Action in Africa

I write because I have something to say….. P.S. I’m Back

March 15, 2007 By: action Category: Miscellaneous

We’re going to the SHOW!

September 12, 2006 By: action Category: Miscellaneous

Thanks to strong pitching, stellar defense and active bats the Cards are heading to the RHMRBL Championships. Waylon and Jordan both showed up with their A games. Good job boys. I hope the weather warms up cause these night games are a killer with Jack Frost nipping at your nose, toes and everything else he can froze! (OK so I am no poet or am I????)

Good effort by the A’s who made this an excellent series. Both games were close and Booth and Zaretsky pitched great games. Oh to have my youth back.

Lets kick it up a notch and kick some pirate a$$! Its showtime baby!

Sorry guys but its game face time we can be friends again after the series ends.

GO CARDS GO!

Action Out!

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Why has it been so long??????

September 12, 2006 By: action Category: Action in Africa, Miscellaneous

Am I lazy or am just busy? Can’t really answer that one, actually who am I kidding its been a bit of both. I have to admit I have been suffering writers block and a mild case of writers cramp. Ahh my ailing fingers! Literally! My return to the gym has my fingers absolutely killing me. I know, I know “Suck it up” and climb harder. Anyhow heres the dillio …….

Bye Bye London….

So there I was sitting on a bus at 4 something AM on my way back to my cousins house after a Saturday night outing with Morgan. Stay awake, stay awake was all that was going through my head as I sat on the top floor of the bus. What a mind boggling experience while trying to sober up. The other party goers on the bus were looking ruff(er). I managed to stay awake long enough to get to my stop. 5 AM I get home and crash. Only to wake up at 9 AM feeling fresh and revitalized! * Action Survival Tip: Drink lots-o-water after the club/bar/evening at Guidos! H2O does the body/head good! And believe me it will be your best friend!

So I contact Arn and Shaun and we agree to meet up at 6 at the Trafalger Hilton in London. So begins the final chapter to our African adventures……. Well not quite yet…. Before I can leave I have to see my cousin Jackie and her kids before I leave. Sounds fair besides my London kin are a cool bunch. What I did not know about this little visit was that due to a miracle or devine intervention as some would say I would be attending a lingerie party!!! Go figure it seems anytime I am in London and visit my family they have some kind of party happening. So I get to the party and I find out they are selling womens lingerie but there was not a runway with models. Darn! Oh well what can you do??? my only suggestion is for Jackie to get more mens wear. I don’t wear womens undergarments no matter how soft and cozy they are. But don’t worry I still love you.

After a couple hours of sorting through the inventory and giving advice about what the ladies should buy and what men prefer it was time to say goodbye and meet up with the crew at the hotel. My cousin called a cab for me and it must have taken the joker about 45 minutes to arrive. First they said 10 minutes but the idiot got lost. Idiot you say? How can I be so cruel? Well its quite easy to be honest with you. You see London has to have the best cab drivers I have ever seen. They have to study and take a series of exams to get their cab license. Of all the cab drivers I have had in London, not ONE ever got lost. This guy was a fraud. I told him where I was headed and he did not know where the Hilton hotel wass in one of the busiest parts of the city. He even went as far as to pull over get out of the car and use the headlights as light so he could see the map. He was so bad that he couldn’t even look at the map inside the car with normal roof lights. Now I am late. We finally find the hotel after he once again has to get out of the car to ask someone where to go. Now ask me if he dropped me at the door?????? NO he did not. He did not know how to get back to the front of the building so the doorman had to come and help me with my bags. Was there a tip for him you ask? Yes there was…… Don’t ever pick me up again!

