the abandoned kids and form a
troop and take them around to the
shebeens. They’d collect empties
from the men who were passed out
and take the bottles to where you
could turn them in for a deposit.
Then my mom would take that
money, buy food in the spaza
shops, and feed the kids. She was a
child taking care of children.
When it was time to pick my
name, she chose Trevor, a name
with no meaning whatsoever in
South Africa, no precedent in my
family. It’s not even a Biblical
name. It’s just a name. My mother
wanted her child beholden to no