Rooster King

After the nomadic experience, my mum decided to start a poultry farm. We all hated the idea but Pa was convinced that we could get to eat chicken we raised by ourselves instead of 'golobas' (cocks) that were raised only God-knows-where. Mum wasnt gonna get a farm hand, she had five children. What would she do with a farm hand? Sigh!!! She worked us to death. We had to go to the saw mill to get saw dust every saturday, this gave me a nasty allergic reaction and I never recovered. Pa was sure we were getting a lifetime trainnig to become sharp and smart kids. With the training in a chicken farm????? Sigh!!!My parents never believed that there was something their children couldnt handle. Pa taught us to change flat tires and, clean,and load up to shoot his double barrel. I could shoot with a good aim on a target by the time I was ten years old, likewise my sisters. I had the majestic duty of cleaning Pa's double barrel very saturday after each trip to the saw mill.


I was in junior high when my mum decided to get rid of the poultry farm. She had been doing it as a hobby, giving out chickens every month to our neighbors but I guess she got bored and started looking for another hobby to occupy her mind. I was so sick and tired of eating chickens. We ate nothing but chicken because mum wasnt selling them, she was growing the smelly birds and giving dozens out at the end of the month. We were so relieved we danced around for joy. Bye bye to saw dust, bye to allergies, bye to smelly chickens, bye to colic, and farewell to the saw mill.I vowed never to eat chicken in my life, ever!!!

After junior high exams, I was on a summer vacation of three months. I was elated but gradually got bored. I hooked up with my friends and we went everywhere we could. We were so bored we started sleeping in. One day, a young man came to the homestead and gave Pa a big bottle of Bacchoos Tonic Wine. The bottle sat there on the kitchen work table , unopened and beckoned at me for a week non-stop. I eyed it with disdain and resisted with all my will.I wasnt gonna start drinking liquor at age thirteen, I was a good girl, I assured myself. The following week I lost the battle and embraced the big bottle of wine. I thought of sharing it with Temmy and G-funk but I was home alone and had been ordered to be the ''aboki'' (security guard) for that day. I couldnt leave the house. I twisted the cap and inhaled deeply. The fumes went straight to my brain and my eyes and mouth watered. I promised myself that I was just gonna take a capful and leave the poor bottle alone.

The next thing I knew my sister was shaking me awake, I had been asleep for five hours. I squinted at her, she knew something was wrong. She raised the alarm that got me into trouble. Mum grabbed hold of me of me and shook me real hard. I was so drunk I couldnt make out her features. She thought I was ill until she perceived my breath. Two gigantic slaps landed and I nearly fainted. My sister rescued me and made me go under a very cold shower, then I was sick like a dog. Everything came up and out.I was okay if a bit shaky after an hour. I had to go and fish out the empty wine bottle from the trash. Mom had to see it. She couldnt believe her eyes. Well, she made me some nice pounded yam with vegetable soup, to settle my tummy, so she said. She never told Pa.

Two days after the wine palaver, I went to G-funk's house. We whined about the boredom and wished we could resume yesterday. Somebody knocked on the front door, it was Temmy. The three of us sat on the porch and gisted for several minutes until Mama Tinu's goloba strutted past.The bloody thing wasnt a peacock but it sure strutted like one with the full feathers and bushy tail. It had a beak as long as a whistle. G-funk had complained about the cock crowing right under her bedroom window. That was one annoying cock. We watched as it stepped like the Rooster King. We knew what to do.