I SERVED MY FATHER'S HOME FOR SIX YEARS

BY REGINALD ANDERSON MTUI

In 1998 when I was in standard seven I used to do some little job at my fathers home. I call this my father’s home because we stayed there with our step mother. Among of the little jobs which I was doing there was to look for five goats and cut a bougainvillea fence of about five hundred meters. Definitely, I used to like this job because it matches with the things I like most. Cleanliness, organization, smartness and colorful plants. I used to chop it in a very rare style which impressed most of the visitors and also neighbors. I used a simple shears with wooden handles.

I used to carry my books with me when I was grazing the goats at my father’s fields. I remember a time when I was thoroughly caned because I went away to play with my favorite friends and left the goats inside. My step mother used to tell me that she liked me because I would do what I was supposed to do but the only thin is I have a flaring temper. When I would beat, I could spend a day without eating anything. I would even pass without greeting a person who beat me. So I was angry that day because I chopped some tree branches for the goats before leaving the home.

The eleven- room house is surrounded by a large compound which is decorated by green plants, fruit trees and with very colorful attractive flowers. Surely, it was a nice place for resting during summer and hot season. My father used to host his visitors there where they could easily get air and also cool their minds by viewing the most expensive flowers around the garden. If Iam not mistaken the garden looked like the one in the bible. The Garden of Eden which was very beautiful according to this historical religious book the Bible. Birds of different colors and sounds visited the unique place. They flew east to west; they laid their eggs in their nests attached on top of the fruit trees.

I noticed that one of the things liked by mzee were green plants. Because he used to buy land from other people and grew some crops in them. He was also known as a tree planter who had much interest in gravellier trees. What I know is he had some different plots around the village; ten acres in the north, twenty in south, thirty in east and forty in the west. Whenever I read the bible I imagine the story of a rich man who had a vine yard that he resembled my father because he used to send his sons to take care of them. So I was taking care of my father’s beautiful garden, how wonderful it was for a son to do his fathers job appropriately as I.

I was friend with my father indeed, whenever the work finished he used to give mew some rewards. Oh these are his words “my son get me beer” he produced a ten thousand note which was blue in color by that time. I could buy five bottles for him daily and the change was always mine. He used to say, “This is yours, go get soda”. He would call me back after an hour and asked me whether I needed educational materials; “my son how is school, I have seen your report, the results are excellent, work harder I want you to be a pilot. Your brother doesn’t want to study but do not hate him” he advised me referred to my elder brother who was so stubborn.

The other relatives thought that anything belongs to my father would be mine. They were filled with envy and negative thoughts that I was always favored but that wasn’t the case. Another work which I was doing there was to make his shoes and his posh white corona clean. I was not taught by anybody to drive; I only observed my brothers and father when they would drive. I was a good driver at young age of ten years. I remember the time when I went to school with one of our black motorcycle. It was a bolt from the blue to all students and teachers who came out to observe me; I felt prestige like famous people.

Even now I feel much prestige to be where Iam because without respect, tolerance and patience God would not sympathize with me. Honor your parents and your days are going to be multiplied.