Of cattle and chickens

Barolong Seboni | Friday December 13, 2013 16:39

 

“To what extent does the dream reflect the character and the suppressed desires of a dreamer? Does the dreamer choose his dreams, or the dreams choose him? In other words, if I had the same dream, would it mean the same thing?” Nikita says, getting all worked up. He takes a sip of his Vodka to calm down.

“Ga re itse rra! We really don’t know about all that, all I know is that this man, Chicken, has some very powerful dreams. I would call them nightmares. For instance, look at the dream ya gagwe where he is obsessed with the chickens talking? How do you explain that?” says Walkie.

“Well, there he is in front of you. Ask him!”

“Ah, you are still worried about the chickens? I was right about the chickens? But you can forget about chickens in Botswana. Infact, we hear that the chickens have run out in Botswana. The poultry farms are in short supply, so they won’t bother me anymore.. Here it is the cows who will haunt you. And they have started my friend!”

“What do you mean they have started? What happened?” enquires Tshini, sounding rather curious and concerned. You see, he is one of the nouveau riche and he has stacked projects.

One of these is to do with cattle. Not in the old traditional way where you would put the poor beasts in a kraal until they breed or die, whichever comes first.

Or where your sole preoccupation is to shuttle between town and cattle post, cattle post and town all your adult, civil service life. No, Tshini is one of the new, modern farmers who buy pure breeds and employ other people to look after them and sell them every six or so months.

The only trip he ever has to make for his cattle is to the bank to watch his money breed, or to the BMC to watch his cattle die and his cheques get fat! But you can’t be in the cattle business and not have a four-wheel drive. So our man has also suitably invested in a 5 litre, 4 by 4 vehicle with leather seats, CD shuttle, air conditioner and the works. Full house! The type that only ministers and parastatal chiefs can afford with their subsidies. Ya,the very ones that your council chairperson gets to ride at the back with the driver in the front.

Don’t get me wrong. This type of vehicle is a necessity for all concerned.

There is always that possibility of having to venture off the tarred roads into the world of the unknown, where cattle and the constituents roam.