Those Escapades Part 1
Everyone looks at the watch.Ghrrrr! it's 10 minutes to 11pm. The
landlord would close the gate at 10, at exactly that time and there was
no two ways about it. Everyone becomes sad, but am the saddest one here,
with my light weight(I was barely 47kgs), I would be the one to climb
over, yes, over the 3-metre gate reinforced with
sharp glasses to open it for the staggering fellows. Honestly these are the moments I wished I were a 'Yokozuna'. Of imaginations and wishes, many said I spoke with negro accent, I couldn't figure out but may be because of my mad obsession with black American films(gangster life, hip-hop, crack-houses and all that 'shit').
It would be Friday, but not an ordinary one. It's a few days onto the new month and our wallets are 'fat'-we were working for a multinational company. We weren't on night shift, probably it was our off-day or we were supposed to be at work the following morning. Rare excitement was evident on our faces, it was gonna be a great night!
It's 6.30 pm, time to prepare supper. This early! Rich would dash to the butchery as i went over to Atieno's to buy a bunch of 'sukuma wiki'. This is the only 'mboga' shade where you would find fish too. It was dark and visibly aged. Atieno's family were probably the oldest residents of Landmawe Estate and were the only Luos doing 'biashara'. Their compatriots from the lakeside would trot here to buy fish. Talk of fish! 'Samaki', the school girl living next door earned herself this name at the Atieno's. My ever smiling pal, Alex, was so much into her, now for a long time. One night, we bumped into her at the Atieno's, dressed in a buibui(I didn't know whether she was Muslim). That was the opportunity! Alex rubbed his hands, I guess to gather courage and off he went! After dropping a few lines, the lady smiled and sentimentally, "aki si unibuyie samaki?".....and Alex was dumb!
Back in the crib, we would hastily prepare the meal at a speed no one would explain. It was a rule for us to first eat before going out.Very responsible lads. After enjoying the once in a while delicacy, we were hot on our heels, the three of us and sometimes with Bene, the cheeky neighbor who would just laugh at anything. 'Chairman Keg and Wines' was our destination, only a stone throw away from our house. It was a tiny, iron-sheeted bar with long benches and tables. The bar was rumored to belong to a student and it was puzzling how he came up with the name wine, because you couldn't find them here.
Landmawe had uncountable bars, it was arguably the 'drinking city', mainly for the rich from the nearby Hazina and South B Estates. They were all but expensive and Chairman's was our savior, our class, our own. Here you would find all sorts of people, all characters but damn! poverty isn't a good thing. We always strive to be superior over fellow poor. Some even pretended to be members of the disciplined forces, just to gain pride and instill fear.Ironically, they would still beg for 'kanusu' of Flying Horse brandy. On a friday like this one, Chairman's would be abuzz, extremely full to a point revellers would be given empty kegs and soda bottles to sit on. Cigarette smoke would fill the air, of course no one would complain. In places like this you cannot find a designated smoking zone.
Shiko, the bartender would come to our table when the entourage had secured seats. She wouldn't ask for the kind of the drink, but the quantity. We were regular customers here and 'Senator Keg' was known to be our drink except Vinny, my homie from Konoin. He loved caps and used to fear bosses at work, a lot.Vinny would drink cheap but hard spirits, you could even tell that by the 'redishness' of his lips. With straws we would sip the 'sambaza' straight from the jugs. Bene would give up only at halfway and Rich would 'assist' him. So high that he would spring up, shrieking, as he danced to the Caribbean tunes. This was the genre of music being played here.Ras(we didn't know his name) was our man, he was the bouncer at the joint. You would face his wrath if you refused to pay. We would buy him 'veve' and the smallest cup of Senator Keg and he would play our favorite music, or even rewind them as we wished. Wasn't that fantastic? We would drink ourselves out, a jug after the other shaking our now heavy heads to the riddims. It was fun but suddenly a power outage cut it short.The 'drunkards' started throwing all kinds of insults, as many as one could to the Kenya Power
Everything came to a standstill, everyone is angry, too angry. There are no emergency generators here. Anyway, it was time to call it night. As we rose up to leave, a huge bang went off, followed by bright flashlights piercing through the ensuing darkness. Terrified, everyone scrambled for the door, but there was no way out.......A police land-cruiser lay in waiting.
sharp glasses to open it for the staggering fellows. Honestly these are the moments I wished I were a 'Yokozuna'. Of imaginations and wishes, many said I spoke with negro accent, I couldn't figure out but may be because of my mad obsession with black American films(gangster life, hip-hop, crack-houses and all that 'shit').
