Still Kicking…

I am still alive, dear friends…

First of all- so sad to hear about the untimely death of Phil Hughes, Aussie cricketer… As our favorite cricket enemies, we love to hate the Aussies. But we don’t really hate them- they provide for good sport- they are a great nation… So my real heartfelt condolences and prayers to his family, friends and fans.

Secondly: today my eldest son is finishing his 12 year sentence of hard labor at the school benches. It seems like just the other day that we went to enroll him in the primary school. And now… just one last examn paper to write, and it is all over…

Thirdly- My daughter is also on final approach for her degree in Graphic Design. They are working under immense pressure to finish their last assignments. Yesterday she was the passenger in a huge accident, involving two trucks on the highway. She is ok, but badly shaken. And she says this is the second accident in 5 days that she has been through… it really gets to a dad’s heart- so glad she is alive, but worried about all this life threatening experiences- could she not rather go bungy jumping or parachuting?

Fourthly- it is very busy times around here- in two hours time I have to conduct yet another funeral. We deal with such extreme variety in life experiences. Like yesterday afternoon I married a beautiful young couple beneath a huge Marula tree in the bush. From weddings to funerals in 16 hours’ time…

And lastly, in no particular order- I am having serious connectivity issues on the Net. Uncapped but shaped internet does have it’s drawbacks, the ISP says our family has used 100 Gig of data in November, and now we are being choked during office hours- I can walk faster and deliver an old time letter, than sending an email during office hours… That really is ruining my blogging as well. Together with the stressed out to the max times in our family with all the life changes.

I forgot- the youngest is finishing Primary School tomorrow, it is also a huge milestone in his life. So three of my four children are finishing their current life phases… and I am getting old…
Or not- just have to find more time and money for petrol for my motorbike, then I will be Born to be Wild…

(where did all the data go? My third child showed me how to get old movies on the internet. And now I am enjoying Easy Rider, and Mad Max, and Cannonball Run again… It is never too late to have a happy childhood…

A dream comes true

I Love motorbikes. And I love my children. For many years I have dreamed for this day to arrive.

Today, two of my sons successfully completed their motorcycle learners license tests. My eldest son for the big motorbikes, and the younger one for a 125cc bike. The younger one promptly disappeared over the horizon on the scooter with his friends. While the eldest and me rode some blocks around the house. I have to coach him gently, because it is a huge step up from the automatic scooter to a 850 Roadster BMW.  But it went well so we headed of to our local steak house for a beer (just for me- for the nerves!);and some nachos. 

I have really looked forward to this day a long long time! The danger of bigger bikes and young men is the testosterone factor. It is so easy to be overconfident. When you are 18, Marc Marques makes motorbike riding look so easy. But is also real easy to get killed by overconfidence.

So I am really trying to instill a healthy fear and respect in the young men…

And looking forward to great journeys with my sons on two wheels..

The times, they are…

Warning: Don’t read- a lot of negative drivel…  Just move on to something nice… 

This is really a silly season in our part of South Africa. It is November, and still it has not rained. It is extremely hot, and extremely dry… every now and then we hear some thunder at night. But that,  like our dearly beloved president of South Africa,  is just a lot of noise with no performance…

At the moment it is quite hectic times. Especially with my kids. The academic year in our country is rapidly coming to an end.

My daughter is finishing her three year degree as a Graphic Designer this month. Now it is just the final projects that has to be finished, and it is a heap of work to end with. Then- the study loan is laying in wait like a cheetah stalking an impala. She needs to get employment, and there are no firm offers yet. Ideas range from doing a TEFL course and go teach English as a Foreign Language in somewhere like South Korea. Or doing some art and hold an art exhibition.

My eldest son is finishing his school days in matric. He is between the two dreaded final maths exams, one paper yesterday, and the other on Monday. I still wake up sweating in the middle of the night after having nightmares about writing my matric year end papers in maths…  My son is writing the examns, then going on a short vacation with friends, and then he is starting at a farm as a laborer, to get ready to possibly go and work on a year contract in the USA… my own dream is to visit the USA on a motorbike, and now it seems as if my son will beat me to going there…

We are having difficult times in South Africa. I had to bury another murder victim on Wednesday. This man in our church was sick at home, when he was overpowered by three thugs. They first tried to strangle him, and then put a plastic bag over his head, tying it off with duct tape. They got away with his purse and his dilapidated old pick up truck. The criminal element in our country is way out of hand, and it starts at the very top…  Our President is holding secret talks with Putin to buy 8 atomic power plants from Russkom, the people who built Chernobyl… It will ruin our country’s economy, but the wise man is chasing his dream… It also came to light that we have our very own spy satellite, also built by the Russians…   Why on earth do we need that? Our new economy minister meanwhile says the state’s coffers are empty, he will have to tax us more… meanwhile the ruling party parties on…  The poor gets poorer, and more and more violent crime is rising.

It is scenes like this in our country that really breaks my heart at the moment. A lady gets hijacked inside a security complex, and they not only have to take her car by gunpoint, they first have to beat her senseless…

Our national captain of our Soccer (Football) team was also murdered in this week…  No one is safe anymore…

With all these news you will understand that I don’t blog a lot at the moment. I don’t like to sound negative, it is really my dream to be positive, and make a difference, even here in South Africa. But I lost my way a bit, and am struggling to find some sense at the moment.  This too shall pass…  I hope…