Everyone says my younger brother is nutty and honestly, they’re not wrong. But he's the kind of nutty that made life interesting, the kind that filled our store with inventions that makes one laugh, wonder and sometimes…..gasp in amazement. We most times, call him jack of all trades. He repairs our faulty torch lights and sometimes, fix our electricals whenever it's faulty.
His being nutty all started with our light bulbs. While most people use normal bulbs to light their rooms, my brother had other plans. He collected dozens of tiny light bulbs , the type used in Christmas trees, toys, and condemned torch lights and wired them into a glowing beautiful mess. I don't just know how he knows the right wires to connect and make lights. "Why use one big bulb when you can use small ones?" he beamed.
We used his light invention whenever there was no electricity. His room now looks like a spaceship or a disco ball room. I've even thought of making videos using his lights 😄.
Next came the bags. He usually goes to this carpenter's shop just across the main road to gather pieces of cushion materials. What does he use it for? Bags! He gathers alot, comes home , behaves like a professional tailor by measuring, cutting and stitching using my mum's tape, scissors, needle and thread.
One day, he made a bigger size of the bag and came flaunting it. "What is that?" I asked. Josh's cushion bag," he said proudly. Turns out he had raided mum’s old pillow stash and used cushion materials , foam and even some old blanket stuffing to sew that handbag. "I am giving this to mumcy as her birthday gift" he said. I and my sister busted into laughter. "It's not like it's not beautiful oo but don't be ridiculous, mum will not use this". My sister said. "Soft, light and bounce-proof!" he declared, tossing it up like a pillow.
Honestly, it wasn’t a bad idea cause surprisingly, mum was so happy when he presented it to her on her birthday. She used the bag for a long while and carried it around to church and work. Whenever someone says "Your bag is beautiful, it's light and soft" She would reply proudly "Thankyou , it was made by my son".
But the craziest thing of all, he built houses, cars, aeroplanes and shoes out of cartons. Shaking my head, "who wears carton shoes for God's sake?" I asked him. He smiled and replied "Me, I will start"
He cut out hundreds, maybe thousands of cartons, pages from old cartoon cassette envelope, magazines, cereal boxes and even news papers. Using tape, glue and a lot of imagination, he wallpapered the inside and outside of the carton house with scenes from cartoons we ever watched while growing up. There were talking animals, Barney and friends, exploding pies, barbie , superheroes and space aliens all over the place. He even built the furniture using cardboard boxes with cartoon cutouts plastered all over.
When he realized I've been standing all along watching him, he said to me "who says houses have to be boring? "It’s my Cartoon Castle". I couldn’t argue with that, I enjoyed sitting and watching him work, create something I cannot imagine, something out of the ordinary.
Then came the time he started selling his work. To his classmates, the handmade bags, his area playmates the lights , carton shoe and carton car. They used the light for their bicycles and local "motor" as they call it, made out of cartons, sticks, slippers and cover of water bottles.
So yes, my brother is nutty. But in a world full of ordinary, he's got the kind of madness that makes wonder and appreciate creativity. And who knows? One day, his nutty ideas might just change the world.
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