all in a day's work

Two things that my late father told me and will always remember;no one applied to be born and money does not grow on trees. By then i was young, i thought he was the wisest man on earth until i realized he wasn't but he knew how to get his way away from trouble. Though he could get away from trouble he never solved any problems. Well thus my father for you. I grew up in a family of four and i am the last born..lol..as what facebookers would say. In my two decades life i have learn't that in most families there is one thing common every father has a nick name or call it a slave name depending on were you did your grade five.

Giving father a nick name was a strategy as kids for communicating whatsoever plan we have within the house without the big man knowing our plots. We never had a problem with mother, and i guess i do have witnesses on that point. We named our father Mdara zober. Mdara zober was a funny,controversial and self proclaimed wise Solomon DJ at a popular local radio station. So was our father, if they was no bread at home he would say" money doesn't grow on tress" and if we reply and say but you are our father he would say " no one applied to be born". So we thought why not call him our very ouw Mdara zober.

Visiting a relative of mine in Emakhandeni one of the townships in kwa Bulawayo, i met up with a man called MAKHABITSHI translated in the queens language as Mr Cabbage.It all began every morning when people were going to work,they would meet at the bus stop. It's common in most areas to always share the bus stop with same people over and over again.Makhabitshi (by then was Mr Moyo) would arrive a little late and find the taxi queue long. He looked good but that's not what caught the attention of the people, it was the little red lunch box that he carried everyday. Every morning Makhabitshi would come carrying the red lucnh box, then you would hear people whisper" do you know what is in that lunch tin?" "no""pizza my boy the man eats good food no wonder he is that big.". Well no one knew expect for the lunch tin holder.

It happened that one morning as Moyo was making his way to the queue that he tripped himself and almost fell. He didn't fall though, but the lunch tin did . It went up the air and in a bid to save his meal Moyo dived but could not catch it. Unfortunately, the lunch tin fell down hitting the ground in full force it opened. An African hard little mountain of papa that had survived yesterday's supper and oil-less cabbage better described in Ndebele.."ikhabitshi engazwelanga amafutha yabonakala iseqa kuthi ngapha isobho yamanzi igeleza ngathi ngumazayi" well from that day we said goodbye Mr Moyo welcome Makhabitshi.

Names carry glory,ability,character and sometimes history. Some names we dont apply for but other we do. What is your name?

All in a days work is an opinion and analysis segment on the blog. We get to narrate and relate to our day to day activities, our past experiences and of course try by all sense to define life. Enjoy our journey.

written by Hawulethu Dube
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