Veggie Bobby

I met him on my way to GAD Camp with Robert. We were in a relatively slow-moving semi truck that continued to break down every 15 minutes. The price was right, so we didn’t hop on other transport. Rob and I sat in the front of the cab with the driver and a handful of brave souls sat in the darkness of the truck. The driver wasn’t hauling anything yet, so it was relatively safe for them to be in the back?

Every time the truck broke down, everyone hopped out of the truck and milled around as the driver fiddled with the engine and belts and bolts. He knew what he was doing, this must happen a lot.

Bobby approached me with a smile. I smiled back, but mostly did not want to chat. It was taking an unreasonably long time to get to Mzuzu. He struck up a conversation, telling me he had a vegetable business that he has been developing for the past ten years. He started off as a vegetable stand owner in the Mzuzu market and expanded to a small shop in the center of town. He now delivers vegetables all along the lakeshore to many of the lodges and touristy spots. He goes as far as Dwangwa.

My ears perked up. Dwangwa, eh? That is just south of Dwambazi. Now it was my turn to talk. I told Bobby about the lack of vegetables in Dwambazi. I told him how we can only get tomatoes, onions and greens in my trading center. He shared in my horror at the lack of nutritious veggies and promised to let me know the next time he was traveling to Dwangwa. He would bring me a bag of fresh vegetables and meet me at the road. Brilliant! My diet just improved immensely and vegetables delivered to my doorstep?! I usually have to go to Mzuzu (about 3 hours away) to get the produce I want.

We exchanged numbers. I saved him in my phone as Veggie Bobby. I laughed at my habit of instantly giving everybody a nickname upon meeting them. I showed Veggie Bobby later. He said it suits him. I think so, too.