Man, this Highveld heat wave is torture. If this is any portent of what to expect this summer, I’m packing my bags for Oymyakon.
Time to shake the dust off an oldish record: Queens of the Stone Age. And oh, if you’re planning to take any of these substances over the weekend, stay off the goddamned roads. Have a good one…
It’s been three days, and I can’t get this out of my mind…
On Saturday I went to a liquor outlet to get a case of wine. On my way out, one of the infamous Highveld storms broke loose, pouring down hail which bounced off my car with a sickening sound.
As I was moving along in the traffic, I caught a fleeting glimpse of a panhandler standing at a traffic intersection, straddling two lanes. He was dressed in what looked like patched-up jeans and a clearly ripped t-shirt, holding a small square of cardboard, using it to desperately shield himself from the savage blows being meted out by the hailstones.
It was such a pitiful sight, but I couldn’t do a thing being caught in moving traffic, trying to escape the storm like everyone else. Or… I could have but didn’t.
I remember still thinking about it nearly an hour later, as I was nearing my destination. I wished I could go back to see if he was alright.
And it’s still troubling me three days later. I hope he’s okay…
One more fitful sleep (yup, it’s really hot, even up here on the Highveld) and I’ll be undertaking my annual road trip down to Durban for the holidays. Hometown!
Before I leave though, I’d like to wish you all happy holidays too, no matter how you prefer to commemorate it. All I ask is that you be good for goodness sake, and hope that you enjoy my favorite rendition of Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Andrea Bocelli.
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He’s making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
O! You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town
Remember now, it is possible to be good for goodness sake only…
The pink, purple and white blooms are poking their way through the roadside vegetation once again. Cosmos!
On the South African highveld this only means one thing. Winter is coming. Glorious, beautiful winter. I’m in ecstacy already!
Hurry up and piss off, extended-Summer! And please take your fucking mosquitoes with you…
Pink Cosmos
I spotted the first cosmos yesterday morning on my way to work. They seem to spring up overnight here on the South African Highveld, lining our roadsides with a beautiful yet tangled display of whites, pinks and purples, poking out from the last bits of green and emerging brown grass.
Today I made a point of getting some photographs and these are some of them.
It’s a clear sign that winter is about to start; the season I love the most. I can already feel the slight chill in the air every morning. I can’t wait for the end to this simmering heat that’s been plaguing us recently.
Cosmos by the roadside
Am I the only person who loves winter so much?
Lenny Says 