Some Mischievous Acts I Liked

A few years ago, I was having a haircut at a barbershop in my hometown of Kiserian when I spotted a sticker glued on one of the barbershop mirrors. The sticker had a quote in Agikuyu language written on it. It read, "Nie nyedete ciana; wana niguo itedaga."

In Swahili, that quote translates as, "Mimi napenda watoto; utoto ndio sipendi." And in English, it translates as, "I like children; it is childishness that I don't like."

Though that quote tickles my fancy when I think of it, I don't agree with it entirely because I like childishness to some extent. Or rather, I like mischief provided it doesn't do any bodily harm or frighten the weak. Let me tell you today of some mischievous acts I liked.

There is this friend of mine named Jack who I met at All Saints' Cathedral in Nairobi. I came to like him during one Bible study session we were having in the cathedral. During that session, he started calling some of the attendants with his phone and then ending the call just as the receivers were about to receive the call - what is popularly known here in Kenya as "flashing" but my dictionary has no such definition of the word "flash".

To give a clear picture of how mischievous Jack was, imagine you are in a Bible study session when your phone rings. And after you take it out of your pocket, you discover that the caller is Jack who is seated just opposite of where you are. Haha, how I liked Jack for that mischief!

By the way, after Jack befriended me, he used to tell me that he was from Jamaica, the birthplace of reggae music and the Motherland of Bob Marley. I came to believe him given the pride with which he said he was from that country. And he promised me on several occasions that he would one day take me to Jamaica.

Given how mischievous Jack was, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that his claim he was from Jamaica was a lie. A very cheeky Christian he was.

Another mischief I liked was of the students of JKUAT where I matriculated in 2007 to pursue a degree in electronic & computer engineering but dropped out in 2009. I visited the university later on in 2012 to reconnect with the classmates I befriended when I repeated my second year in 2009.

I was impressed with how beautiful JKUAT had grown in 2012. And on the night of that day I visited the university, I was taken aback on seeing a neon-lighted signboard that read "FAR HO TEL" pointing to a hostel which was for women during my student days at the university.

Surprised to the core, I paused and asked one of the guys passing by, "You mean they converted this women's hostel into a hotel?"

And the guy was like, "Oh man, where has this dude been?"

I can't recall what the guy told me but I quickly pieced the story together and learnt that the university had named the hostel as FARASI HOSTEL. Then some mischievous JKUAT students removed some of the characters on the signboard; that's why it read "FAR HO TEL".

As to how the JKUAT students removed some of the characters from the signboard without fear of being caught by authorities or getting an electric shock is something I have never understood. All I know is that I liked the mischief.

Yes, I like mischief provided it doesn't do any bodily harm or frighten the weak. That's why I am a big fan of April Fools' Day. And should I ever get lucky to have children, I will encourage them to be a little mischievous. So help me God.