|
Date: September 25, 2004
There are Kangaroo Caves in the Karoo desert and this
isn't even Australia. I am in Graaf-Reinet, one of the most pleasant
cities in South Africa, possibly because many people here are not
black or white but colored which blurs the racism. I haven’t
seen many colored people in other parts of Africa. I am also in
the middle of the Karoo semi-desert, next to the Valley of Desolation,
and it is pouring rain. This morning the ground became saturated
and rivulets of rain and mud began to flow through and under my
tent. I had to move everything to higher ground, which only made
things wetter and muddier. And my joints ached and ground because
I haven’t recovered from the strong winds and draining heat,
and straining near my limit not to get stuck in the middle of the
Karoo without water and nowhere safe to camp. The locals assure
me the hills have eyes. Crime, rain, sleet, frost, blizzard, gale-force
winds – I am really really getting angry! God put St. Nicholas
through the wringer like Job and good ol’ Nick never complained
once and was rewarded with sainthood. If God is testing me, I am
failing, so the moral of this anecdote is obvious -- I’m no
saint, in other words, You can lead a horse to water and piss on
a cyclist but You can’t expect him to be happy; so stick it
up Your ass, if You have one, that’s what I say. I’m
going to cycle to Cape Town or die trying!
On second thought, I guess that is the point: to be
happy even in the Valley of Desolation and Despair. Still, I'm not
that spiritually saavy so if You are trying to tell me something,
rather than make my life miserable, just say so, otherwise I am
going to Cape Town even if it kills me.
|
|
