How we behave.

Time magaizine has a really interesting article on how humans behave in the worst of times. I can't really say I have been in such a situation although I remember as a kid, heading back from Molo with my dad, our car tyre blew and the car careened off the road making rapid acquaintances with an accacia tree. In the ensuing commotion my relatives had recited a couple of hail mary's, our father's, one called on the good lord, another one spoke in a tongue I can bet any professor in linguistics wouldn't figure. I have since heard various versions of the story, none more elaborate than the six-step breakdown from my uncle who also claimed that he'd seen a woman by the roadside holding a kid.(it's my understanding that Molo line drivers have encountered such "incidences")- but I just think its all hot air. I'm not superstitious at all and here's the math.

1.Car hits pothole = Car tyre busts + careens off the road/hits accacia tree = people speak*act funny.(duh!)

However, I do question how i'd react if I was in such a situation (9/11, tsunami etc). Back in the day I had an interesting exchange with some makangas next to the Kenya Railways station having just alighted from a 111 from ngong. A dude in our contingent had dared that should they even 'darest thou thinkest' to touch him, the clique would descend upon them with fury hell hath not seen before. The clique?

1. The fella Magaidi
2. A dude by the name of Gitau.

He must have said something because we managed to walk/run/squat away from the place with heads somehow held high. My actual feeling when this was going on was more of curiosity. The sweat on my brow was only due to the sweltering heat! I think my first instinct would be to go check out what happened and that's probably not a good thing. On the flip side if I scurry away, I barely know what i'm running from or to - One thing I doubt i'd do in such situations is sit and chill.