So I go into the hotel only to find a happening bar and DJ in the lobby/lounge. This hotel was great. It was more of a nightclub then a hotel. When Morgan arrived he thought he was in the wrong building. I may even recall him asking the doorman if there was a cover charge. Anyhow the last night in London was going smoothly, nice party, nice hotel and now its time for a night on the town. We walked and walked and stopped for a pizza extrodinaire. We went back to the bar from the previous night and settled in with our favourite bartender who did not even ask what we wanted because he remembered. Now thats hospitality. Arn and Shaun decided that it was time to hit the sack but Morganator and myself weren’t ready to call it quits yet. We stayed and closed the bar and then became instant celebrities when Morgan pulled out his camera and started shooting random people (with their permission of course). Some thought we were taking pictures for MTV and some thought they were pictures for hotgirlsoflondon.com. Real smooth Morgan. We were invited to Bar Italia (I guess there has to be one in every city) where we ran into this crazy but cool Turkish guy. He kept us going for a while but fatigue was beginning to set in. Besides it was 4 AM. I had to make sure the camera man got home safely. Plus I was kind of confused as to my whereabouts and I did not want to get caught up by the street freeks of post party London. Aas you can see I made it back to the hotel safe and sound and back in the T.Dot. Heathrowe ariport was terrible do to recent terror threats but we managed to get by. Luckily the flight was delayed because it took a looooong time to get into the airport and through security.

Peace

Action Out!

P.S. I pledge to keep up my blogs and to do a good deed most everyday. At least when I can so stay tuned.

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Back on the Block

August 24, 2006 By: action Category: Action in Africa

What’s up y’all

Thirtyfive days ago I set out on a journey to build a house, meet some new people, see how things are on the other side of the world and to help make a difference in the lives of those who need help more than you and I. Well I believe I can tell you that I accomplished all of that and then some. The last four and a half weeks was like a roller coaster ride that stopped at the peaks to let you ponder and see what was ahead and then the rush back down into the valley, complete with corkscrew turns and loop-d-loops as well. Would I hop on the ride again?? Of course I would and probably in the front car with my hands in the air as well.

I had the oppourtunty to work and get to know a lot of great people. When we started we wished we had more high tech tools to get the job done quicker and easier. Well for me also known in Zambia as Mr. Chelenga, it really didn’t make a difference to me. But for the rest they knew it was going to be some hard work. When all was said and done the tools we had were sufficient and the job was well done. Due to the limited supplies we worked together as a team and built two ladders and sure they weighed 80 lbs each but they worked. This forced us to work closer together and side by side for two weeks putting the roof on a house from scratch. No prefab materials, just the good old fasioned hammer and nails, nails and more nails. Because of this we got to know each other really well. Sure Brady and Shaun do crooked work but Denise, Sharla, Arnold and myself are perfectionists and it showed with our quality of work. Boy those girls can drive a nail. I feel sorry for any man who rubs them the wrong way. Did I mention the powersaw only had a blade big enough to cut through only 3/4 of the oil stained, wet and hard to cut wood? well now I’m telling you and Dave, Ted and the Eric the chief made out well with what they had. I have to admit it was scary at times seeing Eric on the roof and standing on 4inch boards but that man sure knows how to hammer. Hes definitely got mad (carpentry) skills. He even worked a whole day with one soleless shoe. Thats right his shoe sole fell off in the morning and he worked the whole day like that. What a trooper.

Even though I did not get to spend as much time with Christine and Marlene our trip to Victoria Falls provided a few more days to get to know each other. And I have to say Christine is a real team player. Both ladies provided laughs and insite during the whole trip. Christine you would be a great poker player and I definitely wouldn’t play you for money with that poker face.

The local Zambian workers were great as well. These guys can seriously work hard. Everything they do is buy hand and scratch including the massive septic tank the dug by hand. This thing was at least 10 to 15 feet deep, about 10 feet wide and 50 - 70 feet long. I may stand corrected but I know I am not off by far. Imagine using a shovel to dig your own swimming pool????
South Africa is a beautiful country but like in all countries the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer and here it is to the 1000th degree. There is a lot of work that has to be done there as well as for most of Africa. One thing that intrigued me was the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto. This hospital has 3 500 beds, 11 000 nurses and 500 doctors. And believe it or not it is still expanding. After seeing the hospitals in Zambia I have whole new respect for those people who work there. And we think we have it bad with our healthcare system.