* * *
It would be Friday, but not an ordinary one. It's a few days onto the new month and our wallets are 'fat'-we were working for a multinational company. We weren't on night shift, probably it was our off-day or we were supposed to be at work the following morning. Rare excitement was evident on our faces, it was gonna be a great night!
It's 6.30 pm, time to prepare supper. This early! Rich would dash to the butchery as i went over to Atieno's to buy a bunch of 'sukuma wiki'. This is the only 'mboga' shade where you would find fish too. It was dark and visibly aged. Atieno's family were probably the oldest residents of Landmawe Estate and were the only Luos doing 'biashara'. Their compatriots from the lakeside would trot here to buy fish. Talk of fish! 'Samaki', the school girl living next door earned herself this name at the Atieno's. My ever smiling pal, Alex, was so much into her, now for a long time. One night, we bumped into her at the Atieno's, dressed in a buibui(I didn't know whether she was Muslim). That was the opportunity! Alex rubbed his hands, I guess to gather courage and off he went! After dropping a few lines, the lady smiled and sentimentally, "aki si unibuyie samaki?".....and Alex was dumb!
Back in the crib, we would hastily prepare the meal at a speed no one would explain. It was a rule for us to first eat before going out.Very responsible lads. After enjoying the once in a while delicacy, we were hot on our heels, the three of us and sometimes with Bene, the cheeky neighbor who would just laugh at anything. 'Chairman Keg and Wines' was our destination, only a stone throw away from our house. It was a tiny, iron-sheeted bar with long benches and tables. The bar was rumored to belong to a student and it was puzzling how he came up with the name wine, because you couldn't find them here.
Landmawe had uncountable bars, it was arguably the 'drinking city', mainly for the rich from the nearby Hazina and South B Estates. They were all but expensive and Chairman's was our savior, our class, our own. Here you would find all sorts of people, all characters but damn! poverty isn't a good thing. We always strive to be superior over fellow poor. Some even pretended to be members of the disciplined forces, just to gain pride and instill fear.Ironically, they would still beg for 'kanusu' of Flying Horse brandy. On a friday like this one, Chairman's would be abuzz, extremely full to a point revellers would be given empty kegs and soda bottles to sit on. Cigarette smoke would fill the air, of course no one would complain. In places like this you cannot find a designated smoking zone.
Shiko, the bartender would come to our table when the entourage had secured seats. She wouldn't ask for the kind of the drink, but the quantity. We were regular customers here and 'Senator Keg' was known to be our drink except Vinny, my homie from Konoin. He loved caps and used to fear bosses at work, a lot.Vinny would drink cheap but hard spirits, you could even tell that by the 'redishness' of his lips. With straws we would sip the 'sambaza' straight from the jugs. Bene would give up only at halfway and Rich would 'assist' him. So high that he would spring up, shrieking, as he danced to the Caribbean tunes. This was the genre of music being played here.Ras(we didn't know his name) was our man, he was the bouncer at the joint. You would face his wrath if you refused to pay. We would buy him 'veve' and the smallest cup of Senator Keg and he would play our favorite music, or even rewind them as we wished. Wasn't that fantastic? We would drink ourselves out, a jug after the other shaking our now heavy heads to the riddims. It was fun but suddenly a power outage cut it short.The 'drunkards' started throwing all kinds of insults, as many as one could to the Kenya Power
Everything came to a standstill, everyone is angry, too angry. There are no emergency generators here. Anyway, it was time to call it night. As we rose up to leave, a huge bang went off, followed by bright flashlights piercing through the ensuing darkness. Terrified, everyone scrambled for the door, but there was no way out.......A police land-cruiser lay in waiting.
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