I enjoyed your writng. You might find it interesting that a while back I hosted a couple from South Africa briefly while they were visiting here in the states. Their reactions were unforgettable. At the time I was living and working in a rural community know for rice farming. The scenery is similar to a television stuck on pause with a single horizontal line on it and the countyrside is littered with shotgun shack style housing from days gone by of sharecropping. It was not exactly the America you might see on CSI Miami. Then again, they don’t grow much rice in Florida either.

Your grandpa seems like a pretty wise man. Seeing as how I am getting a little older I also feel justified in passing along some observations which I have found to be useful provided that they are recalled from time to time. I hope you don’t mind.

How to speak like a lawyer / politician:

1) Never answer a question directly
2) Take credit for everything positive
3) Avoid personal responsibilty at all costs
4) Accuse opponets of being racist, homophobic, misogynistic or misanthraled and if they don’t know what the words mean then accuse them of being ignorant
5) Say you are the most open minded person in the world, even if you are not
6) Promise everyone everything
7) Be the best victim you can possibly be
Always interrupt your opponent
9) Claim to speak for everyone
10) Take several inconsistent positions on every issue so that you can never, ever, be wrong

With optimism for the future in Southern Africa and to a lekker World Cup

73’s

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