Sunday, June 08, 2008

Forkless


I was in Busia town earlier today, about 3 km away from home, when my bike fell over and hit the ground. The rusty old fork split right in half. I started walking home, carrying my bike, when a fundi (skilled worker) appeared out of nowhere. He pulled a new fork out of his tool box, and proceeded to replace my fork, adjust my spokes, and tune my breaks. I felt like a bicycle racer with my own team of professional mechanics. After a half-hour overhaul of my bicycle, he gave me the bill: 250 shillings (4 USD) for the new fork, and 40 shillings (65 cents) for the labor. This seemed absurdly underpriced, given that he provided the exact service I needed at my desperate moment of need (5pm on a Sunday afternoon, no less!). When did I become so lucky? Has an albino crossed my path?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

interesting that he popped out of no where on a sunday afternoon....just so happened that he had a spare fork too....
You didn't see a hand saw in his back pocket? You are so naive nelly

nomad said...

Anon, don't even think you are anonymous for a sec! I only know ONE person so jaded and cynical, ONE person who has sniffed out narcotic addicts in walk-in clinic for ten years, never fooled by even the most crafty con-men and woman on earth!

Watch my back, anon! We naive souls need somebody like you to protect us!

Anonymous said...

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