If you ever get a chance to go to South Africa and drive the garden route and visit Cape Town do not pass on the oppourtunity. All I can say is breath taking, beautiful, spectacular, etc.. Don’t forget the safari! And definitely don’t forget to take your time and live and breath the rich culture. All the wine you can imagine and its cheap too. Nothing like going to the bank machine and withdrawing 5000 bucks and then seeing another 20 000 in your account. I’m rich %@#$*! enjoy and savour the feeling at least until you go home and do the conversion.

I would like to thank Ted and Alice Price for your inspiration and strong will to do what they did to honor the memory of Wayne. Getting this team together was a phenominal job and you both did a wonderful job at making everyone feel like a family. And I couldn’t thank them without thanking John Chalkas for making this all possible and organizing our time in Zambia. Lets not forget the rest of the team Denise, Arnold, Shaun, Christine, Marlene, David, Andy, Eric, Sharla and Brady (you two are great sports). Mary thanks for the espresso’s. Rochelle your pretty cool but you need to work on your rice crispy bricks. Actually you can probably market them to construction companies. Just get it patented and you will be a millionaire overnight.

Shalini you were a great addition to the South African adventure team. Thanks for your sense of humour and tolerence. I just hope the African Killer bugs and baboons are nicer to you now that your back in the T Dot. PENGUINS!

I would also like to thank all of the family and friends who gave me the support to do this. Your words of support and inspiration mean a lot to me and I thank you for that. Thanks to all of those who donated to this cause. It was great to see the generosity of everyone who I approached. Sorry I was not able to get to everyone who wanted to donate but time was limited. If you still want to help its never too late.

Last and definitely not least I want to thank Julie for all she has done for me. Thanks for your support from beginning to end. You were right there for me from the beginning, you worked hard at the fundraiser and made me proud. You taught me a valuable lesson in life that I will never ever take for granted. Thanks for opening my eyes.

Well thats all folks it was a great time and I hope you enjoyed the updates. As promised to all families involved I looked after your loved ones and made sure they all got home safe and sound. Now do me a favour and look after them while they are at home. By the way I am still looking at an Andy sitcom. Thanks again and stay tuned for more Action blogs. This is the home of Action Adventures no matter where I am. So when the title “Action in Africa” changes its not that I have signed off, its because I’m not in Africa stupid! Just kidding your not stupid.

Peace

Action Out!

P.S. Sorry about spelling and grammer the spell check doesn’t work. Patrick I need your help AGAIN! Thanks brother for making “Action in Africa” and lotug.com a reality. You rock! Oh Yeah!

P.S.S. Sorry but there is one more blog to come How could I forget Part II of the Morgan in London Adventure.

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The Action Continues

August 19, 2006 By: action Category: Action in Africa

Bonjourno

When last I gave you an update it was at a crappy airport terminal internet kiosk while waiting to board our London bound plane in Jo’burg. Well we are now in London (at least I am). Arny and Shaun are preparing for detox out on the country estate with Joan and Lenny. Based on our phone conversation yesterday afternoon Lenny had started them on a steady slow drip IV of the finest beer Royston has to offer. All in preparation for their evening at the local pubs and legion. Lovely Joan has prepared the rubbish bins for the late night and early morning runoffs. :oops: No wonder they required an extra recoup night in London.

