When a child puts their foot in their mouth

The first obscenity that I heard came from a teacher. It was in the mid-eighties. I was in primary school. I was even tempted to use the whole line in my English composition paper. But I shelved the idea and spared my little behind strokes of the cane from my then dreaded teacher, Mr Githaiga.

In the same block in Jericho Estate that we lived, there was a young man, Josh, whose family had moved to another neighbourhood, and he had been left to live in the house. Back then, it was a big deal for one’s parents to move out and leave their crib to, mostly, the firstborn kid. Josh was much older, worked as an untrained teacher, exchanged girls like socks and had drunken parties every weekend.