cameroon log

Vroom vroom

Wednesday January 7th, 2004

Charly got a new car. There are roughly a dozen vehicles in town, not including the logging trucks, busses (read.. vans), and those just passing through. Now Charly has one. It is purple. It is a toyota. It has tinted windows, and low slung suspension. It has furry seats. It is a pimpin’ vehicle. It will last about a month here before breaking down. I think he blew the speakers getting it down here. Seriously. Charly has a slick urban aesthetic, but lives in Lomié. I suggested that he raise the suspension, but I was told that would hurt the car in the long run. I thought… hmm. Long run. That is optimistic. Half of the people think: wow. GECEC must be doing well, Charly got a car… I’m going to put my money there. The other half think: wow. Charly got a car… I’m not putting my money in GECEC, he’s stealing it all to pay for a car. I think: selling bootleg whiskey, gas, and illegal cable is profitable.
We had an innaugural toast at a bar.. at the other end of town… you know, not to mix with the hoi polloi, and to have an excuse to drive. It is, of course, less than 150ft away…but we all drove anyway. Pulled a table outside, so we could drink and admire the fine automobile, which has been named.. um.. something in zime that means little girl. We drank, and toasted, and the driver had to drink soda.. much to his chagrin. Oh, did I forget to tell you that Charly doesn’t drive? Oh sure, he has a license, and he did drive someone else’s car back from the new years bash drunk beyond comprehension (I’m too drunk to walk, that is why I have to drive), but he bought the license straight up and drove the other car…well, about 150 feet. See, Lomié isn’t that big. It takes almost as long to turn the car around on the main road as it does to drive from one end to another…but people here make people in LA seem like hiking fanatics. I wonder where he will get parts when it starts to break down.