As not to disappoint I joined my cousin Mark and Shawn Morgan for a night of in downtown London amongnst the drunks, punks, weirdos, freaks and of course the odd normal person. After hooking up with Morgan we began our tour de London. Within the first 10 minutes some crazed drunk lunitic stepped on my tow, bumped into me and tried to pick a fight! and all in the same motion. Lucky for him his friend had to settle him down and whisk him away. If not my my two body guards of a total combined weight of 224 3/4 lbs would have made fast work of him. Shortly after that (63 seconds to be exact) I was hit from behind by an aggressive baby carriage weilding 4 foot 5 inch Arabic woman. Or was it an Asian or white woman???? Who knows it was dark and she was small and speaking some jibberish that I could not make out yet alone understand. Either way she knocked me and several others out of her way and carried on through the crowds. All I was thinking was what is this woman doing on the party streets of London with her baby so late at night? All Morgan was thinking was kick her you know what and teach her some manners! I don’t know what was in the air last night but I knew it was affecting the crowds and now it affecting Morgan. We moved on and that was that. After hours of wondering the streets we found a bar that would let us in. Apparently you can only go into most of these bars as a couple (mixed couple that is!). After 3 tries the forth was a charm. “Come on in but it will cost you £15 each” said the doorman. Are you nuts $30 each??? What the ????? Anyhow we negotiated him down to a reasonal price. We were entertained by the Tom Cruise wannabe bar tender who flipped bottles, juggled glasses, stacked drinks one on top of the other, flipped tips over his head and danced with the patrons. This guy had it all including a bad accent and ego to match. Either way he served for great entertainment almost as good as the video girl dancer and Doorag wearing Micheal Jackson wannabe dancer. :roll: After a few beers it was home time. An hour later the bus finally came and it was home sweet home. Morgan has family business today so we will try and pick up where we left off tonight. He’s such a bad influence.

So here is an update from last week.

The adventures continued with rock climbing on Table mountain in Cape Town. It was an increndible experience. All climbing should be done on sandstone. So grippy so static. It was nerve wracking at certain points like the 20+ foot traverse complete with dripping water. But stronger nerves and deep breating prevailed. Mental note try not too look all the waydown and you will feel much better. I also did my first 12 move. I still don’t believe it was a 12 but my guide said it was. I will verify that in the guide book later. I won’t go into more details here but it was awesome. The funniest had to be at the top of the mountain where you board and unboard the cable cars. People were freaked out when they saw us come up over the side. It was definitely a show stopper.

Next it was off to the Bongani game lodge adjacent to the famous Kruger National Park for our safari. And what a safari it was. The lodge was incredible and we stayed in small cottages in and amongst the wildlife. Thats right there were no fences here. At night we had to be escorted by security to and from our cottage. It was amazing. We did 2 morning 3 evening safari’s that were out of this world. We were up at 5 am for our morning safaris and they were definitely worth it. We were treated to seeing elephants, rhinos, giraffs, zebras, porcupines, hihenas, etc. But unfortunately no cats. The closest we came to cats were lion tracks on the road. And a leopard sighting at the lodge. Great to know that there were leopards hanging around our sleeping quarters. 8O But what more can I expect on this trip. Danger is my middle name. Although we missed the cats we were extremley lucky to see the rarely seen wild dogs. These bad boys were on the hunt after a fresh kill and we saw them at night. Truly and amazing sight to see.

So thats all for now. The countdown for the return to the T Dot has begun. See ypu soon and remember to increase the peace and stop the violence.

Keep Bouncin’

Action Out!

P.S. I will post more pictures when I return home.

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Still Bouncin!

August 17, 2006 By: action Category: Action in Africa

Whats up y’all

Its been a while and lots have happened. Unfortunately internet access has been limited and we have been on the move. Heres a quick recap. Went to Capetown climbed table mountain, slept, ate, drank, got sick, stayed sick. Went to safari saw lots-o-animals still sick, but had lots o fun and saw many, many, many wild animals. Drove to Joburg ate, slept and am now at the airport on my way to London. I will fill you in with the details on the above later when I get to sit in front of a real computer that does not require 100 lbs of pressure on each key to type this message!

Tha gang is OK and see you soon. By the way funny how you bump into people in the airport. For you Rockheads Allister and Jeff are fine and on their way home. Whats a trip without bumping into someone you know on the other side of the world.

Peace

Action Out!

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The Great Cape Coaster

August 11, 2006 By: action Category: Action in Africa

Whaddup Y’all!

