I have been "flat broke" a number of times in my life and I know you have too. The feeling is a mixture of helplessness, self-pity and self-blame. Yet it is also a feeling of hoping against hope. You check every pocket, envelope and account where you must have kept some money and come up with the reality that you have nothing in your hand. It is a bad feeling a sad feeling. You want to wake up, but the dream says, no way. The funny thing with being flat broke is that it does not depend on whether you are rich or poor. The flat broke feeling is exactly the same. Both are like a drowning man reaching for anything to give them relief. Once you survive the incident, you vow that it will never happen again. Somehow, it does when you are least prepared.
Allan Bukusi
