Friday, January 15, 2016

Here're my favourite kind of people



Who has your back?



I have a favorite kind of people. The list is not very long but it is very solid. There’s a criteria that allows people to get into this list. Pretty like the vetting process in government. And sometimes there are reshuffles to the list. I am very free and fair too; I don’t rig people into the list. You somehow have to earn your way in there. What are some qualifications you ask? Let’s roll back a bit.

I am in primary school. Life then was really good. Like really fun and all – before bills kicked in. So at the end of every school term we would fight - much of a tradition then. Fights were picked with people your own size. I picked a certain guy – call him Enoch. So this is how fights went down, first, you had this thing called “njata” (a stick balanced on the dorsal side of the hand) that your opponent was supposed to make fall. Then, immediately the njata was fallen the fight would ensue amidst the cheer of the pack. Of course the cowardly couldn’t dare destroy the opponent’s njata. In such a case your opponent got a free heroic pass whilst you made the walk of shame home. And you couldn’t get any girls to like you thereafter. Third, your boys were allowed to jump in the fight if they felt you were going to lose. They had your back – always.

Which reminds me of the bro-code’s article 2, article 38 and article 147. Article 2 says A Bro is always entitled to do something stupid, as long as the rest of his Bros are doing it. Article 38 says Even in a fight to the death a Bro never punches another Bro in the groin. And Article 147 says if a Bro sees another Bro get into a fight, he immediately has his Bro's back. Exception: If his Bro has picked a fight with a scary looking guy. Exception: If this is the third fight (or more) his Bro has gotten into that week. Exception: If the Bro has a note from a physician excusing him from having anybody's back. 

So we fought even though it was stupid (article 2) and we had rules about where to punch (article 38) and most important we jumped into each others’ fights (article 147). So in my fight with Enoch, I was ALMOST defeated but akina Marvin joined in and saved the day. We were pretty hurt that day and we ended up being forced to kneel a whole three hours when our teacher – we called her Nyako – found out. I think it was worth it – the experience not the kneeling. 

This gives you an idea of one of the qualifications I use. I like people that I can count on to have my back. People who are genuinely loyal; the kind that sticks in peace and turmoil; the kind that will be there when you’re broke and when you're doing well; the kind that will still come over when the Wi-Fi isn’t working. These are my favorite kind of people. I call them my friends. 

Like those fights we had as kids, we still have fights in life. We have wires to walk, milestones to achieve and nights to brave. As a guy in his early twenties, I have come to realize I can never get to pull through alone. I need support. I need people I can count on consistently. Gladly I have them. They are the ones on the list. So let me ask, who are your favorite kind of people?

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