I’m back with another Action in Africa tidbit for you. If you were wondering where I sorry WE have been well here’s the dillio. Right now we are in Cape Town at the luxurious Waterfront Village. Very LARIE Digs (Spelling??). I’d show you som pics but can’t download so check it out at www.villageandlife.com. By the way larie = Stoosh = posh = fit for Action! Anyhow we have travelling from Port Elizabeth along the coast and through the mountains on the famous Garden Route. It was spectacular scenery. And I will try my best to get you some pics soon. Internet access was not available most days since we were doing some intense travelling and some intense adventuring. We B&B’ed the coast and by the end of the trip we were known as Mr Jackson and entourage. The folks at the Zambezi Sun still refer to me as Mr Jackson of the famous Jackson family. They asked and I did not denie a thing I am of the famous Jackson family.

So back to the adventures. On this trek led by Karl our personal tour guide we saw and did many things. A brief history of the cape, South Africa and loads of laughs. We were inundated with many Karl Klassics. With Andy gone we needed replacement and Karl was the man. I will tell you a few later because I for got my notes in the apartment and its a 10 minute walk through the maze of buildings and oh yeah, its raining. :( Anyhow back to the story. We decided to do something crazy on Tuesday or was it wednesday???? my mind has not been the same since… so were on our way to the monkey farm when we stopped at the Bloukrans bridge (coordinates = S 33degrees 58.0957′, E 023 degrees 29.543′), which is home to the worlds highest (Guiness certified) bungie jump in the world! 216 metres above the river below. Shaun was intense and got out of the car and motored to get information about jumping off the bridge. The dude had the look of fire and desire in his eyes and there was no stopping him. He quickly buckled in his harness and we were off to the bridge were history would be made and underwear to be soiled. The walk alone was crazy. Nothing like walking across a bridge 216 m over the water on a steel grate that bounced as you walked. The middle of the bridge was full of electricity. We waited for others to jump and it was finally Shauns turn. Strap him up psych him out and carry him to the edge. 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 jump! and jump he did. A spectacular eagle spred winged dive with the grace of a seagul. It was all great until he tried the summersault when he bounced back up! Close but he almost lost his boys opn the miscue (and don’t worry its all on video). Good Superman. He was pumped and now it was time to pump up Arny to take the plunge. “Abolutely NOT!” Nutri-Lee likes his new found styles and was not about to ruin what he has worked so hard perfecting. So then it was common Duane ayou gotta do it the rush, the thrill, the adrenalin, your fans (Skreech!!!). Yes my fans low blow indeed. Soon all the guys were pumping me up and not to disappoint you guys it was now an Action Figure moment. Gotta represent so and keep it real (real dumb!). So I strapped up and prepared for the plunge. I had to sign the waiver on the bridge since I was just a spectator and I will have to admit I felt like I was signing my last will and testament. Anyhow I was up. I said my prayers and tightened my pants and it was time. I bounced to the edge looked down which I said I would not do and then 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 Jump! And there I was jumping off the bridge with the grace of the American Bald Eagle. I can’t describe the feeling, except the sudden stopped when you bounce reach the bottom and come to a dead stop. A little bit of a sensation on the stomach but a great feeling none the less. For that moment in time (30 seconds) I hadn’t a care in the world my mind was totally clear as I watched the water below me get closer and closer. Yet I didn’t feel like I was moving at all. Just suspended in time. What a feeling we decided to do it a gain but this time backwards and oh what a feeling this was as you look up at the faces of the guys who just through you off the bridge. And oh what a feeling on the way up as the wedggie is crushing the family jewels! ;( Mr Giggles was definitely not giggling this time round!).

So it was off to Monkeyland! a rehabilitation centre for monkeys of all sorts. Shaun was almost beaten up by Elvis an old, mentally challenged mini ape who didn’t like the way Shaun was looking at him. Not to mention Shaun was sitting beside his bed. BAd Shaun. Lots of cute critters here and none of which were in cages. It was a thrill and even weirder to be followed through a forest by monkeys and lemors everywhere. Lots of pics too.

