A Juneteenth Memoir It’s not enough to be free. It’s more important to know you are free. Something happens in captivity situations. Could be any place where your wings feel clipped, where your spirit hangs dark and low like a rain cloud that just can’t shed its load. It took me years to see the…
We sat in that cafe, catching up on new thoughts and theories I might have discovered. My presentation was due the next morning and I was giving it a test run with my boss, a retired Captain with a voracious appetite for philosophy and painting. He said- You know, I’ll tell you about this one…
I’ve never been in a war situation. Never woken to the sound of bombs and wailing of mothers and the wretched rage of men left with absolutely nothing to show for all the years they spent raising families. I only remember waking up to the sound of birds and the vastness of blue skies, the…
When we were kids and new to the magic of learning, we did Number Work in Standard 1 (first grade). Then I think it was in Standard 2 when we graduated to Maths. What numbers become when + – x / was applied to them just totally confused me, especially if the answer was more…
My languages teacher in primary school was probably my biggest inspiration ever. She taught us English and Kikamba, both part of the school syllabus in that part of the country. I think Swahili too, although I don’t quite recall any Swahili text book. She was from Taita, and I know for sure at her home…
/ 3-minute read. There was this day I got a zero in Home Science. ZERO! Really, Mrs. Mungai? Form 2, 14 years old, my first and only zero ever. You need to hear this. This was the practical exam. Mrs. Mungai had taught us how to make two sets of decorative stitches around the hem…
We got there and weren’t sure which of the two houses was the “last on your left” as per instructions we got from our host. They both occupied that same curved stretch of bay at Cape St. Claire. We decided we weren’t going to come out of the car until we were absolutely sure of…
When I was 11-and-a-half I fancied a boy. I remember exactly why. He was the only one with a book bag that had graffiti on it. I did not know then that I was attracted to things creative, but there it was, Boy X and his green canvas backpack. On it were huge blocks of…
Power: They were only 16, give or take a year. But so powerful were they their mere appearance caused dread in girls no matter what we were doing. You could be sitting quietly during study hour and see a maroon sweater pass by from the corner of your eyes and your blood pressure suddenly rises….
