Normally, I do not laugh at people when misfortune strikes. This
morning was one of those situations when for some strange reason you just end
up laughing.
Since Saturday morning, it has been raining here pretty much
nonstop. It would be fine if the road heading into Fort Portal from my village
was paved but it is not and since they have been clearing and getting it ready
to pave it has become this massive pit of mud, cars, matatus, bodas, trucks,
and people slipping and sliding trying to make it to where they are going. I
spent an extra forty minutes with my motorcycle driver pushing our way through
the mud pit on Monday night. Rainy Season has started! Man I miss dry season.
Anyways there is a bend in the road heading from Kasiisi
village into Kigarama that has really turned into the Monster of rainy season. Anyone
who goes through at speeds faster than walking gets a bite in the bottom. One
day last week while Max and Will got their hair cut, we saw three
crashes/slides/splats whatever you want to call them and a near collision of a
young girl and a motorcycle on that bend. Drivers go way too fast on motorcycle
tires that are not made for mud or really African roads in general. This
morning a large truck over turned sending Matooke (bananas) everywhere. There
are large ruts and massive piles of mud building as people get stuck and try to
get out. Mind you, they do not do the classic pump the gas, rock the car, put
down cat litter or gravel, or even push, they just put the pedal to the floor and
hope that gets them out and in the end it creates massive ruts. Had this happen
on our road in front of the house with the tea trucks stuck in the ditch the
other day. You get the picture the road is bad – if you don’t here is a picture
so you have some idea of the Monster.
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| A Guy Helping Another Into The Monster |
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| Mud! |
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| Puddles Or Small Lakes As I Call Them |
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| Matooke From The Overturned Truck On The Side Of The Road |
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| One Brave Boda Driver |
So to the story, I was walking to Kigarama Primary School
for a handwashing demo with P1 and P2 students. I enjoy walking here and plus I
was not going to ride a motorcycle until the road has had at least two days to
dry out. I was following behind a young woman along the edge of the road
watching the traffic jam at the mouth of the Monster as cars, motorcycles, and
trucks tried to work their way through the now very narrow one lane road. A
young boy up a head maybe around four or five years old ran across the mounds
of mud to get from one side to the other. As he reached the other side, he got
his sandal stuck in the mud and I kid you not this young one did the most
graceful movie like face plant right into the small lake of muddy water on the other
side of the mound of mud. As I saw it happen, I thought to myself ‘oh no… poor
guy’ and the young woman stopped to see if he was okay, well, he stood up and was
covered head to foot in mud and dirty water and I lost it and started laughing.
As the young woman directed the young boy out of the water she looked at
me quizzically. I quickly controlled my laughter, put a sympathetic look on my
face and said ‘sorry sorry’ to her and the boy and hurried away before I
started to smile and laugh quietly to myself.
I knew the young boy would be okay and maybe it was the look
on his face when he stood up of shock and ‘did that really just happen?’ or
maybe it was the fact that I had not laughed in a couple of days and was
dealing with a challenge that it made me laugh and break the mesmerism
of that challenge. Who knows?!
Most of the time laughing is a nervous impulse we have to
defuse a situation or some type of tension. Laugher is a powerful thing and
sometimes you just end up laughing.
*Side note: I saw the boy later and he was smiling still
wearing the same muddy clothes.
