**Life Between the Rumbles: Confessions of Harare’s Most Overlooked Wooden Plank**
**HARARE, ZIMBABWE** – Nestled amidst the fervent hum of Harare’s streets, I find myself stretched out, bridging a minor but crucial gap. Unlike my peers who bear the weight of human footfalls, my daily life is all about the rumble of motorcycles and small motorbikes. Each vroom and rev paints a tale on my worn-out surface.
As dawn breaks, I brace for the familiar sensation of rubber tires. My owner, always looking for a way to turn a profit, charges a fee for the riders to cross over me. “Another day, another dollar,” he often muses, seemingly oblivious to the stories I hold.
“From the roar of engines to the quiet pauses in between, it’s a symphony,” I’d reflect inwardly. “They ride, they balance, they accelerate. And just when I think I can breathe, I’m uprooted and adjusted for the next set of wheels.”
For many riders, I’m just a convenient piece of wood. “Oh, that trusty old plank? Saves me time,” one motorcyclist, Tafadzwa Moyo, commented. Little does he realize that I’m more than just a flat surface. I’ve seen moments of triumph, near misses, and have felt the heartbeat of countless engines.
Through sunshine and downpours, I lay firm, though I often wish for a pat of gratitude or a moment’s recognition. My surface is scarred from skids and stops, each mark a testament to my dedication.
Rumors have reached my ears of a sturdy metal ramp that might soon take my place. The very thought leaves me feeling hollow. But until that day, I stand resilient, embracing each ride with pride.
One evening, a group of young bikers paused to inspect me, tracing my grooves with their fingers. They left with a nod of respect. That fleeting moment of appreciation? It was everything.
“They may see me as ‘just a plank’,” I mused, “but in this dance of wheels and wood, I’ve found my purpose, and that’s a journey worth every rumble.”
This reminds me of the guy’s in Naples Italy who extort you when u park saying 3 euro to park and they’ll watch ur car. What you’re doing is paying them to not fuck up ur car. Either way MF gotta eat but I wonder if he’d earn his money if another person was trying to get in my stuff.
In Brazil you gotta pay to park on some streets. The person you pay is only paid so he won’t take a bat to your car. Not an actual law or government funded job. Bar was pretty dope tho.
This is actually pretty common in developing countries. In Jakarta, there’s a narrow street where this fat guy sits in the road on a lawn chair and won’t move unless you pay him. We had to take that road every Sunday.
Bridge trolls are for real!
What’d you say?
In the US he would be praised as an entrepreneur.
Is this Douala?
That is one valuable piece of wood.
Ima disrupt his business with a bigger plank of wood for 2 way traffic.
Ezpazz.
Looks like a solid self employment, get a plank and find a big pothole.
What a lovely town I may buy a condo there in the future.
Gotta pay the troll toll to get into this boy’s soul.
Hole?
Soul.
The guy with the bicycle: “Fuck you”
I learned more in this video than ECON 101
Sorry, but a toll is a toll, and a roll is a roll, and if we don’t get no tolls, then we don’t eat no rolls.
Pay me.
**Life Between the Rumbles: Confessions of Harare’s Most Overlooked Wooden Plank**
**HARARE, ZIMBABWE** – Nestled amidst the fervent hum of Harare’s streets, I find myself stretched out, bridging a minor but crucial gap. Unlike my peers who bear the weight of human footfalls, my daily life is all about the rumble of motorcycles and small motorbikes. Each vroom and rev paints a tale on my worn-out surface.
As dawn breaks, I brace for the familiar sensation of rubber tires. My owner, always looking for a way to turn a profit, charges a fee for the riders to cross over me. “Another day, another dollar,” he often muses, seemingly oblivious to the stories I hold.
“From the roar of engines to the quiet pauses in between, it’s a symphony,” I’d reflect inwardly. “They ride, they balance, they accelerate. And just when I think I can breathe, I’m uprooted and adjusted for the next set of wheels.”
For many riders, I’m just a convenient piece of wood. “Oh, that trusty old plank? Saves me time,” one motorcyclist, Tafadzwa Moyo, commented. Little does he realize that I’m more than just a flat surface. I’ve seen moments of triumph, near misses, and have felt the heartbeat of countless engines.
Through sunshine and downpours, I lay firm, though I often wish for a pat of gratitude or a moment’s recognition. My surface is scarred from skids and stops, each mark a testament to my dedication.
Rumors have reached my ears of a sturdy metal ramp that might soon take my place. The very thought leaves me feeling hollow. But until that day, I stand resilient, embracing each ride with pride.
One evening, a group of young bikers paused to inspect me, tracing my grooves with their fingers. They left with a nod of respect. That fleeting moment of appreciation? It was everything.
“They may see me as ‘just a plank’,” I mused, “but in this dance of wheels and wood, I’ve found my purpose, and that’s a journey worth every rumble.”
Did the last guy stiff him?
Trials rider: “nah I’m good”
If you don’t pay the toll then we don’t get no roll. Lol
Considering the location, i don’t even want to know what the consequences are for not paying the village bully a toll
This is really depressing.
1. Dig a hole in the middle of busy street
2. Get a plank
3. Profit
What a massive cunt.
And I thought my job was useless..
I say pop a wheelie and send it!
This reminds me of the guy’s in Naples Italy who extort you when u park saying 3 euro to park and they’ll watch ur car. What you’re doing is paying them to not fuck up ur car. Either way MF gotta eat but I wonder if he’d earn his money if another person was trying to get in my stuff.
I’m not sure what we’re laughing at.
You can actually ride over that with a bit of finesse without the plank
He saw, quite literally, a GAP in the market.
This seems more like extortion than a toll… Unless wooden planks are super rare there.
It’s sad to see
Something tells me there’s a guy just off camera with an AK-47 that’s helping this all go down smoothly.
Yeaaaahh…africa…
Second dude said “I got you next Thursday.”
LA?
If you want the plank you see, first answer these riddles three.
In Brazil you gotta pay to park on some streets. The person you pay is only paid so he won’t take a bat to your car. Not an actual law or government funded job. Bar was pretty dope tho.
If you wanna get into that boy’s hole
Must be a great workout. Who needs the gym when you can plank all day.
You gotta pay the troll toll if you want to get in to that boys soul
This is actually pretty common in developing countries. In Jakarta, there’s a narrow street where this fat guy sits in the road on a lawn chair and won’t move unless you pay him. We had to take that road every Sunday.
This is wildly interesting lol
My guy literally started a buisness with a plank
This is in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He was telling the motorcyclists, ‘leta hela’ which is Swahili for ‘pay me’
To get into this boy’s hole
You don’t need to have a landlord portfolio to have landlord mindset
This man see’s opportunity everywhere he goes. Who else would look at a 4X piece of wood and see money.
In Mexico there is no toilet paper in public bathrooms but outside of the bathroom there is a table with people selling 6 plys of toilet paper
I wish I could get paid for laying down wood..