Next day it was a whale watching tour of the harbour. I should have learned my lesson in Australia and stayed ashore with Karl. By about half way through the tour I was ready to toss my cookies but we had to keep on looking at the those damn whales and seals who I know were laughing at me. Anyhow I survived and did not give into the rocky wave ride. And that was not bad enough in the evening we did a sunset cruise. Luckily in the lagoon and on steady waters.

Yesterday it was a loooong drive with a stop at the ostrich farm. Interesting but boy are those birds dumb they eat anything and everything they can put in there mouths.

So here we are today… This morning we had a wine tasting session at La Motte winery at 9:30am. I felt like an alcoholic but hey when in South Africa do as the Germans do… drink, drink, drink! Good wine but now I feel sick. The guys are out doing a walking/bus tour and I am recovering.

So there you have it. We are alive and well and hope to do some rock climbing on table mountain tomorrow. Thats if we can see it of course through all this fog. Lets pray for more rain. Hope the Seeds of Hope crew all made it home safe and sound. I heard the luggage didn’t make it but lets keep our fingers crossed that it is ion Eric’s possession now.

Conagrats to the McBurneys and your new arrival. Like you were going to have a boy! The Molinaro genes are too strong brother!

Peace Out!

Action Out!

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Wild, wild world of Livingstone

August 06, 2006 By: action Category: Action in Africa, Miscellaneous

Its me again and for those who are asking no I am not going home yet and yes I will keep up my blog.

First and foremost hi mom, sis, bro, aunts, uncle, and aunts. Don’t worry I have not forgot about you and all is well. My thoughts are with you and Auntie Myra get well soon.

OK now to the issue at hand. This hotel is crazy. I woke up the other day and went outside and decided to go for a walk at Victoria falls which is a 5 minute walk away. Did I not walk around the corner and there to greet me were 5 zebras. It was incredible. They were just eating grass on the hotel grounds. And it didn’t end there we walked around the corner and there monkeys running around everywhere. I was thinking about taking one home with me but these guys are full of bugs and very mischevious. Actually they are punks but hold on a minute. We walked another 2 minutes and ran into a couple of giraffs. It was incredible to see all of this within 5 minutes and no they were not in cages. And no we were not in cages either. Except for Shaun and his caged fascinations! but thats another story.

So back to the monkeys. We were standing on my balcony and looking over the edge and saw a couple little punk kids throwing rocks at a monkey. We told those little blue eyed devils to stop throwing rocks at the poor monkeys. Well….. Later that day I had to eat my words. One of the monkeys climbed up on to someones balcony and decided to go into the room since the door was ajar. The guy chased the monkey out and hoped over on to the next balcony. Whe he did that anothe monkey ran into his room and took some food. We laughed as the poor fool chased that monkey out as well. It was funny but I still felt a little better about the boys throwing rocks. Now hold on for the real kicker. So we are eating lunch today and the Monkeys are everywhere jumping on tables and trying to steal food. It was hilarious watching the the staff chase the monkeys all over the place. Soon things became quiet but too quiet. We noticed the security guards running all over the place and everyone watching intensely. We soon found out what they were chasing. It was a hug baboon. It was running across the courtyard and in and out of peoples rooms. This bad boy gave me the creeps. It was bigger than the poor Zambian fella that Brady put out of the the soccer game. It eventually ran away and things appeared to be cool again, until we went to our rooms. As we walked through the hall Arnold noticed Shalini’s room door was open. By the way welcome Shalini to our African Adventures part II. Anyhow we went inside and her stuff was all over the place. Later we found out that, thats just how she is. Messy, Messy, Messy! Anyhow some of it was contributed to the baboon that opened her balcony door and ransacked her room for food. Believe or not but the baboon took the door off its hinges and broke in. It stole the jube jubes that she was going to give me and now I am very angry. :( Now I am looking for rocks to throw at the little b’s. Sorry about the language mom but i’m damn mad. I haven’t had candy in over 2 weeks and I am going crazy!

