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But what-the-hey his monkeys are his monkeys and never shall ye take another's monkeys on ye own back. If that bastard wasn't so lazy / drunk / dumb he wouldn't be banging on my gate. What do we have churches for, they do the charity work don't they? If the government would only climb off the gravy train and did what they should....
Damn, there's another calling now....
'sfunny. All these nice christians doing all that God loving with all their strength etc. and they look exactly like their neighbours.
Well not quite. There is a subtle difference in expletives. Christians keep telling their neighbours that "they will go to hell". Their neighbours reply is exactly the same, omitting the first two words, thus inviting the Christian to accompany them.
A slice of real South Africa Christmas 1998...
Next to a road, a small rural cash store was built.Then a highway was built that bypassed the cash store.
Then a squatter camp arose on the far side of the highway from the cash store.
The squatters run like rabbits, across the highway to get to the only shop even vaguely within walking distance. They are far too poor to afford a minibus taxi ride into town.
The traffic department has put up little signs. The sign is a picture of a pedestrian crossing the road with a red slash across it. ie. It means don't walk across the highway.
The signs face the road traffic, not the pedestrians.
My once-a-week gardener lives in Groblersdal. Well, not really. His family lives there. Um, not quite. His children and some Auntie or Granny live there. Anyway that's where he has built his house.
He and his wife live in a tiny rented shack in the backyard of somebody elses house in Mamelodi.
Groblersdal is very far away, but the land is cheap, but there are no jobs. Mamelodi is close to where the jobs are, but the land is expensive.
Sad. Kids growing up without their mom and dad. Sad, but nothing to do with me.
I hope I can get a good price for my house when I sell it.
The person with some severe personal / mental / alcohol / whatever problems. Their problems ensnare you and you cannot resolve them even if you wanted to. Maybe with a huge dint of your time, love and a hefty dint of your money. Maybe. If magically their personalities changed and the sun rose in the west...
Better not to get involved.
So much better that it is years since you last actually spoke to someone on a bus.
If someone asks you something in the street, you say "No thank you" and step around them. No need to wait to hear what the big sob story is. They want money. You know that. No need to wait. Just give it or not. Don't waste yours or their time. Its all a lot more pleasant that way.
It snowed once in Johannesburg. I mean really properly snowed so you could make snowballs and snowmen.
It last snowed like that something like 14 years previously and hasn't happened in the many years since.
People talked to each other on the busses. Busses forgot their time tables. They stopped and the passengers got out and threw snowballs at each other.
People laughed and talked in the streets. They played with strangers.
The snow went away the next day
Jo'burgers haven't talked to each other since then.
Excuse me. I'm crying. I'll start typing again just now.
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