To walk in faith is one thing, to truly live it, is close to insanity -“…thank you for the music and all the joys it brings…”
Overture
In Africa patience is a man’s greatest virtue. When you learn to be patient, joy can be found even in taking cover from the harsh sun. Sitting beneath a small shrub at the foot of Mesklip (knife rock) Pass, on the N7 waiting…
It is strange how one road has a different feel and magic or power on different occasions, no matter how many times you travel it. Your purpose and circumstances always differ.
Adagio
Do you remember the boy Shaun with the “neon brown” hair? In kindergarten he used to drop bricks on his own foot, just to prove that he was tough. In later years Shaun was the one who introduced me to the world of hitch hiking. Just in town of course, going to the movies, parties and the normal places teenage boys needs to visit.
Joe’s mom was the one who found him lying with a smile on the ‘stairway to heaven’ (the steps outside the Dutch reformed church in Lyttelton). The late frost of the winter was touching his bare feet and on his arms in magic marker the phone numbers of his mom and dad. Heroin gave this lonely hitchhiker his last ride…
Prelude
A far off place, with a mysterious name that calls to the heart of a young warrior, hungry to conquer the unknown and conclude his experiential learning to obtain his Diploma in Adventure, was reason enough to get on a bus and take the N14 to ‘Aukoerebis.’ Aukoerebis, the word the Khoi people use to describe the ‘place of Great Noise’, better known as Augrabies
The thundering waterfall and breathtaking sunsets of the Northern Cape became part of my being along with silent starry-starry nights in the desert. My heart and spirit took flight, all because of a choice to get in the bus and let the road lead me. To face the unknown, is after all the ultimate adventure.
Although my stay was short lived – due to numerous reasons – loss of interest being one of them, knowledge and experience were gained. Not just in honing my river craft but also learning about the simple and true things which life has to offer so abundantly; the silences in nature but also within oneself.
Adagio
Johan with his contagious smile that not even the world and all her enemies could suppress, pulled on the shortest end one Friday night – to be more precise it was a black and yellow nylon rope, more or less in the middle of his garage. Time flies, especially if it has been two years since last you’ve seen your friend hopping and smiling. In the bush at a rock festival with good friends next to a big fire, we exchanged numbers, shared food, drinks and rock ‘n roll for the last time…;
Prelude
Following the sun and not the crowd is a way of fighting, living and soaring! It is less than a year later with the symphony of the Augrabies waterfall still roaring in my ears, and me still chasing the unknown on the N14 , this time heading for Namibia. Opportunity knocked and Gabriel and I grabbed it with both hands. On a five day hiking expedition at the Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world we acted as “Sherpa’s”. We worked instead of paying our way, in order to fulfil a dream.
Descending next to the place of temptation, (with O Fortuna, playing in your head) you struggle not only with your back pack that weighs in at 32kg, but also facing an inner demon – called fear of heights, you need to walk in faith. If Africa is not for the faint of heart – then walking through a desert is for the crazy and acting as “Sherpa” while walking through a desert for the insane.
Although physical fitness is definitely an attribute if attempting to conquer a desert, mental strength and faith in your Creator and His creation is what gets you to Oasis. The fact that you’re walking shoulder to shoulder with an old friend also helps to invigorate your spirit.
Adagio
Tell me why I don’t like Mondays? Maybe it’s because it was on a Monday evening when Fritz gave answer to the calling. A thousand kilometres later with winding roads, mountains, the Southern Cross and bridges, I arrived the following evening at Grootbrak, finding a broken Gabriel who just lost his brother. I am still at a loss for words but I’ve learned that where blood cannot walk it will hitch a ride or crawl.
Overture
It was after my second cigarette at the foot of Mesklip Pass that I decided, to start counting cars instead of chasing them and only allowing myself a smoke after every 30 cars. Otherwise one of two things might happen: I’ll smoke myself to death, or even worse, I’ll run out of cigarettes. The N7 is a lonely stretch of road in the Northern Cape, linking Springbok with Cape Town. My journey started the previous morning in Pretoria on a Greyhound bus, travelling with Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix on my spiritual N14 towards the previously unknown Springbok, in order to face a new unknown, the N7.
To walk in faith is one thing, to truly live it, is close to insanity. It was while counting cars and rationing my cigarettes that the deafening silence and overwhelming blue skies descended on me. With goosebumps and humbleness in my heart I turned to song.
Maybe Nietzsche was echoing the Aboriginal people who belief that the world is a song and you can sing anything to you, when he said: Without music life would be a mistake…
While humming Beethoven’s 9th symphony with my one hand in my pocket and the other smoking a cigarette, my first lift stopped and I sang myself all the way to Cape Town.
Symphony
Hitching a ride on the N7 and N14’s of life, you’ll see and experience magnificent sites, people and places with always another unknown to conquer. If you don’t go, you’ll never know. And yes sometimes the cars don’t stop. The African sun dehydrate your will to live out of you and every once in a while you need to stand next to an open grave. Whether you choose suburbia or the open road, life will happen, but to which degree and fullness depends on you. It’s your song, sing it…
In South Africa today security plays a vital part in any business or private home. This book and the volumes to follow, will guide you step by step through the essential precautionary measures to be taken in protecting your family and valuables. From employing security guards, evacuation of your site and security measures to burglar bars and alarms in your private home.
a Book compiled by me from experience gained after 10 years in the security industry as Industrial relations officer with Nosa qualifications, 1st Aid, fire protection and also S.O.B. grade A.
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