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Description
Moyo is a male, African banded mongoose who was born at home on May 1st, 1954 in what was then British occupied Kenya. Moyo is of a mild mannered demeanor and appears outwardly to be a bit naive, but sees things as they really are. Moyo is loving, sexy and cute. His sexual orientation is straight, and he is loyal in any sexual relationship. Moyo is also honest. He feels more comfortable with someone having $50 that belongs to him, than to have $50 of someone else's money wrongfully taken.
During the time Moyo and the nine other siblings were growing up, home was in Turkana County in the northern part of Rift Valley Province, Kenya. In fact, from the old Jais Mongoose Family homestead was about a 30 to 45 drive to the shore of Lake Turkana where you can look out and see Crocodile Island, which was formed from a now mostly inactive volcano.
There is some illiteracy, little modern technology and most of the locals have always been poor, however with a few exceptions such as those from prosperous tribes and families. But everyone is helpful to each other. And Moyo gets by well with a 7th grade education.
Moyo is 7th born on May 1st, 1954...And like his eight siblings;
Chege (born 3-25-35 male),
Makena (born 2-4-39 female),
Kioni (born 4-8-44 female),
Ruguru (born 1-15-47 male),
Chanya (born 3-6-49 female),
**Kanja (born 12-15-52 male),
Jomo (born 9-10-55 male)
and Jabet (born 8-30-57 female), is 1/4 binturong and 1/4 Pokot tribal African banded mongoose from their mother, Aluna Jais Mongoose (formally Aluna Tatazu Mongoose {pronounced Ah-loo'-nah Tat-taz'-zoo})...And 1/2 Kikuyu tribal African banded mongoose from their dad, Makori Jais Mongoose (pronounced Ma-koo'-rye Jay'-es). BTW, Makori Mongoose's grand dad on his mother's side of the family was an Indian mongoose. So there is also 1/8 Indian mongoose from dad's side of the family in the genepool of Moyo and the siblings. With no "real" hospital being nearby, all members of the family, like all other locals, had been born in the homes and tribal villages where they grew up...Hospitals were considered to be for the ill and injured anyway, and the locals certainty did not deem being born as an illness or an injury.
**Kanja, Moyo and Jomo were already uncles, as well Jabet being already an aunt, at the times of their birth. Early in the year of 1951, oldest brother Chege, at age 16, got his 17 year old girl friend, Jahaira, pregnant. A few weeks after Chege and Jahaira agreed to get married, their first cub, a female, was born on March 1st, 1951, whom they named Dafina Jais Mongoose. Two years later, Chege and Jahaira's first son was born on June 30th, 1953, whom they named Kanoro Jais Mongoose. During family visits, Dafina, Kanoro and their younger aunt and uncles, **Kanja, Moyo, Jomo and Jabet, and sometimes along with their older uncle and aunt, Chanya and Ruguru, would play together as though they were all siblings.
**Kanja (Moyo's next older brother) was born mentally challenged, IQ of 76, well below average but not fully mentally retarded (retardation is 69 to 70 and below). Still the same, Kanja Jais Mongoose is loved by his family, friends and locals, and no one makes fun of him over his being mentally impaired...Anyone who would dare to do so would get the shit beat out of them by Daddy Makori Mongoose for it.
Kanja's younger brothers Moyo and Jomo possesses IQs of around 89, borderline between average and very slightly below average. Jabet's IQ is 93, lower end of average...Mamma Mongoose was getting up into her older age by the time she gave birth to Kanja, Moyo, Jomo and Jabet.
Sister Kioni is the genius of the siblings with a high average IQ of 118. The rest of the siblings; Chege, Makena, Ruguru and Chanya have average IQs ranging between 97 to 105.
Moyo is from a family that started out with a fairly low income, but not as poverty stricken as a Meerkat Family and others in Southern rural Angola had been...However, the family income would improve as time goes on...Because Makori Mongoose is from the more prosperous Kikuyu tribe (pronounced Kick-koo'-you), the village of Makori's family provided financial assistance to help Makori start out with bidding at liquidation auctions on storage units and warehouse lots that had become debt delinquent, then selling the contents at vendor's markets for a profit...Then later getting into going into the cities and investing and selling tax foreclosed properties, some of which having rent income...That assistance is reserved only for members of Kikuyu tribal families, whether they reside in or away from a village, and for no one else. However, there is a lifelong obligation that comes with accepting that assistance...A member of a Kikuyu tribal family who prospers as a result of receiving tribal assistance to start a business is expected to donate 5% to 17% of business earnings back into the tribe, collected quarterly throughout the year for a lifetime. The percentage of what is collected fluctuates with income level and profit margin being earned by the individual. Much of what is collected by the tribe is then in turn given to assist other tribal members who wish to go out into the "modern world" and become prosperous. It is an investment in both the individual tribal member and the tribe, thus why the Kikuyu Tribe and it's members prosper better than other tribes do.
Even back during the time Moyo and Family had been below the middle class income level, they've still always enjoyed a standard of living considerably above that of the 3rd world.
The family home is fairly sizable, old, wood frame, with a slightly rusted tin roof, and the floors creek a little. The house is surrounded completely by porch, and what would be the attic is an upper story with gables...what some realtors would call "an old, white elephant house". But the house, 100+ years old now days and still standing, is built of 19th to 20th century construction which is modern for the time it was built, with wooden walls, floors and roof structure...as oppose to the small, clay wall, dirt floor homes like are quite common throughout the local countryside.
BTW, Makori, with help from some of his relatives within the Kikuyu tribe, was able to successfully bid on that old house that a French marmot couple lost in a tax delinquency foreclosure auction...The lifelong gratuity reimbursement for receiving the money to bid on that house was not expected by the leader and elders of the tribal village, because that help came from only within Makori Mongoose's family.
Over the years, floors in the bathroom, kitchen and parlor had gotten in pretty bad condition. Those three rooms were eventually re-floored with plywood and tiled.
Walls in the parlor and living room have been wood paneled and stained dark mauve, the kitchen and two other rooms have been dry-walled, the bathroom walls have been ceramic tiled, and most of the rooms and the hallway still bare the original lath and plaster troweled stucco the house was built with.
The house was originally built in 1907 without electricity. In 1958, electrical service became available through a rural development program continued by the Kenyan government after the British relinquished occupation of the country...That was one year after the clay and gravel, north-south highway A1 was paved with asphalt blacktop.
It was in that year of 1958 that Highway D348 from out of Kolokol, which runs by not far from the Jais Mongoose homestead, was also paved.
During that rural development program, there were many local animals and their families who were building homes that were more comfortable, although a few of them were a bit shack like with corrugated tin exteriors. The old thatch tribal huts they've always lived in were either abandoned, used as utility buildings or given to other of their relatives.
In the summer of 1960 (when Moyo was age 6) the house was wired for electricity. The wiring was installed on the outer surfaces of the walls and ceilings, under decorative wire guards, as was done with many buildings in those days that didn't originally have electricity.
Having electricity also made it possible to run a well pump so plumbing could be piped into the house, which was done in that same year with help from a rural development program grant awarded to the family...Since 1960, water no longer had to be carried in from the well by pails for drinking, cooking, bathing and toilet flushing (Of course, being animals with no clothing, there are no laundry needs except for blankets, towels and wash rags).

The family cars have always been old station wagons or old utility vehicles (not 'sport utility'). However, the cars the family has owned, although old, have not been in a condition to the extent of being ragged, rusted out and falling apart.
The car Moyo's family had when Moyo was born was a 1951 Standard Vanguard wagon like the one in the link below, except the Mongoose Family's car was right paw drive and being purchased used, did show some age.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rq-yz…

In 1963, when Moyo's younger brother, Jomo, was 8 years of age, Kenya's first president, President Jomo Kenyarusso Aardwolf, was elected following the country's independence from British rule.
Being that President Jomo Aardwolf had the same first name as Jomo Mongoose, the siblings would always joke around about that.
They would say to their little bro, "Jomo. Ah you da presadeent?".
Jomo would reply, "Nahhhh!...Meh not da presadeent".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jomo_Ken…