Anyhow Victoria falls and LIvingstone is incredible. We took the booze cruise today and saw lots of wild life includding hippos, elephants and crocks. So I can’t complain. Besides it wasn’t my room!

Keep Bouncin!

Action Out-of money for this overpriced internet access!

P.S. I am working on the pics so relax!

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On the move

August 06, 2006 By: action Category: Miscellaneous

Greatings and salutaions from the Zambezi Sun Hotel in Livingstone, Zambia.

We have left the Buseko Home in Ndola and are beginning the next leg of our trip. Leaving Buseko was a very difficult time. Not only was it hard saying goodbye to the great people I was privileged to work with and share this experience but also the kids and staff at the Buseko Home. I would like to thank Ted, Brady, Sharla, Christine, Eric, Marlene, Shaun, Arnold, David, Denise, John and of course Andy for working so hard. How do 12 people live in a house with 1 washroom and not kill each other??? I don’t know but somehow we did. I don’t want to forget the 13th member of our team who looked after us and called our loved ones and let them know we were OK. Thanks Mom #2 Alice Price. Although you were not here physically you were with us every step of the way. Without you non of this would have been possible.

It was difficult to say goodbye to the kids but they took it in stride. I thank them all for the comments and the letters. Why are goodbyes always so hard? I have to admit if I had to choose one of these kids to take home with me I would have to take them all. They were amazing kids who I know will go on to be amazing adults. Everyone had there own feelings about the good byes but I will never forget the little boy whos name I will not mention came up to me and pulled me asside before I boarded the bus and asked me “Uncle Duane are you going to come back?” How do you answer a child this question? It took me a few seconds but I did find the words to comfort him without making any promises. Now that was one of the hardest things I had to do.

Now going back a day ….. Before we left we had a dedication for Wayne’s House. It was a great ceremony which moved the crowd. Both Ted and David uttered the words of a man who dedicated his life to helping others. Thanks guys for a job well done. The day would not have been complete without a BBQ and a game of soccer, where it was the Canadians vs the Zambian National Team. We presented the workers at the jobn site with a soccerball and of course we had to play them as well. Damn these guys were good. I thought we were up for a Zambian a$$ whooping, but we managed to hang in there and lose by a final score of 5-4. These guys could go all day. I have to admit I as well as 5/6th of the team required oxygen and H2O after the first 2 minutes. The player of the game was Brady who managed to (ready for this?);

i. take out and step on one of the Zambians (poor Zambian weighed about 120lbs soaking wet)

ii. Score a goal

iii. Whipe out on a spectacular kick

iv. Tear his shortsd right up the crotch

v. Take a very hard kick ball square in the family gewels

vi. All while wearing flip flops.

Now how do you spell trooper??? And yes yours truly scored a spectacular header goal. Nothing like taking a rebound of the goal keepers face and heading it in to the open goal. Perhaps my victory lap with my shirt over my head was a bit much considering the goal keeper was wincing in pain. I sure hope his nose is ok. GOOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!

Peace

Action Out!

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Just when I thought I’d seen it all…..

August 02, 2006 By: action Category: Action in Africa

Whats up y’all

Back again with another tale of freaky little creatures and don’t worry we are all safe and sound. Denise, Shaun and Brady almost wet their pants but hey, not everyone is cut out for creepy crawlies. While standing on ladders and scaffoldings putting up the ceiling in one of the house we were confronted with a 2 inch hornet sitting on the ledge staring us down with its hundreds of eyes. First man down was Shaun, next Denise high tailed it and then it was Brady! Let me tell you about Brady! The guy weighs about 210 with arms the size of goodyear industrial sized tires. But man can that boy move in moments of distress. He jumped off of the middle of our homemade ladder, dipped and dogged his way around and under the scaffold and out the door. Man hes got game! We went back in the room and we saw the small dragon up on the roof building a nest. I removed it in the most humane way possible at the time and we contiued to work until we realized that the bugger had friends. Needless to say we were inundated with several visits by some angry relatives. When we got home Brady had to go out back and do something. When we went outside in the morning we saw his boxers hanging on the clothes line. I will try and post some pics, of the hornet that is.

