The co driver was released on grounds
that he was not part of the deal but my brother had to shoulder the bill
unilaterally. That left him with an egg on the face and it was a lesson well
learnt.
SITUONANE.
SITUONANE.