By the year 1964, Makori's brother, Omran had also been doing well with investing in financially distressed real estate, and had a steady rent income from several rental houses in Nairobi. Omran and his wife Jiona, with their sons Hali and Anasa, and daughters Issa and Elea, lived in the nearby Kikuyu tribal village...Although the city of Nairobi was far away, Omran and Jiona always received the rent payments from their tenants by mail on time.
And because Omran, Jiona and their cubs lived in a tribal village, there was almost no cost of living except for the gratuity paid to the village chief for the financial help that got their income started. Most of the food came from off the land. Water was drawn from a creek. There were no utilities, thus no utility bills...The only utility was a phone shared by the village (rotary dial phone in those days), and that was in a lock box mounted on a telephone pole near the paved highway at the beginning of the three kilometer (one and a half mile), dirt lane that leads to the village. The locked box prevented strangers from pulling off the highway and stealing use of the phone. The key to the phone box was on a ring hung on the porch of the chief's house for who ever in the village needed to go up the three kilometer dirt lane and use the phone...Everyone had use of the phone - Everyone shared the phone bill.
In April of 1964, Omran and Jiona decided to take a two month, overseas trip with their cubs to the U. S. The family had already obtained their Kenyan passports a few months earlier. Needless to say, Issa, Hali, Elea and Anasa were very excited. It would be the first time for Omran and Jiona being away from the African continent, and the first time for the cubs being out of Kenya. And the trip being from mid April to late June would not be a conflict with the cubs schooling either, being that they attended school there in the village, thus making the schedule easy to work around.
Before the departure date of the trip, some of the adolescent animals in the village asked Omran, "Ah da streets REALLAE poved weet gold in Ameeikah?! Ya theenk dey woot let ya breeng sume bock heah?!".
Chief Abasi Mongoose, knowing better, laughed and informed the adolescents, "Dea aun't na gold on da steets theah. Heh heh heh. Dot es jost ah ole sayen.".
Anyway, everyone in the village did wish the family an enjoyable trip.
When Omran with his wife and cubs later visited his brother, Makori, Makori and Aluna asked if they would bring some pictures back of the U.S. when they return to Kenya.
"Weel hov lots a pictchas", Omran assured. Ond mehbe siveneeahs".
The mention of souvenirs being brought back really got Kanja, Moyo, Jomo and Jabet cheering.
Jomo, then not quite age 9, asked Mom and Dad, "Con we go wit Ouncle Omron an Aunt Jiona to Ameeikah?!".
"Weh con't caus weh doon't hov posspots ta go theah", Makori answered Jomo.
"Awww", Jomo exclaimed.
"Weh ceut propbly teak ah trip laitah on", Aluna assured Jomo.
Then came up that thing of gold streets again...
...Moyo, then going on age 10, asked, "Ouncle Omran! Ouncle Omran! Con ya breeng bock sume gold froam da streets?! Ah lot ov et?!...Dot es, ef dey hov eextah dey doon't need!".
"Hah hah hah, Moyo, meh deeah nephew", Omran laughed. "De streets en Ameeikah doun't hov gold. Dot es just ah sayen. I bet all ovah de wold dey say dot".
"Ha ha ha. Dot es fo shoua", Makori agreed.
"Oh", Moyo said as the rest of the adults had a good laugh.
"Soh dot meen animols en Ameerikah es poor den?", Kanja asked.
"Et doon't meen dot, Kanja", Aluna told her son. "Et es just da streets ah not mode ought ov gold".
Chanya, who had just turned 16, asked her Uncle Omran and Aunt Jiona if they would bring back lots of souvenirs.
Ruguru was going on age 17 then. He asked Uncle Omran if he could get him some nostalgic memorabilia to display in his room.
"I theenk I hov ta meek ah list ov wot eveah one wants", Omran chuckled.
"Con ya breeng meh ah Babie en Ken poodle dolls?...Pleeeezzze?...Ond ah Babie en Ken cah fa dem ta ride en?", Jabet, who was not quite age 7, asked.
Finally, Aluna said, "Ah-kae, meh coubs. Ya meekin ya Ouncle Omran feel lok Sonta Beah ot Chreesmas time".
As for Chege, Makena and Kioni, they were already adults and out on their own, and the two oldest married and raising cubs, thus they were not present at the time.
When Omran, Jiona and their cubs took their trip to the U.S., their destination spot was what was formally Colonial Virginia, which included tourist attractions in Jamestown, Williamsburg, Hampton and Newport News.
Upon their arrival at the Patrick Henry Airport, Omran and Jiona acquired a rental car for transportation. Originally, the car rental agent, Jerry Raccoon, was going to rent them a then brand new 1964 Chevy Impala Super Sport convertible, two door in bright red.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKmIV_…
WOW! The mongooses didn't see very many cars THIS big in Kenya...This was some car.
However, it was not like the 1957 Vauxhall station wagon that Omran and Jiona has back in Kenya where their cubs can ride in the back.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT_GNi…
"Woll, Jehree", Omran said to Jerry Raccoon. "Dees cah es nice. Bot do ya hov aeh steshon wogon?".
"Weh do hov aw faw coubs. We need mah room", Jiona added.
Jerry Raccoon, being American, was not use to the Kenyan dialect, and had to ask Omran and Jiona to repeat themselves so he can understand.
"Weh need ah steshon wagon", Omran said more slowly. "Do ya hov woun avilibul?".
"Oh oh, a station wagon", Jerry Raccoon acknowledged as Omran nodded 'yes'. "I have one here you and the wife will like".
"I weel kneow ef I lok et unce I see et" (w/o the dialect - I will know if I like it once I see it), Omran replied as Jerry Raccoon took the mongooses to see the station wagon, which was a 1964 Pontiac Safari station wagon in white with a red interior.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7pZ3k…
Omran and Jiona were thrilled with the car, and for the cubs; Issa, Hali, Elea and Anasa, there was waaaayy more room than what their Vauxhall wagon back in Kenya has.
After discussing it with Jiona, Omran Mongoose said to Jerry Raccoon, "Weel teek et".
From Omran's voice tone and body language, Jerry Raccoon understood Omran saying, "We'll take it".
Omran and Jiona had already made the exchange of an amount of Kenyan shillings for U. S. dollars...So once the paper work was done, rental deposit paid, and a brief period of instruction from Jerry Raccoon about the car, the mongooses were on their way.
To begin with, Omran was not use to the big powerful 389 cubic inch V8...Being use to how you have to give that Vauxhall the gas to make it go, Omran stepped on the accelerator, then >SCREEEEEEAACH< the rear tires spun, then Omran let off the gas.
"Oh Omran. I maybe should have told you", Jerry Raccoon said. "This car has more power than you're use to. Go easy for a while until you get use to it".
"I theenk I weel goh easie, now dot I kneow", Omran replied. "Des cah DO hov da geet up en goh".
Another issue Omran had to get use to was that in the U. S., traffic moves on the opposite side of the road...on the right...The fact that the station wagon they rented has the steering wheel on the left should have reminded him of that...But after a few misses of close calls of almost having a head on collision, Omran remembered to keep the car to the right lanes of the roads.
Omran, Jiona and the cubs did not go extravagant on lodging. They were not of that 'jet set' crowd who quickly goes broke staying at a Ramada Inn day after day. During their stay in the Hanpton Roads area, they rented a room at a boarding house in downtown Newport News, with meals included, which was ran by a bear couple. Once settled in, they then visited places such as Virginia Beach, Ocean View Amusemant Park in Norfolk (it was the first time the cubs had ever been to an amusement park), as well as various other places of interest. One time they took a trip across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which has 19 kilometers (12 miles) of bridge roadway, a highrise on the Eastern Shore side, and two tunnels. It had just been completed and opened for service only weeks earlier. The family spent the rest of the day cruising around and stopping at places of interest on Eastern Shore, then spent that night in that big Pontiac station wagon parked near a beach on the ocean side. Come morning, the family spent some time at the beach before heading back across to Norfolk, then back to Newport News.
The Newport News Drydock and Shop Yard was quite an impressive sight. Then later in the day, the family noticed the Chesapeake and Ohio railway yard. Omran and Jiona decided to park the car just down the road from where the tobacco warehouses are to let the cubs watch the locomotives switch cars, which were mostly coal hoppers...However,these locomotives were different from the steam engines the family has always seen back in Kenya.
"Luke ot dot", younger son Anasa exclaimed, pointing at a GP-9 on it's way to couple up to some cars. "Wot konda eengine es dat?".
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D35yz…
"How doose dat eengine evon goh?", older son Hali asked, noticing the locomotive did not have a boiler, drive linkages and the large set of drive wheels typical of a steam engine.
"Et doon't evon hov ah coal tendah", Exclaimed older sister Issa.
"Deen how do dae keep da fiah box goen?", younger sister Elea asked.
"Dot eengine has a motah en it", Omran said, upon noticing the sound of the diesel engine in the locomotive.
"Ya meen lok da wey trucks ond cahs hov a motah?", Jiona asked her husband, Omran.
"Yees", Omran replied. "Ya con heah et evah time one ov dos eengines goh".
Their first time seeing diesel locomotives in action was certainly fascinating to them, and it wasn't long before a Richmond bound passenger train cruised by on it's way out of downtown Newport News.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapea…
Jiona commented, "Dat eengine lukes lok ah long von truck wit ah shot hoot en frunt" (w/o the dialect - That engine looks like a long van truck with a short hood in front).
After watching the trains a while, the family rode up the road to a seafood and ice cream drive in they've been noticing for the past few days. The drive in had a small dining room in which the family took up six of the eight seats it had. The 21 shrimp-n-fries basket looks good, so that's what everyone ordered. Jane porcupine, the waitress who originally waited on the family could not understand them due to the Kenyan dialect. But Fredia, an African-American Hyena who was the other waitress was able to understand the dialect of the mongooses. Thus the drive in's owner, Montgomery Penguin, assigned Freida to take their order.
The shrimp-n-fries baskets were really good, and Omran and Jiona even let the cubs get some ice cream for desert. It was getting late by the time everyone was finished eating, so the family headed back to the boarding house for the evening.
As has always been with most of the relatives, Omran and Jiona believed in attending church on Sundays. Early one Sunday morning, Leslie Otter, a long time tenant of the boarding house, told the family of a Fundamental Southern Baptist church in Hampton he use to attend years ago.
"When you get to New Market Plaza with those huge balls on the signs, turn right at the circle", Leslie Otter explained. "After you cross Bethel Road, look for it on your left. It sits back on a residentual street. You'll know it by a fleet of blue and white church busses they have...If you get to WGH radio station, you've gone too far".
Omran and Jiona thanked Leslie, then headed out with the cubs in that big Pontiac wagon to the church.
Upon the family's arrival was the first time they realized how big the church was. Services were soon to begin as the mongooses made their way up the grand front steps. But once inside the front doors, they were in for a rude suprise. One of the church deacons, a very well groomed great dane, meet the mongooses in the vestibule adjacent to the auditorium.
The great dane did not offer to shake paws, but instead told Omran and Jiona mongoose, "Sir. Mame. I'm sorry, but this church does not allow African species animals. There's First Shilo Baptist Church down the road, and they'd be glad to have you".
Omran and Jiona were appalled in disbelief over what they just heard...and coming from a church deacon no less...The cubs did not like it either.
On the way back out into the parking lot, Omran retorted, "Dae call DEESE de house ov de Lawd? All weh got froam heah wass ta geet ahffeended".
"Deese es moe lok da house ov de Deevil...Et es Saiton's house", Issa exclaimed.
Jiona assured, "Dae weel geet dae bod kamah sumedae. Et goh 'rond, et weel come 'rond" (w/o the dialect - They will get their bad karma someday. It goes 'round, it will come 'round).
The family recalled seeing where First Shilo Baptist Church is, so it was there they went for Sunday morning service. There, the mongooses received a warm, friendly welcome. And not only were there African-American genets, meerkats, cheetahs, servals, aardwolves, mongooses, hyenas and such, but there were also European and American indigenous species such as; raccoons, otters bears, weasels, foxes a few dogs, a wolf, a family of wolverines, and there were even a family of lesser red pandas, a clouded leopard couple and an Oriental civet. The pastor there was Revren Jerome Holmes Aardwolf, who preached that day on "pardon or judgement are received as to how you give them out to others". And needless to say, Omran and Jiona's family made many friendship accquaintences there that Sunday morning.
There's no telling what the pastor of that church that turned the mongooses away preached that day...You probably don't wanna know.
Back at the boarding house that afternoon, Leslie Otter was very disappointed to hear that the church he had attended years ago was now run by bigots.
Leslie told Omran and Jiona, "If I had known that, I would have recommended a different church...It has been years since I've been there, and I had no idea they have become that way".
In the weeks to follow, the family would stop by places to get souvenirs to bring back to relatives back in Kenya... They even stopped in at G. C. Murphey's Department Store in the New Market Plaza (the plaza with the huge balls on the signs) to get those Barbie and Ken poodle dolls Jabet said she wanted, and the Mattel toy car that was made to go with the poodle dolls. G. C. Murphey's even had a restaurant area where the mongooses went for lunch that day. However, the best and most nostalgic stuff was found at the yard sales they went to.
A few weeks later, the mongooses decided they would like to see Florida before it was time to go back to Kenya. So one morning, they checked out of the boarding house in Newport News and packed that big Pontiac wagon with the stuff they collected (by now they were glad they did not take that super sport convertible Jerry Raccoon was going to rent to them). The animals they had gotten to know at the boarding house wished the family a safe and happy trip, then they headed out to Florida.
There was no I-95 going all the way through back in those days. The way from Hampton Roads, Virginia to Florida was via U. S. Route 17 and U.S. Route 1. The beginning of that journey took them 8 kilometers (5 miles)across the James River Bridge...the original two lane bridge with it's narrow rickety roadway and it's steel pipe railings.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ri…
Along the way, the family stopped for a day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That night, they slept in the car parked near the beach, then continued on their way.
Although that Pontiac wagon was a very nice car, Omran did notice one disadvantage about it...It did not get anywhere near the fuel economy his Vauxhall back home got...But of course, in those days, gasoline was also cheaper in the U. S. than in many parts of Africa.
At a gas station on Route 17 in Georgia, the family stopped in to fuel up the car. Upon driving over the airline that rings the bell in the station as they pulled up to the pumps, a young male opossum came out and asked, "Will it be regular or Ethel, Sir?".
"Reeglah woot beh aw-kae", Omran answered.
"I cain't understand you there", the opossum replied.
"Reeglah es goot. Reeglah. Ond feil et all da wah, pleese", Omran said.
The opossum, sensing the mongooses were not from the U. S., retorted, "If y'all gonna come to this country, why don'tcha learn to speak right?".
"Hey, Clint! That was uncalled for!", a young male raccoon co-worker called out.
"I cain't help it, Jim! This mongoose is mumblin' at me!", Clint Opossum called out to Jimmy Raccoon.
"That's still no way to be treatin' a customer!", Jimmy Raccoon retorted to Clint while collecting from a fox for fill-up.
Jimmy Raccoon briefly paused, and said to the fox, "Have a good, Sir. Thank you for stopping by", just before he drove away.
Then Jimmy Raccoon came over to lecture Clint Opossum, which began going into an argument.
Omran Mongoose was about ready to drive off and stop at another station down the road...Omran also felt like getting out of the car and popping that opossum in the nose, but Omran didn't want a deportation cutting the vacation short.
Jimmy Raccoon finally sent Clint Opossum away from the Mongoose Family's car.
"I apologize for all of this.", Jimmy Raccoon said to the mongooses, "How can I help you?".
"Weel, I woot lok ta geet ah feil-up ov reeglah", Omran answered the raccoon.
"Fill-up of regular?", Jimmy Raccoon asked to be sure he heard Omran Mongoose correctly.
"Yees please", Omran said.
As Jimmy Raccoon was pumping the gas, another motorist pulled in, which would keep Clint Opossum occupied from making 'any comments out of the peanut gallery'.
The car took a bit over 20 gallons.
"Clean your windshield and check your oil, Sir?", Jimmy Raccoon asked.
"Naw. All dat es goot, theink ya", Omran said.
"That will be four dollars and eighty two cents", Jimmy Raccoon said.
As Omran Mongoose paid Jimmy Raccoon, Jimmy again apologized for the actions of his opossum co-worker and thanked the mongooses for stopping by...The family was again on their way.
The family finally entered Florida on the Route 17 bridge over the St. Mary's river.
images.search.yahoo.com/search…
A short way into Florida, they stopped in at a welcome center that was giving away free cups of orange juice...the cubs especially liked the orange juice.
As the family continued along route 17 through Duval County in route toward Jacksonville, they noticed railroad tracks ran parallel off to the right from Route 17...They had also noticed a railway bridge off to the right back when they crossed the St. Mary's River. Eventually, a passenger train passed them, which had Seaboard Coast Line Railway markings.
images.search.yahoo.com/search…
"Dot's anothah won ov dos eengines weet ah motah en et", Hali said as the train went on past.
The Mongoose Family got lost for a while going through Jacksonville.
At some intersections where they had to wait on a traffic light, an African-American species animal, sometimes two or more, such as civets, mongooses, hyenas, meerkats, servals, etc, who were giving out pamphlets would approach the car and offer to shake paws with Omran and Jiona.
They would mention things like, "Heeeyyy, Bros. Remember. We all have a dream" or "Ay, Brothah. Ay, Sistah. Y-all keepin' the faith?"
"Don't forget, baby. A whisper ain't got no voice", a meerkat said at one of those intersections as he gave Omran a pamphlet titled, 'We shall not be judged by the species of our fur, but by the content of our character'.
Youngest cub Anasa spoke up, "Dea aein't naw bebies weet ous...Weh ah coubs".
"Hey, cute", the meerkat chuckled.
A female genet with her two cubs, a male and a younger female, approached the car and gave out several pamphlets to Omran and Jiona's cubs.
"Aww, your cubs are so adorable", the mother genet complimented as her two cubs and the mongoose cubs waved to each other and began conversation.
Omran and Jiona thanked the genet mother for the compliment. Then there were horns of cars behind blowing.
Someone called out, "Hey Latisha! The light's green! Let them go, girl!".
"Hey y-all. See ya", the genet mother bided.
"Bein noce tauken ta ya" (w/o the dialect - Been nice talking to you), Jiona replied as Omran put the car in drive and continued on.
Omran eventually said to Jiona as he placed the pamphlet on the dashboard of the car, "Dae sem friendly ehnouf...Boot I doun't knaw wat theese es abeout".
"I doun't knaw eithah", Jiona replied as the family continued riding along the street.
Jiona noticed a political cartoon in one the pamphlets of a meerkat climbing a latter of success and telling a nearby golden retriever, "What do you mean 'not so fast'?".
It was agreed between Omran and Jiona to collect the pamphlets from the cubs until they can read through them and be sure the material content was okay for them.
Most of those animals such as foxes, bears, raccoons, coyotes dogs, otters, wolves, etc seemed to be ignoring the Momgoose Family riding around in that big, brand new, Pontiac station wagon. However, there were some animals such as foxes, bears, raccoons, coyotes dogs, otters, wolves, etc who were standing for the cause along with the African-American animals.
At another traffic light, a jackal and a genet approached the car and offered the usual friendly paw shake and a pamphlet.
"We gotta stand strong for the cause, Brothah", The jackal proclaimed.
Omran finally asked, "Efra-one cooms ta ah cah. Wat es des abeout?".
"Hey, Homer. I cain't understand the first word dis cat's sayin'", The jackal told the genet.
"Weh not cats. Weh Mongooses", older son Hali called out from the back seat of the car.
Homer Genet told the jackal, "Dis bro say he don't know why everyone wana rap with them".
The jackal thought on that a few seconds, then took notice of the nice big car.
"You ain't one-a-doze doccca Thomas ain'tcha?", the jackal asked Omran.
"I es not ah doctah ov dae modacine", Omran assured the jackal. "I nevah bein tah mod scoul en meh lofe".
"Yo, hold up, Tyrone", Homer Genet said to the jackal.
"Sir", Homer Genet addressed Omran Mongoose. "Y-all ain't from dis country is you?
"Naw. Weh not. Weh ah froam Keenya", Omran answered.
"Weh ah heah on vahcation", Jiona added.
"Oh...Okay", Homer Genet replied.
When the light turned green, Omran Mongoose told Homer Genet and Tyrone Jackal, "Deh lot es green. Weh gotta goh neow".
"Enjoy y-all's stay", Homer Genet called out as the car pulled away.
"Y-all be cool", Tyrone Jackal called out.
The mongoose family still was making no progress finding their way around Jacksonville.
"Deese Jockseenveil es whass din drivin en Naihobi" (w/o the dialect - This Jacksonville is worse than driving in Nairobi), Omran mentioned upon pulling up to a complicated intersection and not knowing which way was the right way to turn.
Jiona suggested stopping at a convenience store and getting a Jacksonville map. So the next convenience store that came into view, they pulled in. The cubs wanted to get some candy, so everyone came into the store.
While Omran was picking out a map, and Jiona was with the cubs picking out candy, two other mongooses greeted Omran and introduced themselves as Isaac and Floyd.
"Ya goin' to the march, Brother?", Floyd Mongoose asked Omran Mongoose.
"I dah not knaw abeout des motch ya speek ov", Omran replied as Jiona and the cubs approached.
"You don't know? The Civil Rights march, Baby", Isaac Mongoose exclaimed.
"Weel...I om not eh bebie. I om ah grawn up Mongoose lok YAW awh", Omran corrected Isaac.
"Whaaat?...You all talk funny", Isaac Mongoose said.
"Wait a minute, Isaac", said Floyd and then asked Omran, "You from somewhere else?...not here in America".
"Weh froam Keenya", Omran replied.
"Deese es da seecon time weh was aust dat. Wat es dis abeout?", Jiona asked.
The two African-American mongooses, Isaac and Floyd, explained the Civil Rights Movement that was going on at that time. Also at that time, not far south of Jacksonville, a bold lion who was a Civil Rights leader was visiting St. Augustine, Marvin Kingsley Lion.
Omran then told Isaac and Floyd, "Weh ah not heah en Ameeikah fah dat popess. Weh coom heah on vahcation".
"Weh ah free ween da Briteesh gehv Keenya et's indopondence", Jiona added.
"OH LAWWWD! HA HA HA HA HA! Why da British wanna free anyone!?" Isaac laughed.
"Yo, Isaac. Everything's cool, Bro", said Floyd.
Isaac and Floyd then expressed wishes to the family for a safe trip and a good time. After the family and the two African-American mongooses bid a friendly farewell, Omran chose the map they needed, everyone got snacks and drinks, and were on their way.
With the map, the family finally found their way out of Jacksonville, and was again travelling where they intended to go, and not a day too soon. That day the Meerkat Family was in Jacksonville was on June the 6th, and on June 7th, a tropical depression came through the Jacksonville area from across the state bringing some bad weather...The meerkats just did miss it by one day.
Because it was already getting into the month June, the Florida heat was about like that of the Kenyan temperatures the family has always known. With a little fumbling and trying out different knobs, Omran was finally able to figure out how to operate the car's A/C...something very few of the cars in Kenya had. With the windows up and the A/C on, riding in that spacious, heavy, smooth riding Pontiac wagon was riding in comfort...And some pretty good tunes could be found on the radio too.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJkxFh…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD7RLe…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHzjfG…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RUVic…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC048z…
The cub had a good laugh from that last song.

