Funny man Ndumiso Ngcobo recently celebrated his 38th birthday, and took some time out to sweat the small stuff. His conclusions will definitely lead to a cleaner, though more complicated, lifestyle. Don’t worry he says, this is not a mid-life crisis, it’s just spermatophobia (which is a fear of germs, not, erm, the other stuff):
I turned 38 a few weeks ago which explains why my wife walks around with a look not too dissimilar to that on Giuseppe’s face when he finds himself in the Barmy Army stand during an England-Italy game. And she has much to worry about too. A man’s midlife crisis should never be taken lightly. Look, I have no immediate urge to purchase a Harley, don nut-hugging leather pants and spend my evenings scoping out 17-year-olds during orientation week. I predict those tendencies will kick in circa 2019. What I do think my wife needs to worry about is that I’m developing some disturbing neuroses.
Believe it or not, I studied microbiology and I remember the first sentence in my textbook like it was yesterday. It read: “Microorganisms are ubiquitous” – which is a bug watcher’s geeky way of saying germs are everywhere. Until a few years ago, I used the acute appreciation of this fact to justify being an unhygienic slob. It was not unheard of for me to have a shower on Friday morning, spend the weekend guzzling beer and braaiing and only taking my next shower on Monday.
More of Ncgobo’s sharp-witted style in Is It Coz I’m Black and Some of My Best Friends Are White:
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Some of My Best Friends are White
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February 8th, 2010 @21:15 #
This guy is hilarious and endearing at the same time.
February 8th, 2010 @23:08 #
I have begun to turn eagerly to his column in the Sunday Times... always cheering.