I mean, we all thought we had seen the last of last winter's snow The last remnants were almost gone, and Spring officially started a week or two back - then out of the blue came this winter storm on the last night of March and April 1st.
Of course this just happened to be the morning that Liz and I had planned to drive the 60-odd miles from St Johnsbury in Vermont to Berlin in New Hampshire.
National Route 2 runs East - West across the northern edge of Mount Washington, which is the tallest mountain in the eastern United States, at 6,289 feet. For my readers who are not aware of it, the second highest wind speed ever recorded on the Earth's surface was 231 mph (372 km/h) at the observatory on the peak of the mountain in April 1934.
Fortunately our sprightly Volvo C30 has studded winter tires and, with me driving (Liz gets quite nervous in those conditions), the weather presented no problems, although the road was quite treacherous at times. I was reminded of a winter weekend way back in the '60s when, while stationed at RNAS Lossiemouth, the squadron aircrew drove across northern Scotland to the Altnacealgath Hotel in Ledmore, and had to dig our vehicles out of snow drifts. That was one of the last times I was to see snow for 42 years!
I am writing this on Tuesday, April 4th. We did have more snow forecast for today but the temperature is up to 40˚ (4˚C) with rain and a week from today is forecast to be 71˚F (21˚C).
To completely change the subject, I wrote a while back about nepotism, in particular when related to Jacob Zuma. I never imagined at that time (four years ago) that a president of the United States would be openly practicing nepotism, but that appears to be more and more so. The gaudy materialistic person now in charge of this country seems to be going the same way as Jacob Zuma. Like Zuma he seems incapable of running the country, knowing nothing about politics or the way Washington works. In short, he is out of his depth, and covers every setback by tweeting that it is all the lying press and false news.
It's been a long wait - ten stressful months that pushed my
blood pressure up to dangerous levels. However during the last few days of
February I attended my Government Medical Examination and three days later an
interview with an official of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Yesterday in the mail I received notification that my permanent residence had
been approved and that I should receive my Green Card within two to three
weeks. It actually arrived in the mail today, and I can now legally work in the
United States.
I've learned a lot since leaving South Africa at the end of
April last year, and much of what I have learned you will find in previous
postings. My opinion of several airlines has hit rock bottom. Emirates is one
of them. They would not even answer my emails, even after advising me that they
had found the laptop that went missing in Dubai, and would forward it to me
without delay. I also got to fly on Aer Lingus. Their Shannon to Logan flights
are little more that cattle wagons, with three ageing flight attendants trying
their best to serve nearly 200 single class passengers (there are no Business
or First Classes on these money-saving flights).
After 42 years in southern Africa I have been thrown into
the deep end of continental American winters. Yesterday the daytime temperature
rose above freezing point for only the second time in almost four months.
Thankfully this time it looks like staying in the 40's for a few days - not
nights though, which will still be below freezing. The 2 - 3 feet of snow lying
in our yard (garden) has started its slow thaw, but will probably be at least a
couple of weeks before we can next see the grass on the lawn. Another thing I have learned - not to let your central
heating furnace run out of oil - likewise the pellet stove out of pellets. And
I have learned how best to conserve the two fuels so as to keep down costs.
Now that I am able to look back at my last few years in
South Africa, I can see it with a completely refreshed mind. I see a country
that has openly practiced reverse-apartheid since it became independent, a
country rife with nepotism, corruption and bad management, and a country with a
president who apparently needs his head examined. In 1998 I was privileged to
meet and shake hands with the late Nelson Mandela, a complete opposite to
today's president, and a total gentleman. But we've seen it before, haven't we?
Up in Zimbabwe, for example, and in the majority of newly independent states in sub-Saharan
Africa. Sadly many of the whites left in South Africa have nowhere else to go. I
was lucky - I have a British passport (when I first came to southern Africa in
1972, I vowed never to give it up), and I have an American wife, daughter and
grandchildren. My heart, prayers and love reach out to those of you who are now
stuck in that country. At least you have
the beautiful countryside, climate and wine to enjoy.
America is vibrant. The economy is back on track, and the
price of gas (petrol) has recently been at its lowest for many years. You learn
things by just watching television ads though - apart from the fact that the models
are better looking than those in SA. It seems that at least 50% of television
ads are for drug companies. Ads that market expensive prescribed drugs for
heart disease, obesity, shingles, a
variety of vaccinations, COPD and many others. With the buoyant economy, many
of the ads are for motor companies such as Nissan, Hyundai, Honda, Chevrolet,
Dodge, Ford, GMC, and Jeep (not so many); and there is a dearth of vehicle insurance
ads. Naturally, all of the big fast food chains are regularly represented.
I write this post objectively, and would like to assure my many friends and few relations remaining in South Africa that I mean no offense.
It has been more than a month since I wrote my previous post, but a month in which my life has completely changed – for the better. At
last I am free from the servitude and nepotism of South Africa, and am able to
look at the country and its people with a clear and fresh mind. I have now
spent a month in a real First World country, and can say quite categorically,
and this is for all South Africans who think otherwise, that South
Africa is a true Third World country – nothing better.