When the family was having breakfast at a cozy little restaurant in Titusville early in the morning of June the 8th, they heard from some of the other customers that the first Gemini rocket (with no animal occupants) was going to be test launched later that morning. None of the family had ever seen a rocket go up before, and from Titusville everyone would get a good view of the launch. The family stayed around Titusville that morning and listened to reports about the launch preparations on the car radio. And sure enough, a few hours later, at 11:00 am, Gemini one was launched.
images.search.yahoo.com/search…
"Dea et es!", Omran, being the first to see it, pointed it out.
images.search.yahoo.com/search…
It was a success and the cubs were very excited to see their first rocket launch as Gemini one ascended higher and higher with the engine's big blaze of fire behind it.
"DA ROCKEET! DA ROCKEET!", older son Hali gleefully proclaimed.
"WOW!", said younger son Anasa.
"Es sah cool!", older daughter Issa said.
"Et es", younger daughter Elea added. "Lok ot et goh".
Comments and expressions of awe from other animals watching the launch could also be heard.
"Dot es ah veh-ee grond site", Jiona said as she was taking pictures.
images.search.yahoo.com/search…
Needless to say, Omran and Jiona took turns getting lots of pictures of Gemini one until it was out of range of their camera...They knew those pictures were going to be the most impressive off all to the relatives back home.

Other places the family visited in Florida were Tampa, St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami (Back in 1964, Miami was not the dangerous, high crime center it would eventually become 20 to 25 years later)...At one point, they even drove out to Key West and back. During that time, the family seldom checked in at a motel. There was plenty of room in that spacious Pontiac station wagon, and plenty of campsites and beachside parking to sleep for the night.
This was also about the time the all new Ford Mustangs were coming out on the roads.
Everyone thought those were such cool cars, and the cubs; Issa, Hali, Elea and Anasa even made a contest among themselves of counting who can be first spotting the most Ford Mustangs.
Once in a while, Omran and Jiona would hear, "Ah seh ah Moostong!".
"I sah et fost".
"Naw ya deed not. I deed".
Toward the end of June, the vacation had eventually drawn to a close. On the family's last day in the U. S., they rode back up to Tampa where they were to turn the station wagon back in at the Tampa Airport Hertz car rental location. There were still a few hours before they had to catch their flight back home, and they had noticed the last time they were in Tampa, The Meeting House Restaurant on the corner of Howard and Bristol Avenue. That is where the family had a late lunch, then afterwards, some home made ice cream the restaurant was well known for which was really good.
A few hours later, Omran and Jiona turned the car back in, and shortly thereafter boarded their flight back to Kenya.
Once they were back home, there were lots photos to show, and lots of stories to tell to the relatives. And there were souvenirs and nostalgic stuff brought back for everyone...And you should have seen how happy Jabet was when she was presented with her Barbie and Ken poodle dolls and the Mattel toy car to go with them.
...Occasionally, there would be a reference for laughs made from time to time about, "Da gold on de streets en Ameeikah".

