This may be useful for the nephews coming into the age where they will be driving. When we were teenagers we were tasked with making sure the car batteries would not go flat while my mother and father were overseas. It was the time of American cars, when my mother had a Valiant and my…
Conversations about Bicycles
The limp body hung across the wooden saddle. It must have looked like one of those John Wayne Westerns, where the good guy brings the dead bad guy in on his horse, arms hanging on the right and legs dangling on the left. Head swaying with the movement of the horse. Life in the village…
Conversations about Watches
My father used to buy gifts at Charles Grieg. Wedding gifts for the children of close friends. Other gifts for special occasion, retirement or silver wedding anniversaries. He never bought anything for himself. He never wore gold chains or fancy watches. When my brother and I matriculated he bought us a Rolex wrist watch each.…
Conversations at Monasteries
Herodes Atticus had a villa near Astros, on the Arcadian beach. It lies in ruin, only having been excavated in the last century. As history should have it, it was first rediscovered by a Turk. It is fenced off and only accessible by appointment with the provincial archaeological authority. Having dealt with authorities in Greece,…
Conversations on Paper Diaries
I use an electronic diary now at work. I remember my father used a small wallet size paper diary. In the early days he carried this in his white shirt pocket and made constant reference to its contents, planning his busy day. At work, his secretary would be called to bring the larger bound diary…
Conversations about Gold Bullion
I have treasures of gold coins; some from my grandfather, most from my father, and one from my uncle. There are many Kruger Rands, an American gold dollar and I have invested in some Mandela and Robin Island coins. There were many more Jews in Alberton in the early days. They had much more of…
Conversations on Pizza Ovens
It was a misty evening at Mbona. The hills were quiet in the fold of the white blanket that covered them. The wattle wood sizzled in the pizza oven as we started to cook our favourites. The first ones are always duds, until you get the fire and timing right. Or this time, until the…
Conversations with a Parrot
Jako cannot talk much. He could call Zorba the dog, and utter a guttural “hello”, otherwise he just sat in his cage, watching the world go by. My brother received this blue and golden Macaw parrot in 1974 from my father as a gift. At first he stayed in a a standard parrot cage in…
Conversations about Books
I could ask for any book, and my father would allow me to buy it on the credit card he had given me. The card was for emergencies only, and I suppose owning books must have been an emergency at some stage in his life. Perhaps, it was owning the time to read them that…
Conversations with Old Man Vlachos
Old Man Vlachos was one of my father’s best friends. He and Old Man Simbonis. I say old, because as I write this Simbonis is still alive, of clear mind, at age 98. These were two men from the next generation to my father who adopted him in the village of his father when he…
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