On my commute to work today, the driver kept checking the tire on his side. He stopped, twice on our way and got out to inspect it. I could see it because i was seated on the window seat a row after him and, with the building Nairobi traffic, if you aren’t stopping to pick up or alight a passenger, you are wasting time. He was wasting time in my eyes until i saw what he was doing and i kept thinking,’how ironic would it be to be in a vehicle that gets a puncture.’ A puncture would be my safest bet, God knows there’s so much more that could have been the issue with that tyre and contributed to my being fashionably late to work.

Long story short, i made it work on time. Forgot to check what the matter was with that tyre but i hope whatever it was, he gets it checked before he gets an equally anxious person late to their appointment.When you are in this line of business, you find yourself obsessing over and relating to car trouble. See a guy driving with under inflated tyres and you immediately begin to see how they will be getting new tyres down the line. See another one driving with a ‘donut’ and think how they wouldn’t be in that position if they knew about us . We have become pseudo mechanics without all the knowledge and the sweaty, grimy overalls that go with it. But with a hunger to know every thing that is unmatched.

It is Friday, we all need to decompress so, stay safe as always, if you can help it, try and get into a matatu that has no tyre issues and if you see a guy driving on a donut, please let him know that we are a call away and that is no way to drive in the city.