As the cubs would mature in age, Makori and Aluna allowed them to travel to the Kikuyu village to visit relatives who resided there. As for the cubs who were not yet old enough to be driving the family car, it was a bit far to be walking...But the cubs did have bicycles, which even by bicycle it was a pretty good haul out to there and back.
Early December of 1964, Kanja wanted to visit Uncle Omran and Aunt Jiona, Uncle Tambo and Aunt Sadika and the cousins at the Kikuyu village. This was a couple of weeks before Kanja Mongoose was to turn 12 years of age. In December of 1964, Moyo was still 10 years of age. Makori and Aluna gave to OK for Kanja to go to the village... However, because of Kanja being mentally impaired, Mom and Dad always required older siblings to accompany him to keep him safe out on the highway, and to keep him out of trouble at the village. Older brother Ruguru, about to turn 18 on January 15th a month and a half away, and older sister Chanya, then age 15, were to accompany Kanja that day. Both older siblings were old enough to use the family car to drive there, but Dad needed the car that day to take a trip to town to see a realtor about a linsang couple who wanted to make a down payment on one of the investment properties...And the old truck that use to be used years ago to haul debt delinquent storage unit and warehouse contents from liquidation auctions needed brake work. Oldest siblings Chege, Makena and Kioni had vehicles, but they were already married, had their own places, and the two oldest siblings and their spouses were already raising cubs, with Chede's oldest daughter already age 13, and oldest son already age 11...So...It looked like Ruguru, Chanya and Kanja would be riding the bicycles out to the village, and that it was. During the ride there, Kanja's bike had to have the helper wheels because he had still not yet developed the skill to keep a bicycle balanced without falling over.
At the village, the relatives were delighted to welcome Ruguru, Chanya and Kanja. And Kanja enjoyed playing with the young cubs his age. During their visit, Jamal Genet, a resident of the village, came riding up the long, dirt lane leading to the village on a Honda dirt bike with a small bundle of eight foot long, 2"x4" lumber he had bought from a local sawmill, which he had tied across the back of the bike...The wide load of boards would cause the overloaded dirt bike to teeter-totter side to side as Jamal Genet had to struggle while riding at a slow pace to keep the bike upright.
"LOOK!", Kanja Mongoose exclaimed with excitement. "Jomal es mekin ah aeiplane wif es mootah cycle!"
Realizing that to Kanja, the 2"x4"s looked like 'airplane wings' on Jamal's dirt bike, Ruguru and Chanya explained to Kanja that Jamal Genet was hauling a load of lumber to build something with, and that his dirt bike was all he had to carry it on.
"I got enothah laud heah ought laust" (w/o the dialect - I got another load here at last), Jamal Genet said as he shut down the bike, then got off and greeted Ruguru, Chanya and Kanja.
Jamal did not have to put the bike's kickstand down...Four feet of lumber overhanging on each side did a pretty good job of stopping it from falling over. When Ruguru told Jamal that Kanja thought the lumber was airplane wings on the bike, Jamal thought that was cute as he let out with a pretty good chuckle. Jamal then led the three mongoose siblings to an area of the village where he showed them a structure being built that was not any larger than a two car garage. It was so far, it was a wood deck supported off the ground by rocks used as footing piers, and it already had most of the wall framing erected.
"Dees gonta beh da hoose fah meh an meh wife. An et gonta beh ah modreen beilt hoose", Jamal said, referring to how he was using modern building materials and modern construction methods.
"Elewa gonta hov awh cub soon", Jamal added, followed by congratulations from Ruguru and Chanya...and then a slightly delayed congratulation from Kanja.
Of course, at one point during the visit, Chief Abasi Kalu Mongoose, knowing Kanja's 12th birthday will be the 15th of that month, began discussing the prospect with Kanja about getting "circumcised like a true Kikuyu"...and it was a good thing Ruguru and Chanya were with Kanja that day. Kanja absolutely had not the foggiest clue of what circumcision even was, in spite of being in the company of mongooses, genets and civets who were circumcised. Ruguru and Chanya noticed that their younger brother was beginning to get talked into being circumcised by the village chief when the day comes a couple of weeks later when he turns 12 years of age. When the conversation Abasi Mongoose had with Kanja was finished, Ruguru and Chanya had their own talk with Kanja.
Older sister Chanya asked Kanja, "Kanja. Je, unafahamu ni tohara?" (Kanja. Do you know what is circumcision?).
"Uhh...Sijui" (Uhhh...I don't know), Kanja answered.
Older brother Ruguru asked Kanja, "Do you knoo wah da malls heia haf dare pee-pees shoween all de time?"
"Meh theenk soh", said Kanja. "Ah dae stickin dae pee-pees ought ot us?...Soh dae pee-pees con look ot us".
"Augh!", Chanya let out, as she could not believe what she just heard.
This conversation was also outside, within earshot of some of the villagers who began giggling and chuckling at the answer Kanja just gave his older brother.
Chanya then explained to Kanja what circumcision is, what is done during the procedure and how a penis is after it is done.
"Do you want ya pee-pee ta haf no mah sheef fo heem ta hide en?", Ruguru asked Kanja.
And the answer was loud and clear.
"HAPANA!" (NO!), Kanja loudly exclaimed as he tucked his tail between his legs and covered his genital area with both paws.
"LEEF MEH PEE-PEE ELONE! LEEF MEH PEE-PEE ELONE!", Kanja cried out. "TUUACHE!" (LEAVE IT ALONE!).
By now, many of the villagers came out of their mud walled thatch huts, plank board shacks and corrugated tin houses to find out what was going on, then could not help giggling, chuckling and laughing at Kanja's display of drama.
"LEEF MEH PEE-PEE ELONE!", Kanja continued to cry out with his tail tucked and his paws over his genital area.
Even Chief Abasi Mongoose, although disappointed Kanja will now not be circumcised, had to make an effort to hold back from giggling...But Chief Abasi broke out giggling then laughing...Even Chanya and Ruguru were laughing by now.
After Chanya and Ruguru got Kanja calmed down, Chief Abasi said to Kanja, "Kanja. Ef ya doon't want ta beh socoomsized, den we well not do et...Okee?"
"Okeeeeee", Kanja timidly replied, assured it was not going to be done to him.
Back home, Dad, Mom, Moyo, Jomo and Jabet got a good laugh when Chanya and Ruguru explained how the visit to the village went that day...One thing was for sure. Kanja Jais Mongoose may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but he made it very clear he does NOT want to be circumcised.

On Saturday, April 17, 1966, exactly two weeks before Moyo's 12th birthday, Moyo took a bicycle ride out to visit relatives in the Kikuyu village. At the village, there was the usual fellowship, conversation and good times between Moyo, his Uncle Omran Jais Mongoose (Makori's youngest brother), Aunt Jiona (Omran's wife) and cousins Issa (f), Hali (m), Elea (f) and Anasa (m). And there was also Aunt Sadika on Mom's side of the family, who married Tambo Magoro Mongoose (a Kikuyu) and resided in the village where they raised their sons and daughters, Cousin Zahur (m), Cousin Wenda (f) and Cousin Ayah (f).
During this particular visit, the village leader, Chief Abasi Kalu Mongoose, was aware that Moyo would become 12 years of age two weeks after that day. Knowing this, Chief Abasi Mongoose invited Moyo to take a walk with him to discuss some things.
During the walk, Chief Abasi mentioned to Moyo, "Wewe hivi karibuni kuingia utu uzima" (You will soon enter adulthood).
Moyo replied, "Ndiyo" (Yes).
"Wewe ni sehemu Kikuyu katika jamaa ya baba yako" (You are part Kikuyu in your father's family), Abasi Mongoose added.
"Ndiyo, mimi ni" (Yes, I am), Moyo further replied.
"Je kuchukuliwa akiwa ametahiriwa?" (Have you considered being circumcised?), the Chief asked.
Moyo simply replied, "Sitaki kufanya hivyo" (I do not want to do it).
Abasi Mongoose mentioned, "Baada ya mwaka wako kumi na mbili ina siku za nyuma, wewe huru nafasi hiyo" (After your ten have two years has past, you loose that opportunity).
Moyo still replied, "Sitaki kufanya hivyo".
The thought of 'little pee-pee' no longer having it's sheath to hide it's head in and cover up in did not appeal to Moyo in any way, shape or form...Kikuyu custom or no Kikuyu custom.
After talking with Moyo a while longer, Chief Abasi Mongoose became thoroughly convinced that Moyo was adamant he did not want to be circumcised, so Abasi accepted Moyo's decision in the matter and no longer pushed the issue.
After Abasi and Moyo walked back to the village, Cousin Hali, who by then was 16, asked Moyo, "Da cheef tak to you 'baut dae pee-pee sheeth theeng?"
"Yees e did", Moyo answered his cousin. "Ya knah meh boafdae es Mae fost" (w/o the dialect - You know my birthday is May 1st).
"Two weeks fom todae...Wat deed you tell to dae cheef?", Hali then asked.
"I seid no", said Moyo. "I lok meh pee-pee da weh et es".
Hali then mentioned to Moyo, "I hof to oddmit, seense dae coot meh sheef ween I wass tweeov, I meesed hoavin et dare...Meh pee-pee doas not feel de som wit-ought et".
As Moyo and his family had always noticed, of those relatives who reside in the village, Aunt Sadika, like her parents and siblings in Mom's family, and Uncle Omran, like his grand-parents, parents and siblings in Dad's family, were never circumcised...Both had grown up away from any tribal village, and were already adults and expecting their first cubs by the time they moved to the Kikuyu village...And already as adults, the ceremony would not count as fulfilling the tribal custom anyway.

Back in the earlier years, there had been those visits to the village when an older sibling was about to turn 12 years of age. And like before their younger brother Moyo, the village chief had that same discussion with the older siblings. And like before their younger brother Moyo, they too had declined to have it done.
And in early September of 1967, the chief approached Jomo about it...and approached Jabet about it in August of 1969, and both of their answers were the same..."Sitaki kufanya hivyo" (I do not want to do it).

These were some of the African pop hit songs of that 1950s - 1960 time era...Jean Bosco Mwenda was popular for a while there in Kenya in the 1950s.
The family had an old, 1933, Philco model 38, battery powered, farm radio before the days the home had electrical service
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkQR2H…
Jean Bosco Mwenda - Mama na Mwana
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMJwwR…

Liwa Ya Liongue Arsène (Franco) - Franco & L'O.K. Jazz
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kml06w…

Mama Kilio
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YkGIn…

Trio Beros - Mambo La Roffia 78 RPM Esengo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOeD4u…

Nabanzi Yo Gertrude / Omoni Te (Tino Baroza) - African Jazz
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw1a_t…

Kosilika Te Doudou / Sengola (Kabaselé) - African Jazz
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OgcDH…

Masanga ( instrumental ) - Jean Bosco Mwenda
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkJFfn…

Sisi Wakenya...
...Coincidentally, "kuja hapa" is said at 0:30, 1:37 & 2:41...LOL.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiK2RC…
In fact, a few times during the time Kanja, Moyo and Jomo were cubs, they would hear this song on the radio and hear those lyrics, "kuja hapa".
The cubs would ask Aluna, "Mamma! Deet Great Coozin Bahassa mek dat song?!".
The cubs had already heard of the time two generations ago, on Mom's side of the family, when their Grand Dad Nangwaya had flogged his Cousin Barasa with a piece of woody vine for calling Grand Ma Saura Binturong a kuja hapa.
Of course little Kanja would jump around with excitement, proclaiming, "Coozin Bahasa song! Coozin Bahasa song!"
Mamma would always assure her three youngest male cubs, "Coozin Bahasa hat nauthin' ta do weet writin' dat song".
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiK2RC…

Rumba Kwetu
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBJrt6…

OK Jazz & Franco - Musica Tellema (1957)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgZ9GU…

Naweli boboto
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YpIpg…

Ilamo Marie (Franco) - Franco & L'O.K. Jazz 27-7-1959
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7MAMB…

FomFom - ET Mensah & HIs Tempos Band Ghana 1950's High Life
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbgnAJ…

K Rhino Boys Pene Langu Swahili Dance Columbia EO 460 Kenya 78 rpm
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAwogs…

Witts & Party Columbia EO 335 Oriti Jahera Kenya 78 rpm
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmPDMD…

Chura We
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBqF7Z…

Mawonso Mpamba (Déchaud) - African Jazz 1960
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4l3Ne…

Jipakieni Katika Meli
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmNNOV…

Mazowea
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAyNyV…

Ndege Wote Wameruka
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqgqut…

SUGARBUSH by Josef Marais, recorded in 1946 South African Folk Song
This was a favorite of the oldest siblings, Chege (age 11 in 1946) and Makena (age 7 in 1946), when they were little cubs...Kioni was only age 2 when this song was released...In fact, when that song played, Chege and Makena would dance around and clap their paws with the clapping in that song;
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg8BNl…

KAREKWANGU by the Bulawayo Sweet Rhythm Band 1953
This song use to give Ruguru nightmares when he was age 6 whenever it played on the radio during the night at the time it was released;
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhEBzh…

