Here I am sitting in the lounge at O.R. Tambo Airport, listening to a motley collection of languages and accents, distractions on every side, attempting to write a blog before guilt overwhelms me and I become a Roman Catholic for the sheer relief of doing penance. This is not meant as an insult to any of my Catholic friends! The absolute light-hearted joy of guilt relief from being granted absolution is very appealing at this moment. You will notice that I have not actually sinned by being late with my blog yet again, so I do not need divine forgiveness. THAT I am able to do due to much practice. No, it is the horrible awareness of the media department, Emma in particular, flipping the pages of their diaries day after day, watching May creep closer to June, with NO BLOG in sight. So I have been prodded by my conscience, as obnoxious as nails on a blackboard, into putting index finger to iPad!
On my way to Joburg from Durban, I read something in the newspaper that gripped my imagination. Reading a newspaper on an aeroplane is not for the fainthearted. Imagine being squeezed into a narrow seat next to an overflowing neighbour, tray table laden with an assorted collection of food, condiment packets, bottles, glasses and plastic cutlery, cunningly encased in plastic wrappers that defy logic, strength, and skill to open so the contents can be extricated, and you will realize that only the vaguely insane will add a broad leaf newspaper to the mix. But of course I HAVE to do it every time I fly. Who knows what juicy piece of trivia I could miss should I choose to forego the offer of a free paper.
Sure enough I would have missed this story. Two fishermen in a ski boat, 15km off Zinkwazi, were fishing from their 6 metre boat, intent on enjoying their day. The boat was powered by two outboard motors. One of the men had just moved from where he had been seated between the motors, disentangling his line, when a 5 metre great white shark leapt (? Do sharks leap!), out of the ocean, smashed down on their boat and began chomping into the fibre glass between the motors where the man had been seated. It continued to attack the boat for a while before swimming off to attack another boat in the vicinity. This is almost enough to put one off the joys of fishing, but not quite.
What has this to do with anything? Well, a couple of things! For one, sharks happen! At any given moment of tranquillity, we can hear the smashing of jaws, and it is very comforting to know that angels are on guard. So we can continue to fish for fun, and not allow one bad shark to make us live in suspicion of every shadow in the ocean. And second, it sobers me to know that one day something far worse than a great white is going to smash into this world, and there will be no escape. So get as many people as you can into YOUR boat as you can.
God bless you and happy fishing,
Fiona
On my way to Joburg from Durban, I read something in the newspaper that gripped my imagination. Reading a newspaper on an aeroplane is not for the fainthearted. Imagine being squeezed into a narrow seat next to an overflowing neighbour, tray table laden with an assorted collection of food, condiment packets, bottles, glasses and plastic cutlery, cunningly encased in plastic wrappers that defy logic, strength, and skill to open so the contents can be extricated, and you will realize that only the vaguely insane will add a broad leaf newspaper to the mix. But of course I HAVE to do it every time I fly. Who knows what juicy piece of trivia I could miss should I choose to forego the offer of a free paper.
Sure enough I would have missed this story. Two fishermen in a ski boat, 15km off Zinkwazi, were fishing from their 6 metre boat, intent on enjoying their day. The boat was powered by two outboard motors. One of the men had just moved from where he had been seated between the motors, disentangling his line, when a 5 metre great white shark leapt (? Do sharks leap!), out of the ocean, smashed down on their boat and began chomping into the fibre glass between the motors where the man had been seated. It continued to attack the boat for a while before swimming off to attack another boat in the vicinity. This is almost enough to put one off the joys of fishing, but not quite.
What has this to do with anything? Well, a couple of things! For one, sharks happen! At any given moment of tranquillity, we can hear the smashing of jaws, and it is very comforting to know that angels are on guard. So we can continue to fish for fun, and not allow one bad shark to make us live in suspicion of every shadow in the ocean. And second, it sobers me to know that one day something far worse than a great white is going to smash into this world, and there will be no escape. So get as many people as you can into YOUR boat as you can.
God bless you and happy fishing,
Fiona
Awesome!
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