Friday, June 6, 2014

The Many Faces of Edwin Ludovick

I feel like the title of this week's blog entry could belong to a short story by James Thurber or E.B. White but, in actuality, it refers to the child pictured below, one Edwin Ludovick Lema, Standard One pupil at Msaranga Primary School.  Cute, right?
 
 
But then one looks into that face and wonders what plans little Ludovick (technically his father's name, but I prefer to call him such rather than his given moniker; it just feels *right*) has in store for us.  There's the faintest hint of a smile playing upon his lips and the crinkles by his eyes signify something mischievous afoot.  Plus, what's he gonna do with that big stick?!
 
 
A rapscallion of the highest order, Ludovick routinely wears his school bag cross-body with one strap over his head.  This look gives him the appearance of a miniature thug, a pint-size hoodlum, a grade school hooligan.  Check the one hip jutting, the arms carelessly hanging, the self-assured pout....  Quintessential Ludovick.

 
But before you write him off as the classroom bad boy, destined to break hearts, steal cars, and cause all kinds of mayhem on his way to adulthood, check out the softer side of Ludo.  He's not too macho to jump rope with the girls....


 
....Provided, of course, that he remain the center of attention at all times....


....Or unless he's taking a breather, cooling at the teachers' table until he regains his strength....and appetite for destruction....
 
 
Then there was this day a while back when we found him fairly naked thus, his shirt having gotten wet in an afternoon downpour.  Not sure if you can make out Yacinta's face in this shot, but her expression is priceless.
 
I had assumed early on that, due to his behavioral waywardness, he would not be a good student.  Maybe with a short attention span, a disdain for book learnin', an inability to leave the playground antics outside the classroom.  But I assumed wrong.  Ludovick is, in fact, one of the most capable students in this year's Standard One class!  When he's not handing out beatdowns or flirting with us teachers, he can read and write at the top of the class!!
 
Ahh, Ludovick!  You confounding child, you!!  A caper-puller, a hijink-purveyor, a practical jokester, and an all-around rabblerouser, you do have your secrets, don't you?!

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