In many ways I rue the decision that I made 42 years ago to
relocate to southern Africa, but had I not made that decision, I would not have
the wonderful family and friends that I have today. Everyone makes mistakes,
and I am the first to admit that I have made many, but the decisions we make,
whether good or bad, shape our future life. My 42 years in Africa have been
colorful, enlightening and edifying, and I left the country last month wiser and
more erudite than I could possibly have been had I remained in the United
Kingdom all those years ago. During my time in Rhodesia I spent more than 130 nights
“treading the boards”, and many more in rehearsal, often in the company of
professional and internationally known actors and actresses. I have met and
shaken hands with politicians from either side of the aisle, including the
recently passed Nelson Mandela and Ian Smith. Above all I have had the pleasure
of living in a beautiful part of the world, have come face to face with Nature,
and can truthfully boast, in the words of Karen Blixen, that “I had a farm in
Africa”.
When my wife, Liz, came out to South Africa in 2002, one of
the first things that I told her was to watch out for the direction that education
and healthcare were going. These were the first visible signs of the impending rot
in what had become Zimbabwe, and from which I had fled with my family in 1981.
We all know what has become of that country. South Africa is fast going the
same way. The deterioration in education and healthcare started several years
ago, and were instrumental in our decision to relocate. Today South Africa is a
cradle of mismanagement, nepotism and neo-apartheid. If you happen to
have a white skin, forget about applying for a job. There are few ways that
you will guarantee a future - by starting your own business, by ‘knowing
someone’ or by joining the ANC.
I could write a whole new blog post on South African banks.
I have traveled to every continent, and can safely and categorically state
that, in my opinion, South African banks are probably the worst on the entire
planet. I have yet to come across another country where one has to pay a fee
for depositing cash into one’s bank account. Not only that, there is a fee for
every single transaction. I know for a fact that, for an individual such as
myself, a checking account in the USA and the UK will actually pay you interest
on a monthly basis when you have a credit balance. The powers that be in banks
such as I am speaking of (if there are exceptions I am not aware of them) will
try to justify these charges with a lot of balderdash and twaddle – probably
because they themselves have been brainwashed and programed to do so. South African banks suck!
I will say no more, other than “Goodbye
Africa!”. Now that I have experienced just a few short weeks in a First World
country for the first time in many years, I have absolutely no desire at all to
return to any part of that continent. I will spend my remaining days (may there
be many of them) enjoying clean streets and highways, unbiased radio and
television stations, the latest technology, a wide variety of culture, efficient
government departments (it is still quicker in South Africa to send a letter
with a runner and cleft stick than to rely on the post office) and a country
free from the mismanagement and corruption that is so prevalent in South
Africa, its businesses and its government. Goodbye
Unlike my post of 11/27/2011, which was written immediately before the South African banks let us down on the first of several occasions, we really have sold the farm this time. Papers are signed and the money's in the bank - not nearly as much as we would have liked, but enough to get significantly more personal possessions across the Pond. Liz will be reunited not just with myself, but with her collection of shoes, clothes, beads and beading, lighthouses and witches. I've been following the New Hampshire weather during their winter - I don't think I've seen the temperature rise above freezing for at least 2 months. I guess that if I miss Africa at all, which is unlikely, it will be at this time of the year. Still - I did spend 8 years living (off and on when not at sea) in the far North of Scotland, so I have been used to those conditions in the past, albeit many years ago. I guess I'll get used to it - I'll have to, won't I?
NH wild turkeys taken 30 minutes ago
What will I not miss about Africa in general, and South Africa in particular? Well, I never wanted to live in SA in the first place anyway, but was forced here by circumstances. Since democratization I have witnessed a country where reverse apartheid is blatantly being practiced - I'm not saying that BEE is a bad thing - far from it, but the way it has worked out in most cases has exposed corruption, nepotism and bad management at their worst. The poor in South Africa are still poor, whereas the well-off have lined their pockets and those of their cronies at the expense of the underprivileged. You only have to look around you at present. As many as 4 years ago the Mail & Guardian exposed the scandal behind the multi-million rand upgrades on Jacob Zuma's Nkandla home - upgrades carried out at the taxpayers' expense (for those who have never heard of him, Zuma is South Africa's multi-wife president). Today, 4 years later, the scandal lives on.
I will miss none of the above. What I will miss is the bush and the wildlife. The fragrance after that first rain shower after a period of drought. The ability to take a drive of less than an hour and be among a 30-strong herd of elephant, the bush buck that live on my farm, the monkeys that scatter when I drive to Bathurst, the sound of the jackals as they hunt at night, the call of the frogs from our small dam after the year's first rains, and the call of the fiery-necked nightjar - these I will never forget.
Yesterday I took my monthly drive into Grahamstown. The main street showed up mismanagement at its worst. Imagine taking a trash bin - well, probably taking dozens of trash bins - and emptying them along the sidewalk and gutters. The amount of trash just lying there was appalling. The thing is, the ANC have individuals all over the country in local government, mayors and councilors, who have no idea how to run a craft booth let alone a municipality. And they are all riding around in new Mercedes and BMWs. I'm not jealous - just sorry for the many individuals who cannot escape from the situation. Which makes me very glad of the decision I made when I first arrived in Africa - never to give up my British passport.
There is so much to get done during the next 58 or so days. Police Clearance Certificate, hand in Beretta, international driving permit, stop Eskom, stop Telkom, stop DStv, stop Post Box, change of address with various agencies, sell furniture, stop car insurance ... the list goes on. My clients will find my new telephone number on my main website, and I will still be available for work from South Africa. Just remember though, that if you call me the difference is 6 hours in SA winter and 7 in summer.
