The Arrow

I was shot at today. Luckily it was with a bow and arrow and the arrow fell about 10 feet short. Also luckily, it was shot from about 20 feet away by a 4-5 year old Tanzanian boy.

I am feeling better today after my fight with malaria and thought I would test that theory out and walk to the post office. Liz needed some letters mailed and the post office boxes needed checked for mail.

The post office is about 3/4 mile away and the last block is up a small hill past some brick homes. I can only best describe them as maybe four-plexes facing each other with a central type courtyard or common area in the middle. There is a small building on both ends of the common area, one being a choo (bathroom). The families here are very poor, but always friendly when I pass. One day a father walking into his area, welcomed me to his home. There are always a ton of kids outside, and they always call out ‘muzungu’ when I go by and have even followed me a while down the road on my way home.

Today when I passed by, they came to the side of the road yelling to me, all very friendly and wanting to say hello. One of the children had a bow and arrow made with two sticks and a piece of old-yellowed twine. He kind of pointed it at me and pulled back, but didn’t let fly. I greeted all the kids and went into the Post Office.

On my way home, the kids again were yelling and greeting me, but as I passed the one boy, he let fly with his arrow. I know he was just playing and had a big ole grin on his face when I looked at him. I just smiled and waved and went on. TIA Mark