Description
Moyo is a male, African banded mongoose who was born at home on May 1st, 1954 in what was then British occupied Kenya. Moyo is of a mild mannered demeanor and appears outwardly to be a bit naive, but sees things as they really are. Moyo is loving, sexy and cute. His sexual orientation is straight, and he is loyal in any sexual relationship. Moyo is also honest. He feels more comfortable with someone having $50 that belongs to him, than to have $50 of someone else's money wrongfully taken.
During the time Moyo and the nine other siblings were growing up, home was in Turkana County in the northern part of Rift Valley Province, Kenya. In fact, from the old Jais Mongoose Family homestead was about a 30 to 45 drive to the shore of Lake Turkana where you can look out and see Crocodile Island, which was formed from a now mostly inactive volcano.
There is some illiteracy, little modern technology and most of the locals have always been poor, however with a few exceptions such as those from prosperous tribes and families. But everyone is helpful to each other. And Moyo gets by well with a 7th grade education.
Moyo is 7th born on May 1st, 1954...And like his eight siblings;
Chege (born 3-25-35 male),
Makena (born 2-4-39 female),
Kioni (born 4-8-44 female),
Ruguru (born 1-15-47 male),
Chanya (born 3-6-49 female),
**Kanja (born 12-15-52 male),
Jomo (born 9-10-55 male)
and Jabet (born 8-30-57 female), is 1/4 binturong and 1/4 Pokot tribal African banded mongoose from their mother, Aluna Jais Mongoose (formally Aluna Tatazu Mongoose {pronounced Ah-loo'-nah Tat-taz'-zoo})...And 1/2 Kikuyu tribal African banded mongoose from their dad, Makori Jais Mongoose (pronounced Ma-koo'-rye Jay'-es). BTW, Makori Mongoose's grand dad on his mother's side of the family was an Indian mongoose. So there is also 1/8 Indian mongoose from dad's side of the family in the genepool of Moyo and the siblings. With no "real" hospital being nearby, all members of the family, like all other locals, had been born in the homes and tribal villages where they grew up...Hospitals were considered to be for the ill and injured anyway, and the locals certainty did not deem being born as an illness or an injury.
**Kanja, Moyo and Jomo were already uncles, as well Jabet being already an aunt, at the times of their birth. Early in the year of 1951, oldest brother Chege, at age 16, got his 17 year old girl friend, Jahaira, pregnant. A few weeks after Chege and Jahaira agreed to get married, their first cub, a female, was born on March 1st, 1951, whom they named Dafina Jais Mongoose. Two years later, Chege and Jahaira's first son was born on June 30th, 1953, whom they named Kanoro Jais Mongoose. During family visits, Dafina, Kanoro and their younger aunt and uncles, **Kanja, Moyo, Jomo and Jabet, and sometimes along with their older uncle and aunt, Chanya and Ruguru, would play together as though they were all siblings.
**Kanja (Moyo's next older brother) was born mentally challenged, IQ of 76, well below average but not fully mentally retarded (retardation is 69 to 70 and below). Still the same, Kanja Jais Mongoose is loved by his family, friends and locals, and no one makes fun of him over his being mentally impaired...Anyone who would dare to do so would get the shit beat out of them by Daddy Makori Mongoose for it.
Kanja's younger brothers Moyo and Jomo possesses IQs of around 89, borderline between average and very slightly below average. Jabet's IQ is 93, lower end of average...Mamma Mongoose was getting up into her older age by the time she gave birth to Kanja, Moyo, Jomo and Jabet.
Sister Kioni is the genius of the siblings with a high average IQ of 118. The rest of the siblings; Chege, Makena, Ruguru and Chanya have average IQs ranging between 97 to 105.
Moyo is from a family that started out with a fairly low income, but not as poverty stricken as a Meerkat Family and others in Southern rural Angola had been...However, the family income would improve as time goes on...Because Makori Mongoose is from the more prosperous Kikuyu tribe (pronounced Kick-koo'-you), the village of Makori's family provided financial assistance to help Makori start out with bidding at liquidation auctions on storage units and warehouse lots that had become debt delinquent, then selling the contents at vendor's markets for a profit...Then later getting into going into the cities and investing and selling tax foreclosed properties, some of which having rent income...That assistance is reserved only for members of Kikuyu tribal families, whether they reside in or away from a village, and for no one else. However, there is a lifelong obligation that comes with accepting that assistance...A member of a Kikuyu tribal family who prospers as a result of receiving tribal assistance to start a business is expected to donate 5% to 17% of business earnings back into the tribe, collected quarterly throughout the year for a lifetime. The percentage of what is collected fluctuates with income level and profit margin being earned by the individual. Much of what is collected by the tribe is then in turn given to assist other tribal members who wish to go out into the "modern world" and become prosperous. It is an investment in both the individual tribal member and the tribe, thus why the Kikuyu Tribe and it's members prosper better than other tribes do.
Even back during the time Moyo and Family had been below the middle class income level, they've still always enjoyed a standard of living considerably above that of the 3rd world.
The family home is fairly sizable, old, wood frame, with a slightly rusted tin roof, and the floors creek a little. The house is surrounded completely by porch, and what would be the attic is an upper story with gables...what some realtors would call "an old, white elephant house". But the house, 100+ years old now days and still standing, is built of 19th to 20th century construction which is modern for the time it was built, with wooden walls, floors and roof structure...as oppose to the small, clay wall, dirt floor homes like are quite common throughout the local countryside.
BTW, Makori, with help from some of his relatives within the Kikuyu tribe, was able to successfully bid on that old house that a French marmot couple lost in a tax delinquency foreclosure auction...The lifelong gratuity reimbursement for receiving the money to bid on that house was not expected by the leader and elders of the tribal village, because that help came from only within Makori Mongoose's family.
Over the years, floors in the bathroom, kitchen and parlor had gotten in pretty bad condition. Those three rooms were eventually re-floored with plywood and tiled.
Walls in the parlor and living room have been wood paneled and stained dark mauve, the kitchen and two other rooms have been dry-walled, the bathroom walls have been ceramic tiled, and most of the rooms and the hallway still bare the original lath and plaster troweled stucco the house was built with.
The house was originally built in 1907 without electricity. In 1958, electrical service became available through a rural development program continued by the Kenyan government after the British relinquished occupation of the country...That was one year after the clay and gravel, north-south highway A1 was paved with asphalt blacktop.
It was in that year of 1958 that Highway D348 from out of Kolokol, which runs by not far from the Jais Mongoose homestead, was also paved.
During that rural development program, there were many local animals and their families who were building homes that were more comfortable, although a few of them were a bit shack like with corrugated tin exteriors. The old thatch tribal huts they've always lived in were either abandoned, used as utility buildings or given to other of their relatives.
In the summer of 1960 (when Moyo was age 6) the house was wired for electricity. The wiring was installed on the outer surfaces of the walls and ceilings, under decorative wire guards, as was done with many buildings in those days that didn't originally have electricity.
Having electricity also made it possible to run a well pump so plumbing could be piped into the house, which was done in that same year with help from a rural development program grant awarded to the family...Since 1960, water no longer had to be carried in from the well by pails for drinking, cooking, bathing and toilet flushing (Of course, being animals with no clothing, there are no laundry needs except for blankets, towels and wash rags).

The family cars have always been old station wagons or old utility vehicles (not 'sport utility'). However, the cars the family has owned, although old, have not been in a condition to the extent of being ragged, rusted out and falling apart.
The car Moyo's family had when Moyo was born was a 1951 Standard Vanguard wagon like the one in the link below, except the Mongoose Family's car was right paw drive and being purchased used, did show some age.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rq-yz…

In 1963, when Moyo's younger brother, Jomo, was 8 years of age, Kenya's first president, President Jomo Kenyarusso Aardwolf, was elected following the country's independence from British rule.
Being that President Jomo Aardwolf had the same first name as Jomo Mongoose, the siblings would always joke around about that.
They would say to their little bro, "Jomo. Ah you da presadeent?".
Jomo would reply, "Nahhhh!...Meh not da presadeent".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jomo_Ken…

