The one I didn’t want to write

I wanted to cheat you this morning. And cheat on me too. That is bad. I have used a taxi this morning to go to school. I usually don’t use taxis in the morning, my father drops me off in town. But today, he wasn’t going, so I had to use the taxi. I am travelling with my sister and we are seated in the front seat, beside the driver. She likes that seat, I don’t know why. Whereas it seems like it is comfortable, it is not. I am talking about the small seat just next to the driver. It is too small for one to fit without taking up some of the space on the next. There is also no space for the legs so you have to sit diagonally and share the same space with the other passenger. I also don’t like the fact that it is inconvenient because that’s where the gear lever is and so the driver is always fondling it, even when he’s not changing gears. Why don’t they make automatic taxis? Taxis are Toyota Hiaces (and I am assuming this from the other cars of the same make which are not taxis because there is no taxi in Uganda with a visible type make logo such as Hiace, Hilux, etc) so the concerned should help us.

Now, I didn’t want to write this morning. In fact, I thought about it, but I said no, after all, I am not feeling like writing this morning. So, even when I had opened my Writer Plus writing app (it’s a very good app, try it), which has sort of become a reflex now every time I sit in a taxi, I closed the app and went to WhatsApp. I then opened my WordPress to see if you guys are reading and if I have any notifications. You know, one thing about writing is that you don’t just write for yourself, but for the readers. So, even if you love your piece, if readers don’t love it, you’ll learn to unlove it too. Also, readers give morale to writers to continue. Now, reading is not enough, because how I will know that you read unless you tell me or I see you have shared the article on your socials? That’s why there is a provision for you to like the post if you actually like it, comment on it if you actually have a comment about it, and share it if you find it worthy to be shared. And maybe WordPress stats should be modified so I can get to know who’s read my articles even if they’ve not liked, commented or shared them. It is not enough to show me that I have 45 views, I also want to know who they are and where they’re from so that I can tailor my next pieces to them. But that involves getting a lot of information from readers which is a breach of their privacy. Nonetheless, I am very grateful for the views I have and the likes and comments I get.

When I opened the WordPress app, it opened on the notifications screen and I saw I had one comment on yesterday’s post. It was from Emmanuel Johnson Nuwasasira, a good friend of mine and old schoolmate. It was amazing. Let me just share it here.

I must say I was starting to get fed up with the very negligible response I was getting from my articles. Of course, I know I don’t share widely, but I hoped I could receive more likes, comments and shares than the three or four I have. But then, there are comments I receive that reignite my passion. These are from great friends of mine and person’s I admire and it just humbles me to find that they took off time to read my posts. That was why I posted yesterday’s post. I was tired and so I had chosen to postpone the editing of the post to today and post it then, but when I saw that Arans had commented, I suddenly lost all the sleep I had and I did edit and finish and post. God bless Arans. I’ll tell you about him maybe someday.

So this morning, it was Emma’s comment that got me to write this. And I am doing so very happily. It’s amazing to know that some people out there are reading your pieces and liking them and commenting on them and sharing them. It challenges you to write more for them and to do so better. And I want to do so for all of you my readers.

I became emotional and digressed. Where are we now? We are in Namasuba and we are moving at a high speed. It is noticeable from how fast we are moving and the sound of the engine and wind blowing past us. Now, if I may say something about Ugandan taxis, I am a regular commuter and so I can say this on authority, there are but one or two or three of the hundreds of taxis on our roads that are in perfect condition for the road. Many taxis are in DMCs. Dangerous Mechanical Conditions. They are old and that’s a given. They are dirty. They are noisy, squeaky, shaky, permanently altered, and I like to use this word for every other bad thing I can’t explain, funny!

This particular one is all of the above. It has a speaker fitted on the ceiling just overhead my sister and CBS Radio is playing. And it’s funny how for all this time, it’s been Wamala Balunaba speaking. First, it was the news, then announcements and adverts and then news again and then I don’t know what else but the distinct deep voice keeps on talking. The radio is out of the compartment it comes in with a new car and I can see some external wiring connecting the speaker to some small black box, which I suspect is the radio now. Because it’s broken, it’s permanently set to CBS Radio and there are no volume buttons so that is also permanently set unless the signal is bad. In fact, all the other things are out or not working. The air conditioner and the levers for adjusting the airflow and circulation, the digital clock, the fuel gauge, the speedometer, and many other things about a car that I don’t know.

It’s amazing how these guys drive. They are the worst road users, but if you ask me, the best drivers. You cannot drive such a car successfully unless you are good. These guys will tell you they are driving at 60 km/h when the speedometer is not working.

I’ll tell you more, but I have to go now. We have just reached this Shoprite junction where we have to get off from. See you in the evening.