DR FIXIT (NEW VERSION)

 381 hitting a bent rod straight with the hammer, gripping a rod with the vice and then with a marker showing the point to be cut or bent, in metre, centimetre, inch or foot - I was quite eager to learn all the tricks in the trade of welding  but I was convinced my leg I would not be bending  in taking it as a profession because of the light  from the welding machine for they never got it right  with all the protective covering around the eyes. Rather, the soundbox across the hedge got me enticed. 382 Shortly after we started the new session  in school, the adult Ehkpo masquerade season  rolled in. In the serenity of the night, their hoots and drumming with the breeze took flight  from the village square into homes in and around  our clan. The grip of the masquerade in the town  wasn't so tight as in the outskirts. The welders and other artisans from there moved to shelters of their kith or kin tentatively in the heart  of the town ...

 371 as husband. But Moonit had no choice. She'd given herself away when she did toss cheaply herself at the boy (the elders believed) but all that was being done was to see that relieved of any bondage of guilt was Ma Moonit as it was ingrained quite deep in most folks' minds, especially the males, that the mother had an inkling the gates were being crashed by the daughter. How would she not know these deeds would hurt her? 372 Pa Moonit wasn't around. Moonit lost her father a few years back as he coughed persistently till his demise. From things surfed from the net, I now believe what killed him was tuberculosis - scanty and dim was the knowledge of this deadly disease which left Moonit and her sisters deceased quite early in life. Now, I'd answer  that question that for long had lingered  373 in your mind - how came Ma Moonit was the co-wife of my grandma? They did, that is the two women, marry the same man who was the uncle to Pa Moonit. In our clan, it was traditio...

  361 were poked into the woods to chase birds and squirrels and set traps and put baits in remote points to catch animals. Those accessing the library were minimal. So I was fortunate to have a friend  who my way to the library would bend. Bendit took me along the aisles between  the book shelves and I bit my lips in reading the lettering on the shelves and books. Of course, I searched for the one that'd look  362 like those that Mrs Bearit introduced to us. When they looked familiar, I produced a sound within my head after configuring them and checked if it meant something. For children was the section we were in. The attendant, pretending to read, kept an eye on us and how we handle the books. At some moments, when I was really excited, I'd made movements  to pull out the books and view their covers but Bendit would pull the corner  363 of my jumper, asking me to watch how he handled the books. 'They'd allow  you to touch the books when they know...

 351 Moonit's tale, the rain returned heavily  and I sneaked back with sheer jollity  to my grandma's bungalow. The gloom  was both of the rain and night that would soon put most activities across Antburg  to rest. And parents and kids hugged  their beds shortly after their meals. Outside, the sound was like that of the mills as the rain teemed down on our town. In tight sleep (so I thought) everyone was bound. 352 We woke up the next day to be gripped with anger and fear. While most were in sleep, a few baddies were up to no good. A home was burgled by a crook and his five friends. (That is, the five fingers  on one hand plus an additional finger from the other hand). In Antish, the figure  is 'heteon mme ket' (sometimes the pressure  on you could be a leisure for another - a child gains knowledge from a parent's encounter). 353 You know of 'heteon' and 'ket'  which I outlined in some text we already had viewed not too far from here. 'M...

  341 'He started banging the trunks of trees, screaming out loud: "Even if your sting is like a bee's; you can tie and crush like a python  or your venom is close to that of a scorpion  or your weight is quite like a mature redwood, I've come to seek you out in your neighbourhood and prove to all I'm the undisputed champ globally in all-round fight where we'd clamp our arms like wrestlers, turn our frames to punching bags like boxers or fly like cranes 342 '"and rain kicks on ourselves like pros in martial arts. The one with the tussle, kicks or blows - you're the one I'm here for. I say, come out. You're a darn idiot if you chicken out!" When Bragado stopped banging and shouting, the forest was quiet except for the cackling  of the Great Blue Turaco telling the time. The leafage was awashed with bright sunshine. Bragado again marched forward along the track, cursing loudly Saucy Pauper for daring to crack 343 'such a senseless jo...

331 'to retrain those who'd wasted their time  and parents' food.' But someone was on a fine line. He was a customer to a welder. He praised every pupil who did weather  the storm and moved to a new class. Those who failed shouldn't be seen as outcasts. 'They're still young and need ample time  to grow. I tell you they would outshine  the best when they realize their potential.' 'You do it now, not during my funeral. 332 'That's what I tell my kids,' said the welder. The artisans and customers reeled with laughter. The arguments went back and forth. The soundbox dropped the hits and like frogs  on Ma Moonit"s verandah, we leaped around. During the holidays, we lingered in our compounds - eating, playing and sleeping while our limbs were growing. We didn't visit the streams that much as it was the peak of the rains. We were around the fire munching some grains. 333 And the storytelling shifted from the moonlight  to the fireplace....