M'Buti Ayala Moore-Sormiento drops in for a social call. She lets us know what is up in her world.
Friday, the 1st of October, 2004~
Dear All~
Jambo! Habari gani? M'zuri sana, asante sana!
Ooops! I did it AGAIN! Sorry about that...I keep thinking I am not writing to my brothers back in Kenya...
This is M'Buti. In case you don't remember me, I am the woman who was burned several years back, and then had flesh-eating disease that nearly killed me; but I am happy to say that I am about back to normal (or as normal as I will ever be prior to the accident and then getting sick)...I was born in Kenya, in Eastern Africa, and I was born the youngest of three, two boys and a girl. (I am the only girl. My brothers are named Keserian and Naiser. Naiser lives in Nairobi, where he is a doctor, but Keserian still lives in the village where we were born, Thika, where he still raises cattle for a living.) We were born of the Maasai (Masai) tribe; Maasai are primarily raisers of cattle and are farmers; and they are a nomadic people: wherever there's food for them or their cattle, they go, no questions asked. Their entire world revolves around cattle and farm life.
I am walking again, but I walk on a walking frame (sticks for short trips), but in the morning, I have to be careful because I have very low blood pressure, and if I get up too fast, I can get dizzy and pass out. I use a wheeled chair for longer distances (like when we go to the shopping mall or Wal*Mart), and I also wear oxygen at night because my lungs are still quite weakened.
I am married, with three children, whom I consider my greatest blessings. My husband's name is Roberto, and my children are named Jubaki Miguel (5 1/2), and the twins, Eshe' Ayala and Kibarake Miguel, who are both one-and-a-half now. (They will be two next year, on Valentine's Day, the 14th of February.) We have one dog, a beagle named "Rodriguez", and we also have one cat, a cheetah cub we just got (but haven't named yet). When the cheetah is bigger, we will probably give her to the zoo, as we have done with the other cheetah cubs we raised. We did have two adult cheetahs as pets, but one ("Sayidana") died (I still miss her to this day; to think of her causes my eyes to get wet), and the other ("Sambeke") got too mean, and so we had no choice but to give him to the zoo, where I am sure he is a lot happier.
I work, but I work part time, as long as my health will allow it. I work at a newspaper, where I type the news of the day. I spend the rest of the time at home with the children. As for my husband, he works at Nashville Memorial Hospital, where he is the head nurse of the Burn Ward, and this was where and how we met. I was a patient in the burn ward, and Roberto Sormiento was my nurse. Eventually, we fell in love, and once I got used to him, we got engaged, and then we were married; and we still remain happily married to this very day. But we are now parents, and our kids (and our jobs and animals) all keep us both very busy.
We go to a carismatic Catholic church (they believe in the power of the Holy Spirit, and they believe in Salvation, quite unlike most "traditional" Catholic churches), and we go once or twice a week (depending on how I feel or how Roberto's work schedule is). Sometimes he misses church, and when he misses it, I don't go because I don't drive for long distances. I just learned to drive only recently, and I don't trust myself on the busy highways just yet. (Our church is off the highway.) I have a car (an orange Bug), and my husband has a HUMMER, an orange one that is about as big as a HOUSE! That thing is WIDE!! I always feel so lost in that thing! It looks like a MONSTER! LOL
Well, I will write more later; but I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive, and that life is treating me better. I still have my days where I am sick or where my fibromyalgia is acting up; but most days I feel pretty good. Roberto is fine; but then he is ALWAYS fine! Never hardly sick! The kids are hardly sick either; they must have his genes! LOL They look and ACT like him, especially Jubaki: Jubaki is a wild boy, and he acts just like his daddy, which drives me CRAZY at times!
Karen this is one of your best stories. I'm awed by your
ability to create such wonderful characters,from different
countries, languages, etc.and do it all with such command
of the subject! Brava Karen, you were born to write storied!
A further instalment of Kenyan magic and courage...
Great compassion and love shine through all your stories Karen...the mark of a good human being....
Not sure if you could "third time's the charm" since this is my 3rd visit to you den today b.c each story seems to be just as charming as the last. This one certainly lives up to your usual standard!
A wicked Cajun Fairy named Robes Pierre entered the impenetrable Magical doll land of Sha Bebe. Queen Faustina, the ruler of the doll land, thought she had destroyed him, but he's back! Will the doll land survive his evil ways?
Let this coming of age story of a boy named Bean take you back to a simple time. Set in a small southern town in the 1960's, encircled by a river and gleaming white cotton fields.
Friday, the 1st of October, 2004~