By the year 1964, Makori's brother, Omran had also been doing well with investing in financially distressed real estate, and had a steady rent income from several rental houses in Nairobi. Omran and his wife Jiona, with their sons Hali and Anasa, and daughters Issa and Elea, lived in the nearby Kikuyu tribal village...Although the city of Nairobi was far away, Omran and Jiona always received the rent payments from their tenants by mail on time.
And because Omran, Jiona and their cubs lived in a tribal village, there was almost no cost of living except for the gratuity paid to the village chief for the financial help that got their income started. Most of the food came from off the land. Water was drawn from a creek. There were no utilities, thus no utility bills...The only utility was a phone shared by the village (rotary dial phone in those days), and that was in a lock box mounted on a telephone pole near the paved highway at the beginning of the three kilometer (one and a half mile), dirt lane that leads to the village. The locked box prevented strangers from pulling off the highway and stealing use of the phone. The key to the phone box was on a ring hung on the porch of the chief's house for who ever in the village needed to go up the three kilometer dirt lane and use the phone...Everyone had use of the phone - Everyone shared the phone bill.
In April of 1964, Omran and Jiona decided to take a two month, overseas trip with their cubs to the U. S. The family had already obtained their Kenyan passports a few months earlier. Needless to say, Issa, Hali, Elea and Anasa were very excited. It would be the first time for Omran and Jiona being away from the African continent, and the first time for the cubs being out of Kenya. And the trip being from mid April to late June would not be a conflict with the cubs schooling either, being that they attended school there in the village, thus making the schedule easy to work around.
Before the departure date of the trip, some of the adolescent animals in the village asked Omran, "Ah da streets REALLAE poved weet gold in Ameeikah?! Ya theenk dey woot let ya breeng sume bock heah?!".
Chief Abasi Mongoose, knowing better, laughed and informed the adolescents, "Dea aun't na gold on da steets theah. Heh heh heh. Dot es jost ah ole sayen.".
Anyway, everyone in the village did wish the family an enjoyable trip.
When Omran with his wife and cubs later visited his brother, Makori, Makori and Aluna asked if they would bring some pictures back of the U.S. when they return to Kenya.
"Weel hov lots a pictchas", Omran assured. Ond mehbe siveneeahs".
The mention of souvenirs being brought back really got Kanja, Moyo, Jomo and Jabet cheering.
Jomo, then not quite age 9, asked Mom and Dad, "Con we go wit Ouncle Omron an Aunt Jiona to Ameeikah?!".
"Weh con't caus weh doon't hov posspots ta go theah", Makori answered Jomo.
"Awww", Jomo exclaimed.
"Weh ceut propbly teak ah trip laitah on", Aluna assured Jomo.
Then came up that thing of gold streets again...
...Moyo, then going on age 10, asked, "Ouncle Omran! Ouncle Omran! Con ya breeng bock sume gold froam da streets?! Ah lot ov et?!...Dot es, ef dey hov eextah dey doon't need!".
"Hah hah hah, Moyo, meh deeah nephew", Omran laughed. "De streets en Ameeikah doun't hov gold. Dot es just ah sayen. I bet all ovah de wold dey say dot".
"Ha ha ha. Dot es fo shoua", Makori agreed.
"Oh", Moyo said as the rest of the adults had a good laugh.
"Soh dot meen animols en Ameerikah es poor den?", Kanja asked.
"Et doon't meen dot, Kanja", Aluna told her son. "Et es just da streets ah not mode ought ov gold".
Chanya, who had just turned 16, asked her Uncle Omran and Aunt Jiona if they would bring back lots of souvenirs.
Ruguru was going on age 17 then. He asked Uncle Omran if he could get him some nostalgic memorabilia to display in his room.
"I theenk I hov ta meek ah list ov wot eveah one wants", Omran chuckled.
"Con ya breeng meh ah Babie en Ken poodle dolls?...Pleeeezzze?...Ond ah Babie en Ken cah fa dem ta ride en?", Jabet, who was not quite age 7, asked.
Finally, Aluna said, "Ah-kae, meh coubs. Ya meekin ya Ouncle Omran feel lok Sonta Beah ot Chreesmas time".
As for Chege, Makena and Kioni, they were already adults and out on their own, and the two oldest married and raising cubs, thus they were not present at the time.
When Omran, Jiona and their cubs took their trip to the U.S., their destination spot was what was formally Colonial Virginia, which included tourist attractions in Jamestown, Williamsburg, Hampton and Newport News.
Upon their arrival at the Patrick Henry Airport, Omran and Jiona acquired a rental car for transportation. Originally, the car rental agent, Jerry Raccoon, was going to rent them a then brand new 1964 Chevy Impala Super Sport convertible, two door in bright red.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKmIV_…
WOW! The mongooses didn't see very many cars THIS big in Kenya...This was some car.
However, it was not like the 1957 Vauxhall station wagon that Omran and Jiona has back in Kenya where their cubs can ride in the back.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT_GNi…
"Woll, Jehree", Omran said to Jerry Raccoon. "Dees cah es nice. Bot do ya hov aeh steshon wogon?".
"Weh do hov aw faw coubs. We need mah room", Jiona added.
Jerry Raccoon, being American, was not use to the Kenyan dialect, and had to ask Omran and Jiona to repeat themselves so he can understand.
"Weh need ah steshon wagon", Omran said more slowly. "Do ya hov woun avilibul?".
"Oh oh, a station wagon", Jerry Raccoon acknowledged as Omran nodded 'yes'. "I have one here you and the wife will like".
"I weel kneow ef I lok et unce I see et" (w/o the dialect - I will know if I like it once I see it), Omran replied as Jerry Raccoon took the mongooses to see the station wagon, which was a 1964 Pontiac Safari station wagon in white with a red interior.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7pZ3k…
Omran and Jiona were thrilled with the car, and for the cubs; Issa, Hali, Elea and Anasa, there was waaaayy more room than what their Vauxhall wagon back in Kenya has.
After discussing it with Jiona, Omran Mongoose said to Jerry Raccoon, "Weel teek et".
From Omran's voice tone and body language, Jerry Raccoon understood Omran saying, "We'll take it".
Omran and Jiona had already made the exchange of an amount of Kenyan shillings for U. S. dollars...So once the paper work was done, rental deposit paid, and a brief period of instruction from Jerry Raccoon about the car, the mongooses were on their way.
To begin with, Omran was not use to the big powerful 389 cubic inch V8...Being use to how you have to give that Vauxhall the gas to make it go, Omran stepped on the accelerator, then >SCREEEEEEAACH< the rear tires spun, then Omran let off the gas.
"Oh Omran. I maybe should have told you", Jerry Raccoon said. "This car has more power than you're use to. Go easy for a while until you get use to it".
"I theenk I weel goh easie, now dot I kneow", Omran replied. "Des cah DO hov da geet up en goh".
Another issue Omran had to get use to was that in the U. S., traffic moves on the opposite side of the road...on the right...The fact that the station wagon they rented has the steering wheel on the left should have reminded him of that...But after a few misses of close calls of almost having a head on collision, Omran remembered to keep the car to the right lanes of the roads.
Omran, Jiona and the cubs did not go extravagant on lodging. They were not of that 'jet set' crowd who quickly goes broke staying at a Ramada Inn day after day. During their stay in the Hanpton Roads area, they rented a room at a boarding house in downtown Newport News, with meals included, which was ran by a bear couple. Once settled in, they then visited places such as Virginia Beach, Ocean View Amusemant Park in Norfolk (it was the first time the cubs had ever been to an amusement park), as well as various other places of interest. One time they took a trip across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which has 19 kilometers (12 miles) of bridge roadway, a highrise on the Eastern Shore side, and two tunnels. It had just been completed and opened for service only weeks earlier. The family spent the rest of the day cruising around and stopping at places of interest on Eastern Shore, then spent that night in that big Pontiac station wagon parked near a beach on the ocean side. Come morning, the family spent some time at the beach before heading back across to Norfolk, then back to Newport News.
The Newport News Drydock and Shop Yard was quite an impressive sight. Then later in the day, the family noticed the Chesapeake and Ohio railway yard. Omran and Jiona decided to park the car just down the road from where the tobacco warehouses are to let the cubs watch the locomotives switch cars, which were mostly coal hoppers...However,these locomotives were different from the steam engines the family has always seen back in Kenya.
"Luke ot dot", younger son Anasa exclaimed, pointing at a GP-9 on it's way to couple up to some cars. "Wot konda eengine es dat?".
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D35yz…
"How doose dat eengine evon goh?", older son Hali asked, noticing the locomotive did not have a boiler, drive linkages and the large set of drive wheels typical of a steam engine.
"Et doon't evon hov ah coal tendah", Exclaimed older sister Issa.
"Deen how do dae keep da fiah box goen?", younger sister Elea asked.
"Dot eengine has a motah en it", Omran said, upon noticing the sound of the diesel engine in the locomotive.
"Ya meen lok da wey trucks ond cahs hov a motah?", Jiona asked her husband, Omran.
"Yees", Omran replied. "Ya con heah et evah time one ov dos eengines goh".
Their first time seeing diesel locomotives in action was certainly fascinating to them, and it wasn't long before a Richmond bound passenger train cruised by on it's way out of downtown Newport News.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapea…
Jiona commented, "Dat eengine lukes lok ah long von truck wit ah shot hoot en frunt" (w/o the dialect - That engine looks like a long van truck with a short hood in front).
After watching the trains a while, the family rode up the road to a seafood and ice cream drive in they've been noticing for the past few days. The drive in had a small dining room in which the family took up six of the eight seats it had. The 21 shrimp-n-fries basket looks good, so that's what everyone ordered. Jane porcupine, the waitress who originally waited on the family could not understand them due to the Kenyan dialect. But Fredia, an African-American Hyena who was the other waitress was able to understand the dialect of the mongooses. Thus the drive in's owner, Montgomery Penguin, assigned Freida to take their order.
The shrimp-n-fries baskets were really good, and Omran and Jiona even let the cubs get some ice cream for desert. It was getting late by the time everyone was finished eating, so the family headed back to the boarding house for the evening.
As has always been with most of the relatives, Omran and Jiona believed in attending church on Sundays. Early one Sunday morning, Leslie Otter, a long time tenant of the boarding house, told the family of a Fundamental Southern Baptist church in Hampton he use to attend years ago.
"When you get to New Market Plaza with those huge balls on the signs, turn right at the circle", Leslie Otter explained. "After you cross Bethel Road, look for it on your left. It sits back on a residentual street. You'll know it by a fleet of blue and white church busses they have...If you get to WGH radio station, you've gone too far".
Omran and Jiona thanked Leslie, then headed out with the cubs in that big Pontiac wagon to the church.
Upon the family's arrival was the first time they realized how big the church was. Services were soon to begin as the mongooses made their way up the grand front steps. But once inside the front doors, they were in for a rude suprise. One of the church deacons, a very well groomed great dane, meet the mongooses in the vestibule adjacent to the auditorium.
The great dane did not offer to shake paws, but instead told Omran and Jiona mongoose, "Sir. Mame. I'm sorry, but this church does not allow African species animals. There's First Shilo Baptist Church down the road, and they'd be glad to have you".
Omran and Jiona were appalled in disbelief over what they just heard...and coming from a church deacon no less...The cubs did not like it either.
On the way back out into the parking lot, Omran retorted, "Dae call DEESE de house ov de Lawd? All weh got froam heah wass ta geet ahffeended".
"Deese es moe lok da house ov de Deevil...Et es Saiton's house", Issa exclaimed.
Jiona assured, "Dae weel geet dae bod kamah sumedae. Et goh 'rond, et weel come 'rond" (w/o the dialect - They will get their bad karma someday. It goes 'round, it will come 'round).
The family recalled seeing where First Shilo Baptist Church is, so it was there they went for Sunday morning service. There, the mongooses received a warm, friendly welcome. And not only were there African-American genets, meerkats, cheetahs, servals, aardwolves, mongooses, hyenas and such, but there were also European and American indigenous species such as; raccoons, otters bears, weasels, foxes a few dogs, a wolf, a family of wolverines, and there were even a family of lesser red pandas, a clouded leopard couple and an Oriental civet. The pastor there was Revren Jerome Holmes Aardwolf, who preached that day on "pardon or judgement are received as to how you give them out to others". And needless to say, Omran and Jiona's family made many friendship accquaintences there that Sunday morning.
There's no telling what the pastor of that church that turned the mongooses away preached that day...You probably don't wanna know.
Back at the boarding house that afternoon, Leslie Otter was very disappointed to hear that the church he had attended years ago was now run by bigots.
Leslie told Omran and Jiona, "If I had known that, I would have recommended a different church...It has been years since I've been there, and I had no idea they have become that way".
In the weeks to follow, the family would stop by places to get souvenirs to bring back to relatives back in Kenya... They even stopped in at G. C. Murphey's Department Store in the New Market Plaza (the plaza with the huge balls on the signs) to get those Barbie and Ken poodle dolls Jabet said she wanted, and the Mattel toy car that was made to go with the poodle dolls. G. C. Murphey's even had a restaurant area where the mongooses went for lunch that day. However, the best and most nostalgic stuff was found at the yard sales they went to.
A few weeks later, the mongooses decided they would like to see Florida before it was time to go back to Kenya. So one morning, they checked out of the boarding house in Newport News and packed that big Pontiac wagon with the stuff they collected (by now they were glad they did not take that super sport convertible Jerry Raccoon was going to rent to them). The animals they had gotten to know at the boarding house wished the family a safe and happy trip, then they headed out to Florida.
There was no I-95 going all the way through back in those days. The way from Hampton Roads, Virginia to Florida was via U. S. Route 17 and U.S. Route 1. The beginning of that journey took them 8 kilometers (5 miles)across the James River Bridge...the original two lane bridge with it's narrow rickety roadway and it's steel pipe railings.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ri…
Along the way, the family stopped for a day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That night, they slept in the car parked near the beach, then continued on their way.
Although that Pontiac wagon was a very nice car, Omran did notice one disadvantage about it...It did not get anywhere near the fuel economy his Vauxhall back home got...But of course, in those days, gasoline was also cheaper in the U. S. than in many parts of Africa.
At a gas station on Route 17 in Georgia, the family stopped in to fuel up the car. Upon driving over the airline that rings the bell in the station as they pulled up to the pumps, a young male opossum came out and asked, "Will it be regular or Ethel, Sir?".
"Reeglah woot beh aw-kae", Omran answered.
"I cain't understand you there", the opossum replied.
"Reeglah es goot. Reeglah. Ond feil et all da wah, pleese", Omran said.
The opossum, sensing the mongooses were not from the U. S., retorted, "If y'all gonna come to this country, why don'tcha learn to speak right?".
"Hey, Clint! That was uncalled for!", a young male raccoon co-worker called out.
"I cain't help it, Jim! This mongoose is mumblin' at me!", Clint Opossum called out to Jimmy Raccoon.
"That's still no way to be treatin' a customer!", Jimmy Raccoon retorted to Clint while collecting from a fox for fill-up.
Jimmy Raccoon briefly paused, and said to the fox, "Have a good, Sir. Thank you for stopping by", just before he drove away.
Then Jimmy Raccoon came over to lecture Clint Opossum, which began going into an argument.
Omran Mongoose was about ready to drive off and stop at another station down the road...Omran also felt like getting out of the car and popping that opossum in the nose, but Omran didn't want a deportation cutting the vacation short.
Jimmy Raccoon finally sent Clint Opossum away from the Mongoose Family's car.
"I apologize for all of this.", Jimmy Raccoon said to the mongooses, "How can I help you?".
"Weel, I woot lok ta geet ah feil-up ov reeglah", Omran answered the raccoon.
"Fill-up of regular?", Jimmy Raccoon asked to be sure he heard Omran Mongoose correctly.
"Yees please", Omran said.
As Jimmy Raccoon was pumping the gas, another motorist pulled in, which would keep Clint Opossum occupied from making 'any comments out of the peanut gallery'.
The car took a bit over 20 gallons.
"Clean your windshield and check your oil, Sir?", Jimmy Raccoon asked.
"Naw. All dat es goot, theink ya", Omran said.
"That will be four dollars and eighty two cents", Jimmy Raccoon said.
As Omran Mongoose paid Jimmy Raccoon, Jimmy again apologized for the actions of his opossum co-worker and thanked the mongooses for stopping by...The family was again on their way.
The family finally entered Florida on the Route 17 bridge over the St. Mary's river.
images.search.yahoo.com/search…
A short way into Florida, they stopped in at a welcome center that was giving away free cups of orange juice...the cubs especially liked the orange juice.
As the family continued along route 17 through Duval County in route toward Jacksonville, they noticed railroad tracks ran parallel off to the right from Route 17...They had also noticed a railway bridge off to the right back when they crossed the St. Mary's River. Eventually, a passenger train passed them, which had Seaboard Coast Line Railway markings.
images.search.yahoo.com/search…
"Dot's anothah won ov dos eengines weet ah motah en et", Hali said as the train went on past.
The Mongoose Family got lost for a while going through Jacksonville.
At some intersections where they had to wait on a traffic light, an African-American species animal, sometimes two or more, such as civets, mongooses, hyenas, meerkats, servals, etc, who were giving out pamphlets would approach the car and offer to shake paws with Omran and Jiona.
They would mention things like, "Heeeyyy, Bros. Remember. We all have a dream" or "Ay, Brothah. Ay, Sistah. Y-all keepin' the faith?"
"Don't forget, baby. A whisper ain't got no voice", a meerkat said at one of those intersections as he gave Omran a pamphlet titled, 'We shall not be judged by the species of our fur, but by the content of our character'.
Youngest cub Anasa spoke up, "Dea aein't naw bebies weet ous...Weh ah coubs".
"Hey, cute", the meerkat chuckled.
A female genet with her two cubs, a male and a younger female, approached the car and gave out several pamphlets to Omran and Jiona's cubs.
"Aww, your cubs are so adorable", the mother genet complimented as her two cubs and the mongoose cubs waved to each other and began conversation.
Omran and Jiona thanked the genet mother for the compliment. Then there were horns of cars behind blowing.
Someone called out, "Hey Latisha! The light's green! Let them go, girl!".
"Hey y-all. See ya", the genet mother bided.
"Bein noce tauken ta ya" (w/o the dialect - Been nice talking to you), Jiona replied as Omran put the car in drive and continued on.
Omran eventually said to Jiona as he placed the pamphlet on the dashboard of the car, "Dae sem friendly ehnouf...Boot I doun't knaw wat theese es abeout".
"I doun't knaw eithah", Jiona replied as the family continued riding along the street.
Jiona noticed a political cartoon in one the pamphlets of a meerkat climbing a latter of success and telling a nearby golden retriever, "What do you mean 'not so fast'?".
It was agreed between Omran and Jiona to collect the pamphlets from the cubs until they can read through them and be sure the material content was okay for them.
Most of those animals such as foxes, bears, raccoons, coyotes dogs, otters, wolves, etc seemed to be ignoring the Momgoose Family riding around in that big, brand new, Pontiac station wagon. However, there were some animals such as foxes, bears, raccoons, coyotes dogs, otters, wolves, etc who were standing for the cause along with the African-American animals.
At another traffic light, a jackal and a genet approached the car and offered the usual friendly paw shake and a pamphlet.
"We gotta stand strong for the cause, Brothah", The jackal proclaimed.
Omran finally asked, "Efra-one cooms ta ah cah. Wat es des abeout?".
"Hey, Homer. I cain't understand the first word dis cat's sayin'", The jackal told the genet.
"Weh not cats. Weh Mongooses", older son Hali called out from the back seat of the car.
Homer Genet told the jackal, "Dis bro say he don't know why everyone wana rap with them".
The jackal thought on that a few seconds, then took notice of the nice big car.
"You ain't one-a-doze doccca Thomas ain'tcha?", the jackal asked Omran.
"I es not ah doctah ov dae modacine", Omran assured the jackal. "I nevah bein tah mod scoul en meh lofe".
"Yo, hold up, Tyrone", Homer Genet said to the jackal.
"Sir", Homer Genet addressed Omran Mongoose. "Y-all ain't from dis country is you?
"Naw. Weh not. Weh ah froam Keenya", Omran answered.
"Weh ah heah on vahcation", Jiona added.
"Oh...Okay", Homer Genet replied.
When the light turned green, Omran Mongoose told Homer Genet and Tyrone Jackal, "Deh lot es green. Weh gotta goh neow".
"Enjoy y-all's stay", Homer Genet called out as the car pulled away.
"Y-all be cool", Tyrone Jackal called out.
The mongoose family still was making no progress finding their way around Jacksonville.
"Deese Jockseenveil es whass din drivin en Naihobi" (w/o the dialect - This Jacksonville is worse than driving in Nairobi), Omran mentioned upon pulling up to a complicated intersection and not knowing which way was the right way to turn.
Jiona suggested stopping at a convenience store and getting a Jacksonville map. So the next convenience store that came into view, they pulled in. The cubs wanted to get some candy, so everyone came into the store.
While Omran was picking out a map, and Jiona was with the cubs picking out candy, two other mongooses greeted Omran and introduced themselves as Isaac and Floyd.
"Ya goin' to the march, Brother?", Floyd Mongoose asked Omran Mongoose.
"I dah not knaw abeout des motch ya speek ov", Omran replied as Jiona and the cubs approached.
"You don't know? The Civil Rights march, Baby", Isaac Mongoose exclaimed.
"Weel...I om not eh bebie. I om ah grawn up Mongoose lok YAW awh", Omran corrected Isaac.
"Whaaat?...You all talk funny", Isaac Mongoose said.
"Wait a minute, Isaac", said Floyd and then asked Omran, "You from somewhere else?...not here in America".
"Weh froam Keenya", Omran replied.
"Deese es da seecon time weh was aust dat. Wat es dis abeout?", Jiona asked.
The two African-American mongooses, Isaac and Floyd, explained the Civil Rights Movement that was going on at that time. Also at that time, not far south of Jacksonville, a bold lion who was a Civil Rights leader was visiting St. Augustine, Marvin Kingsley Lion.
Omran then told Isaac and Floyd, "Weh ah not heah en Ameeikah fah dat popess. Weh coom heah on vahcation".
"Weh ah free ween da Briteesh gehv Keenya et's indopondence", Jiona added.
"OH LAWWWD! HA HA HA HA HA! Why da British wanna free anyone!?" Isaac laughed.
"Yo, Isaac. Everything's cool, Bro", said Floyd.
Isaac and Floyd then expressed wishes to the family for a safe trip and a good time. After the family and the two African-American mongooses bid a friendly farewell, Omran chose the map they needed, everyone got snacks and drinks, and were on their way.
With the map, the family finally found their way out of Jacksonville, and was again travelling where they intended to go, and not a day too soon. That day the Meerkat Family was in Jacksonville was on June the 6th, and on June 7th, a tropical depression came through the Jacksonville area from across the state bringing some bad weather...The meerkats just did miss it by one day.
Because it was already getting into the month June, the Florida heat was about like that of the Kenyan temperatures the family has always known. With a little fumbling and trying out different knobs, Omran was finally able to figure out how to operate the car's A/C...something very few of the cars in Kenya had. With the windows up and the A/C on, riding in that spacious, heavy, smooth riding Pontiac wagon was riding in comfort...And some pretty good tunes could be found on the radio too.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJkxFh…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD7RLe…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHzjfG…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RUVic…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC048z…
The cub had a good laugh from that last song.

