Rain and Rain

Brrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhh!

No, its not the cola advert. It is cold. Very cold!

Not snow cold, that is not one of Uganda’s blessing. Should be something like 16C, which, in my view, in this country, is cold! Ok, it is about 18 to 20C. Cold…

It has been raining.

It didn’t rain. It fell. And I was caught in the middle of it.

Was forced out of bed in the morning because my lover needed to get to town, and I knew I had an appointment that I could not miss. Out of the house, and bright sunshine. Slopping into downtown Kampala, and, towards the lake, we could see the storm front, moving in.

It was so still before, the calm before the storm. I thought we were going to have a quick, sharp cloud burst.

My weather sense never betrayed me more!

It came, and I was caught in the middle. Kampala Road. Near Pioneer Mall. I could not move back or go to where I needed to go. The road turned to a river, rivers. The people congregated under the shop roofs, outside.

At first it rained but was warm. I had thought of getting a souwester, but had rejected the idea.

Thirty minutes into the shower, I was wishing I had walked with an umbrella! I needed to get somewhere, fast!

Fourty five minutes. I was feeling cold and miserable. And I saw one even more miserable that I.

A beggar man. A guy with a full head and trunk, and withered legs from the waist down. Wrapped in his usual clothes of work, worn castoffs, crawling on his hands on the road, in the rain. And by then, it was realy raining.

I don’t know why he was on the move in that deluge. Don’t know why of a lot of thigns. But I am sure of one thing, me in my soaked clothes, was much better off than that man crawling his way on the street.

An hour into the rain, running late for appointment- I had to call for help. Not divine, but lover man to the rescue. So, wheels, but the condition is wade through the rivers in the road. I was soaked. And, where I was going, I was soaked, at least twice. And it was still raining.

The temperature dropped, the rain went on, and now, it has stopped, but the cloud cover is still hiding the sun. It is cold. Damn cold- but so beautiful is rain that that does not stop me from appreciating the renewed vigour of the lawn grass.

I have been hoping that this rain, which has been long in coming, would find me in bed with my lover, coiled, warmed, digging deeper into the beddings and his warm body. It found me out on the street, but I am still glad it rained!

At least, I did what I was supposed to do, though I was wet and cold for the appointment. But I made it. It was still raining, and it took me an hour to work out the cold in the bones- but what is life without challenges?

Glad that I am alive.

Hey, if only this could be true. With Mugabe and the African Union, I only hope.

The prosecutor of the newly-established International Criminal Court (ICC) today accused Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of genocide and war crimes arising out of the war in Darfur.

And if anyone accuses me of being un-African, I hope you are barbecued.

GayUganda