Pikipiki Fashion

Njenga my pikipiki (motorcycle taxi) driver is 23. I know this because I asked his age, but also because of his behavior and sense fashion.

This week when he arrived I asked him if he had heard of the song “YMCA” by Men At Work, because I was fairly certain if they did a revival and he auditioned he’d be a shoe in! He arrived clad in a bright blue hard hat. Now when he bought his new motorcycle it came with a helmet, which he refuses to wear because his head gets too hot. I guess scarves wrapped around ones head like a turban and shawls wrapped around ones head like a shiek breath more than a helmet. However, I can’t really see the point of a hard hat…it would fall off long before he hit the ground and even if it stayed on he could tear off an ear if he hit the wrong way.

We do cut a fetching image, he in his blue hard hat and me in my dust colored scarf, and lets not forget the red Obama bag attached to the back of the bike.

This week he arrived 2 hours late because Grace had called him and told him our meeting scheduled for that afternoon had been canceled. He said he came later because now I didn’t need to hurry back to the meeting. Never mind that the time he was supposed to pick is the time he picks me every week. He also has a short attention span… last week I told him to pick 80 shillings worth of sukuma and 60 shillings each of onions and tomatoes. He came with potatoes instead of onions…never mind that I always buy onions and tomatoes to take to Ilkiloret. I have never taken potatoes.

I often wonder what life would be like if we all lived in our own little worlds… I get a glimpse ever so often by getting caught up in “the world according to Njenga.” Which isn’t such a bad place to live as long as you don’t have your own agenda, and as long as you have headgear that can rival his.

Another view of the rocky road we travel!