When the family was having breakfast at a cozy little restaurant in Titusville early in the morning of June the 8th, they heard from some of the other customers that the first Gemini rocket (with no animal occupants) was going to be test launched later that morning. None of the family had ever seen a rocket go up before, and from Titusville everyone would get a good view of the launch. The family stayed around Titusville that morning and listened to reports about the launch preparations on the car radio. And sure enough, a few hours later, at 11:00 am, Gemini one was launched.
images.search.yahoo.com/search…
"Dea et es!", Omran, being the first to see it, pointed it out.
images.search.yahoo.com/search…
It was a success and the cubs were very excited to see their first rocket launch as Gemini one ascended higher and higher with the engine's big blaze of fire behind it.
"DA ROCKEET! DA ROCKEET!", older son Hali gleefully proclaimed.
"WOW!", said younger son Anasa.
"Es sah cool!", older daughter Issa said.
"Et es", younger daughter Elea added. "Lok ot et goh".
Comments and expressions of awe from other animals watching the launch could also be heard.
"Dot es ah veh-ee grond site", Jiona said as she was taking pictures.
images.search.yahoo.com/search…
Needless to say, Omran and Jiona took turns getting lots of pictures of Gemini one until it was out of range of their camera...They knew those pictures were going to be the most impressive off all to the relatives back home.

Other places the family visited in Florida were Tampa, St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami (Back in 1964, Miami was not the dangerous, high crime center it would eventually become 20 to 25 years later)...At one point, they even drove out to Key West and back. During that time, the family seldom checked in at a motel. There was plenty of room in that spacious Pontiac station wagon, and plenty of campsites and beachside parking to sleep for the night.
This was also about the time the all new Ford Mustangs were coming out on the roads.
Everyone thought those were such cool cars, and the cubs; Issa, Hali, Elea and Anasa even made a contest among themselves of counting who can be first spotting the most Ford Mustangs.
Once in a while, Omran and Jiona would hear, "Ah seh ah Moostong!".
"I sah et fost".
"Naw ya deed not. I deed".
Toward the end of June, the vacation had eventually drawn to a close. On the family's last day in the U. S., they rode back up to Tampa where they were to turn the station wagon back in at the Tampa Airport Hertz car rental location. There were still a few hours before they had to catch their flight back home, and they had noticed the last time they were in Tampa, The Meeting House Restaurant on the corner of Howard and Bristol Avenue. That is where the family had a late lunch, then afterwards, some home made ice cream the restaurant was well known for which was really good.
A few hours later, Omran and Jiona turned the car back in, and shortly thereafter boarded their flight back to Kenya.
Once they were back home, there were lots photos to show, and lots of stories to tell to the relatives. And there were souvenirs and nostalgic stuff brought back for everyone...And you should have seen how happy Jabet was when she was presented with her Barbie and Ken poodle dolls and the Mattel toy car to go with them.
...Occasionally, there would be a reference for laughs made from time to time about, "Da gold on de streets en Ameeikah".

