GREY OVERTAKES GREEN

 

GREY OVERTAKES GREEN

By Brian Moseti

Phones are going to be the death of us. You stare at one fixed point, eyes boring into that screen in an effort to text or as in my case reading intently. Humanity wasn't meant to stare so slavishly at one point. Slaves to the phone screen; on the way to work in the bus, at the office, even by the streets, and who the hell keeps calling when I’ve washed my hands to eat? And science says phones carry a bulky amount of germs with them, right?

Picture the world as it once was when our forefathers ranged the savannah in loin clothes, a spear in one hand and a club in the other, before men got corrupted about the notion of decency, as in fact one elder told me, in their days, they'd hold the legs apart to the comrade who was deflowering the virgin, and in case it didn't work, a horn and some fat did the trick. Grisly!  

Picture the world that was forest and little villages and more forest than you can picture. See, the Morans stalk the lion, a great brown greying beast that has sensed an alien smell associated with cows and little disturbing elusive beings. See, the lone beast bare its fangs and growl. The Morans, red ochre painted on their faces, shield in one hand, spear in the other and club in belt, are all poised on a crouching position, advancing in the savannah, circling the beast. Silently they signal to one another using birdcalls, and then they advance. The lion, senses, danger and roars angrily, disturbing the peace of the savannah. They break into a war song, muscles rippling and glistening with ochre and oil, they charge as the lion cornered and scared by a charging circle of men is confused. They howl and confuse it further and in a moment, they are on it! Roaring, it charges in a random direction. It doesn’t matter anyway. The Moran nearest crouches behind his shield spear pointed, the lion smashes through him, his spear slices the underbelly of the beast who rages on as spears miss true mark and fall on various parts of the body. The Moran's three ribs are broken and his foot is smashed. A passage into manhood has been achieved. They give chase catching up cornering the lion by the stream where it lies exhausted unable to move.

The equivalent of such a thrill today is Assasins’ Creed! Eyes fixated on one point, hands robots on the gamepad! Escapism into a virtual world where children became heroes and villains without breaking a sweat. Where we engage our fantasies and the whims of a game manufacturers. What became of literature that was daring enough to get kids off their bums out into the fields to go swing and chatter like monkeys or play detective. What became of books like Tarzan?

Fat and lazy we become. When every kid graduates from primary school, all they want is a smartphone! For the December holidays you see; my little brother who just joined class eight tells me he has a girlfriend. Like a personal secretary, he always has my phone and he is always indoors chatting. I wonder when kids go outside and play like we used to. Today's kids couldn't last a second in our world as kids. In my primary school, our field used to host the local livestock market. In the evening, at games time after the traders had left, there were avocado seeds strewn over the field from the women who sold Githeri and Uji. These, we could hurl at one another after forming two opposing teams. The trick was not to get hit. Somehow no one ever lost an eye or a tooth or was hit anywhere it hurt too much!  Isn’t it a wonder how kids always survive the worst dangers, shudders!

Slowly, the concrete jungle creeps over the earth. Sky scrapers loom like monsters into the air. Recreational land and playgrounds makes way for buildings that will go towards boosting the economy; something the villager will never understand save for the part where prices of basic commodities jump up. Oh, and there is technology, a force that is as dynamic as human life. The most interesting aspect is, it breeds. Today, top of the market, cutting edge, ace technology. Where we all scramble to so to look trendy! Ha! Have we become modern day hippies? The hippies of the seventies had their trademark locks, a lot of sex and drugs. What do we have now, a lot of gadgets, well a lot of sex and even better drugs. Zombies really. That’s today. Tomorrow though, obsolete, out-dated, slow technology. Where green has been overtaken by grey.

ENDS

@mossetti