We visited the craft market in Kitwe today and what a show Andy put on over there. Andy reminded me of Paris Hilton at a Louis Vatton warehouse sale! Buy, buy, buy was the only thing going through his head. He was buying everything in site. He almost bought a chicken before someone stopped him. Rochelle (House Mother) had to tag along with him so he didn’t get suckered by a vendor. The man is a saint he managed to buy enough items to feed an entire village for 2 months. I have to thank Rochelle and Roslynn for helping us barter at the market. Roslynn has been great to us since we arrived. She prepares our lunches and dinners while we are at the job site. God bless her.

Speaking of meals, last night was a treat. It was Africa day and we had fried catepillars for appetizers and dessert. I had a few and have to admit it wasn’t bad. They tasted like fish (sprat to be exact) but add a little chutney and scotch bonnet pepper and its game on. Not everyone shared my delights though. Christine (a.k.a. Cynthia) was not feeling the vibe at all. Judging by her facial expressions and her wanton for water I don’t think it was her idea of steak and potatoes. Next on the menu were little fish of which I can’t recall the name. Problem with the fish is that everyone sees them on trays fried and for sale in the markets, at the sides of the road and pretty well at every corner stand. Problem is they are always in the open air and usually covered in flies. Quite the site if I say so myself. Even though ours were cooked at home it still left a bad taste in many of the team members mouths! The kids however were in seventh heaven! When they saw the bowls of catepillars and fish come there way there faces lit up like the forth of July. They polished it off and it was every child for themselves. The only thing they could say was (Mwango said this by the way) “I’ve had better, these were burned!” The rest of the meal was great unfortunately I am having a mental block so I can’t tell you the names of what we had. My bamba is horrible! Anyhow we had greens, a turned cornmeal type of potato thing and currid chicken. It was like being back in Jamrock! It just goes to show that brothas and sistahs all over the world love their greens.

The highlight of the day had to be on our drive home from Grace Academy. I brought some soccer balls with me thanks to the Young’s, Barb and the Richmond Hill Soccer Club and have distributed them to the kids at Buseko Home, Baluba School (bush school) and to a special group of kids that I see everyday playing soccer with a ball made of old rags in a small field beside the road. I don’t know if they all go to school but I see them in the morning and then in the evening on my way home. This was another one of those life experiences that I will never forget. Laxon our driver, foreman and gentleman extrordinaire warned me that the kids may end up fighting over the ball when I give it to them and it could get ugly. I was prepared to see a brawl but hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Anyhow we pulled over and when I jumped out from the back of the truck, I called the kids over to the truck. They all ran over more excited to see the white folk in the back of the truck then me (of course). I pulled out the ball and told them the ball was for them. To them the sight of this ball was golden. It far overshadowed any look of joy that I have ever seen. It was incredible. I tossed them the ball and the kids cheered and yelled overwelmed with the fact that they had a real ball to play with. These kids were not have nots, they were the have nothings. But for this one moment in time they were the have everythings. They were the Donald Trumps of Ndola. They ran away kicking and chasing the ball. All I could do was watch in amazement. I gave another little boy a pump for the ball and he quickly took it and ran away. The other kids ran him down and I thought he was going to get a royal a$$ whooping. But he didn’t, instead what appeared to be the oldest girl in the group took the pump from him and scolded him. The oldest (biggest boy) grabbed the ball and brought all of the kids back to the where I was standing by the truck. When they came back the kids said “Thank you”. They could have run away and played but instead they came back to thank this stranger for a ball. It was great feeling that touched me and made me feel like a hero. Not even scoring the winning goal in the championship game could feel the way I felt at that moment in time. Even though it was something so small it felt like the world to me. Everyone in that truck felt something special when those kids came back. Before we left we took some pictures and I showed them how to use the pump. There was no language barrier here.

Peace!

Action Out-spoken!

P.S. More pictures of today on the way. Stay tuned!

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