As the cubs would mature in age, Makori and Aluna allowed them to travel to the Kikuyu village to visit relatives who resided there. As for the cubs who were not yet old enough to be driving the family car, it was a bit far to be walking...But the cubs did have bicycles, which even by bicycle it was a pretty good haul out to there and back.
Early December of 1964, Kanja wanted to visit Uncle Omran and Aunt Jiona, Uncle Tambo and Aunt Sadika and the cousins at the Kikuyu village. This was a couple of weeks before Kanja Mongoose was to turn 12 years of age. In December of 1964, Moyo was still 10 years of age. Makori and Aluna gave to OK for Kanja to go to the village... However, because of Kanja being mentally impaired, Mom and Dad always required older siblings to accompany him to keep him safe out on the highway, and to keep him out of trouble at the village. Older brother Ruguru, about to turn 18 on January 15th a month and a half away, and older sister Chanya, then age 15, were to accompany Kanja that day. Both older siblings were old enough to use the family car to drive there, but Dad needed the car that day to take a trip to town to see a realtor about a linsang couple who wanted to make a down payment on one of the investment properties...And the old truck that use to be used years ago to haul debt delinquent storage unit and warehouse contents from liquidation auctions needed brake work. Oldest siblings Chege, Makena and Kioni had vehicles, but they were already married, had their own places, and the two oldest siblings and their spouses were already raising cubs, with Chede's oldest daughter already age 13, and oldest son already age 11...So...It looked like Ruguru, Chanya and Kanja would be riding the bicycles out to the village, and that it was. During the ride there, Kanja's bike had to have the helper wheels because he had still not yet developed the skill to keep a bicycle balanced without falling over.
At the village, the relatives were delighted to welcome Ruguru, Chanya and Kanja. And Kanja enjoyed playing with the young cubs his age. During their visit, Jamal Genet, a resident of the village, came riding up the long, dirt lane leading to the village on a Honda dirt bike with a small bundle of eight foot long, 2"x4" lumber he had bought from a local sawmill, which he had tied across the back of the bike...The wide load of boards would cause the overloaded dirt bike to teeter-totter side to side as Jamal Genet had to struggle while riding at a slow pace to keep the bike upright.
"LOOK!", Kanja Mongoose exclaimed with excitement. "Jomal es mekin ah aeiplane wif es mootah cycle!"
Realizing that to Kanja, the 2"x4"s looked like 'airplane wings' on Jamal's dirt bike, Ruguru and Chanya explained to Kanja that Jamal Genet was hauling a load of lumber to build something with, and that his dirt bike was all he had to carry it on.
"I got enothah laud heah ought laust" (w/o the dialect - I got another load here at last), Jamal Genet said as he shut down the bike, then got off and greeted Ruguru, Chanya and Kanja.
Jamal did not have to put the bike's kickstand down...Four feet of lumber overhanging on each side did a pretty good job of stopping it from falling over. When Ruguru told Jamal that Kanja thought the lumber was airplane wings on the bike, Jamal thought that was cute as he let out with a pretty good chuckle. Jamal then led the three mongoose siblings to an area of the village where he showed them a structure being built that was not any larger than a two car garage. It was so far, it was a wood deck supported off the ground by rocks used as footing piers, and it already had most of the wall framing erected.
"Dees gonta beh da hoose fah meh an meh wife. An et gonta beh ah modreen beilt hoose", Jamal said, referring to how he was using modern building materials and modern construction methods.
"Elewa gonta hov awh cub soon", Jamal added, followed by congratulations from Ruguru and Chanya...and then a slightly delayed congratulation from Kanja.
Of course, at one point during the visit, Chief Abasi Kalu Mongoose, knowing Kanja's 12th birthday will be the 15th of that month, began discussing the prospect with Kanja about getting "circumcised like a true Kikuyu"...and it was a good thing Ruguru and Chanya were with Kanja that day. Kanja absolutely had not the foggiest clue of what circumcision even was, in spite of being in the company of mongooses, genets and civets who were circumcised. Ruguru and Chanya noticed that their younger brother was beginning to get talked into being circumcised by the village chief when the day comes a couple of weeks later when he turns 12 years of age. When the conversation Abasi Mongoose had with Kanja was finished, Ruguru and Chanya had their own talk with Kanja.
Older sister Chanya asked Kanja, "Kanja. Je, unafahamu ni tohara?" (Kanja. Do you know what is circumcision?).
"Uhh...Sijui" (Uhhh...I don't know), Kanja answered.
Older brother Ruguru asked Kanja, "Do you knoo wah da malls heia haf dare pee-pees shoween all de time?"
"Meh theenk soh", said Kanja. "Ah dae stickin dae pee-pees ought ot us?...Soh dae pee-pees con look ot us".
"Augh!", Chanya let out, as she could not believe what she just heard.
This conversation was also outside, within earshot of some of the villagers who began giggling and chuckling at the answer Kanja just gave his older brother.
Chanya then explained to Kanja what circumcision is, what is done during the procedure and how a penis is after it is done.
"Do you want ya pee-pee ta haf no mah sheef fo heem ta hide en?", Ruguru asked Kanja.
And the answer was loud and clear.
"HAPANA!" (NO!), Kanja loudly exclaimed as he tucked his tail between his legs and covered his genital area with both paws.
"LEEF MEH PEE-PEE ELONE! LEEF MEH PEE-PEE ELONE!", Kanja cried out. "TUUACHE!" (LEAVE IT ALONE!).
By now, many of the villagers came out of their mud walled thatch huts, plank board shacks and corrugated tin houses to find out what was going on, then could not help giggling, chuckling and laughing at Kanja's display of drama.
"LEEF MEH PEE-PEE ELONE!", Kanja continued to cry out with his tail tucked and his paws over his genital area.
Even Chief Abasi Mongoose, although disappointed Kanja will now not be circumcised, had to make an effort to hold back from giggling...But Chief Abasi broke out giggling then laughing...Even Chanya and Ruguru were laughing by now.
After Chanya and Ruguru got Kanja calmed down, Chief Abasi said to Kanja, "Kanja. Ef ya doon't want ta beh socoomsized, den we well not do et...Okee?"
"Okeeeeee", Kanja timidly replied, assured it was not going to be done to him.
Back home, Dad, Mom, Moyo, Jomo and Jabet got a good laugh when Chanya and Ruguru explained how the visit to the village went that day...One thing was for sure. Kanja Jais Mongoose may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but he made it very clear he does NOT want to be circumcised.

On Saturday, April 17, 1966, exactly two weeks before Moyo's 12th birthday, Moyo took a bicycle ride out to visit relatives in the Kikuyu village. At the village, there was the usual fellowship, conversation and good times between Moyo, his Uncle Omran Jais Mongoose (Makori's youngest brother), Aunt Jiona (Omran's wife) and cousins Issa (f), Hali (m), Elea (f) and Anasa (m). And there was also Aunt Sadika on Mom's side of the family, who married Tambo Magoro Mongoose (a Kikuyu) and resided in the village where they raised their sons and daughters, Cousin Zahur (m), Cousin Wenda (f) and Cousin Ayah (f).
During this particular visit, the village leader, Chief Abasi Kalu Mongoose, was aware that Moyo would become 12 years of age two weeks after that day. Knowing this, Chief Abasi Mongoose invited Moyo to take a walk with him to discuss some things.
During the walk, Chief Abasi mentioned to Moyo, "Wewe hivi karibuni kuingia utu uzima" (You will soon enter adulthood).
Moyo replied, "Ndiyo" (Yes).
"Wewe ni sehemu Kikuyu katika jamaa ya baba yako" (You are part Kikuyu in your father's family), Abasi Mongoose added.
"Ndiyo, mimi ni" (Yes, I am), Moyo further replied.
"Je kuchukuliwa akiwa ametahiriwa?" (Have you considered being circumcised?), the Chief asked.
Moyo simply replied, "Sitaki kufanya hivyo" (I do not want to do it).
Abasi Mongoose mentioned, "Baada ya mwaka wako kumi na mbili ina siku za nyuma, wewe huru nafasi hiyo" (After your ten have two years has past, you loose that opportunity).
Moyo still replied, "Sitaki kufanya hivyo".
The thought of 'little pee-pee' no longer having it's sheath to hide it's head in and cover up in did not appeal to Moyo in any way, shape or form...Kikuyu custom or no Kikuyu custom.
After talking with Moyo a while longer, Chief Abasi Mongoose became thoroughly convinced that Moyo was adamant he did not want to be circumcised, so Abasi accepted Moyo's decision in the matter and no longer pushed the issue.
After Abasi and Moyo walked back to the village, Cousin Hali, who by then was 16, asked Moyo, "Da cheef tak to you 'baut dae pee-pee sheeth theeng?"
"Yees e did", Moyo answered his cousin. "Ya knah meh boafdae es Mae fost" (w/o the dialect - You know my birthday is May 1st).
"Two weeks fom todae...Wat deed you tell to dae cheef?", Hali then asked.
"I seid no", said Moyo. "I lok meh pee-pee da weh et es".
Hali then mentioned to Moyo, "I hof to oddmit, seense dae coot meh sheef ween I wass tweeov, I meesed hoavin et dare...Meh pee-pee doas not feel de som wit-ought et".
As Moyo and his family had always noticed, of those relatives who reside in the village, Aunt Sadika, like her parents and siblings in Mom's family, and Uncle Omran, like his grand-parents, parents and siblings in Dad's family, were never circumcised...Both had grown up away from any tribal village, and were already adults and expecting their first cubs by the time they moved to the Kikuyu village...And already as adults, the ceremony would not count as fulfilling the tribal custom anyway.

Back in the earlier years, there had been those visits to the village when an older sibling was about to turn 12 years of age. And like before their younger brother Moyo, the village chief had that same discussion with the older siblings. And like before their younger brother Moyo, they too had declined to have it done.
And in early September of 1967, the chief approached Jomo about it...and approached Jabet about it in August of 1969, and both of their answers were the same..."Sitaki kufanya hivyo" (I do not want to do it).

These were some of the African pop hit songs of that 1950s - 1960 time era...Jean Bosco Mwenda was popular for a while there in Kenya in the 1950s.
The family had an old, 1933, Philco model 38, battery powered, farm radio before the days the home had electrical service
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkQR2H…
Jean Bosco Mwenda - Mama na Mwana
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMJwwR…

Liwa Ya Liongue Arsène (Franco) - Franco & L'O.K. Jazz
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kml06w…

Mama Kilio
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YkGIn…

Trio Beros - Mambo La Roffia 78 RPM Esengo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOeD4u…

Nabanzi Yo Gertrude / Omoni Te (Tino Baroza) - African Jazz
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw1a_t…

Kosilika Te Doudou / Sengola (Kabaselé) - African Jazz
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OgcDH…

Masanga ( instrumental ) - Jean Bosco Mwenda
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkJFfn…

Sisi Wakenya...
...Coincidentally, "kuja hapa" is said at 0:30, 1:37 & 2:41...LOL.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiK2RC…
In fact, a few times during the time Kanja, Moyo and Jomo were cubs, they would hear this song on the radio and hear those lyrics, "kuja hapa".
The cubs would ask Aluna, "Mamma! Deet Great Coozin Bahassa mek dat song?!".
The cubs had already heard of the time two generations ago, on Mom's side of the family, when their Grand Dad Nangwaya had flogged his Cousin Barasa with a piece of woody vine for calling Grand Ma Saura Binturong a kuja hapa.
Of course little Kanja would jump around with excitement, proclaiming, "Coozin Bahasa song! Coozin Bahasa song!"
Mamma would always assure her three youngest male cubs, "Coozin Bahasa hat nauthin' ta do weet writin' dat song".
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiK2RC…

Rumba Kwetu
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBJrt6…

OK Jazz & Franco - Musica Tellema (1957)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgZ9GU…

Naweli boboto
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YpIpg…

Ilamo Marie (Franco) - Franco & L'O.K. Jazz 27-7-1959
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7MAMB…

FomFom - ET Mensah & HIs Tempos Band Ghana 1950's High Life
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbgnAJ…

K Rhino Boys Pene Langu Swahili Dance Columbia EO 460 Kenya 78 rpm
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAwogs…

Witts & Party Columbia EO 335 Oriti Jahera Kenya 78 rpm
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmPDMD…

Chura We
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBqF7Z…

Mawonso Mpamba (Déchaud) - African Jazz 1960
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4l3Ne…

Jipakieni Katika Meli
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmNNOV…

Mazowea
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAyNyV…

Ndege Wote Wameruka
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqgqut…

SUGARBUSH by Josef Marais, recorded in 1946 South African Folk Song
This was a favorite of the oldest siblings, Chege (age 11 in 1946) and Makena (age 7 in 1946), when they were little cubs...Kioni was only age 2 when this song was released...In fact, when that song played, Chege and Makena would dance around and clap their paws with the clapping in that song;
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg8BNl…

KAREKWANGU by the Bulawayo Sweet Rhythm Band 1953
This song use to give Ruguru nightmares when he was age 6 whenever it played on the radio during the night at the time it was released;
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhEBzh…