Matatu Mediation

Late July

A man with physique and personality akin to Sir Charles Barkley sings and dances in his seat aboard a late-night "Young Geez" matatu. Once sure he has drawn the attention of fellow passengers, he kisses a newspaper cutout of young women stuck to the vehicle's ceiling. After a few stops let enough people out of the rig to compel the conductor to halt the vehicle and wait for more commuters, a small group of properly looking elders scans the matatu scene prospecting for a lift. The conductor predictable raps the destination and fare of his matatu hoping to sell the ride. Barkley then joins in the persuasion. The outsiders seem reluctant. Barkley gets out of the car and personally offers to usher them inside. Still failing, he convinces the people riding shotgun to move to the back and let the new people board the front. He then sits down on a two-inch curb outside the matatu, refusing to re-enter the vehicle until the prospective matatans hop step inside. While on the sit-down-strike, Barkley looks to the heavens and prays to his god to send His People across the potholes to the 14-seat caravan bound, one day hopefully, for some sort of promise land. As the matatu howls with laughter, applause, and a bombastically static-prone sound system, the outsiders demonstrate an equally masterful ability to completely ignore the existence of the world around them until "Young Geez" pulls away. Barkley gets out a few moments later, revealing how he could have simply left the scene after the initial stop. This rhapsodic spirit fuels The Flying Matatu, giving it a reliable dose of didactic petrol to carry it through the longer stretches of monotony that can crop up even in the most bustling journeys across jungles both manmade and eternal.