Sunday 15 February 2015

Br. Joseph




There is feeling that I should just type the name - Br. Joseph – then leave a long blank space, just to make you understand how little can be said of him. This is among the brothers I have spent quality time with but the truth is that little can be said. Nonetheless, I remember we chose him as our representative at one point. I somehow don’t remember voting because I never thought I needed to be represented anyway, but I remember he was my representative. His decisions were straight and clear, followed by his silence.
It happened that we had been invited by the sisters to celebrate the day of their founder. One of us had to go and Joseph could not think of anyone else but me. He came to me and said, “Unaenda wewe”. I never responded because certainly I was not going. “What kind of a celebration can the sisters have surely?” I wondered.  I could not imagine celebrating any thing save the liturgy – and I did not go. Whether Joseph was irked by that or not, I don’t know! A few days later, Joseph came to me with a cutting from one of the dailies’ cartoons which was a comical signpost saying 

the first character in the Cartoon asked,
what if he doesn’t die?”
 well, he will be shot again!”. responded the second character.
 Joseph left me in stitches. A few weeks later, we had our own celebration. Naïve as I was, Joseph made me the MC of the day. Whatever energy of resistance remained in my bowels dried.

Sunday 1 February 2015

Br. Steve (OmeraNdogo)




Isn’t it true that things don’t exist unless there are questions about them? It is in 2010 when a young boy asked me whether small boys could be accepted as brothers. At first I thought he was talking about himself. I asked him if he wanted to become a brother and he cheekily said, “No, am asking because of that boy” pointing at Br. Steve. It was at that time it occurred to me for the first time that surely Steve looks boyishly young. With that question, as if suddenly, Steve started “existing” in my world.
He belongs to this generation of instant stuff; instant food, instant knowledge, instant friends and I guess even instant brother. Just the other day Bro. Evans was explaining to us how they fatten oxen in some central part of Kenya. Well, he said that they relieve the bull some of its vital force and it grows instantly. At that time we started wondering, ‘could we possibly do that to those tall dwarfs like me who don’t seem to respond to the grace of height.’ Steve commented to that saying, “hiyo ndio tunaita instant thinking” as he burst into hearty laugh prompting the whole table to burst into laughter. Now I understand why it is so possible for him to stick to almost, if not all, social networks – you need instant thinking to instantly respond to messages on whatsapp, facebook, twoo, tweeter and so forth, all at a go!