My brother...... final edit / update

11h30 - 13 / 10/2006
Last night my "little" brother spent most of the night in agony. Extreme pain, and throwing up, until his wife drove him to the hospital in the wee hours of this morning.

They gave him something for the pain, and put him on a drip to get some liquids back into him.

This morning they wanted a urine sample. It was full of blood!

They think he might have kidney stones (has had one before).
So his wife calls me to say they can't do the xrays, cause they can't get authorization from the medical aid company, cause they has to evacuate their buildings yesterday cause of some foul smelling product making them sick.

So I call the medical aid. Fuck them. I don't care if they had a fucking terrorist bombing in their building. They need to make sure they have the required backups in place so their clients, like my brother can get the service HE PAYS FOR!!!!

I told them to call his wife immediately, and to do what needs to be done. And they did. And now he's had his xrays, and we wait for the doctors report.....

Salagatle!

12h30 -

Xrays are done. Stone in kidney, and one lodged in pipe between kidney and bladder, and another smaller stone in othe rkidney (won't be removed now). He's gone in to theatre, and we will know more soon......

Saturday - 14 Oct 2006 - 13hoo

Got a call to say he's fine, and out of hospital. Great news. Had me worried there! But he's ok.
So it's back to the grindstone for him, and the rest of us on Monday.

Good health to you bro!!!

Salagatle!

About the palm tree.....

Some years ago I was standing on a beach on the KwaZulu - Natal north coast somewhere, probably Ballito (look it up), and watched how this trunk of a palm tree washed up onto some rocks, and was pounded by the tide. It scraped up, held on for some minutes, then a large wave would pull it back into the sea. The next wave would lift it and throw it against the rocks.

I must have watched this for about an hour, and after leaving the scene, "wrote" a short story in my head about this palm tree. I never got to put it down on paper, and having remembered it recently, have now documented a revised version of my initial thoughts. The palm tree comes a long way with me, and in it I often see myself, and or other people who battle against all odds to survive.

I found this pic on google, and it's of the beach I refer to in the above blogg, and the rocks are the same one's... And no, I didn't ask for permission to use the picture. I figure if it's on Google, it's public domain...















But that's just me.

Salagatle!

The palm tree

13000 miles, and still no sign of land.
Water everywhere, salty, stinging, poisoning my body.
At least I am able to float.
But for how much longer?

Ships passing, not even giving me a second glance.
Storms, waves. Bitten by sharks and whales.
Tormented.
My life, surely, has ended.

But I will not give up.
There will be land, a beach, and a place to land, and rest.
A place to die.
With dignity

I see it in the distance.
And, for once, the wind is blowing me towards it.
What are the white waters I can see?
Rocks?

Oh, no, surely not.
The tide would have to turn first,
before I make my final approach.
Else, it will be all in vain.

My life will be smashed out of my bruised and battered body, and I will be broken up.
I need to hold back, for only a few more hours, till the tide is up.
Floating now is easy, it's staying alive that's hard.
Pounding waves, seething waters, turning tides.

At last I see my chance, my last gasp attempt.
I reach out to the beach, it reaches out to me.
Typically the sea is keen to empty it's bowels of all things foreign.
And I am one such object, so, dump me please!

Beached. Sand blown, water logged.
My system poisoned by the salt water.
My exterior ruined by the prolonged exposure to this harsh and unforgiving sun.
But, I have made it. I can die in peace.

Salagatle!

A second chance

When I first saw it , it was just a flash
Red, floating in the water
battered, beaten by the waves
Fighting back, dumped
A victim of the tide

Bravely it kept surfacing
Only to find it had been dragged back
But, valiantly it fought the waves
Survival uppermost in it's plan

I watched it's wet battle
And saw it come in close
So rushing into the water
I grabbed at it,
And swept it up, to safety

A child's beach spade, plastic, red.
A passing boy glanced at it
And I offered it to him
"Thanks" he said. And walked on.


Salagatle!

To blogg or not....

Been on sales University for two days.
So, have not been posting, or reading other bloggs.
But I'm back and will have some new stuff soon...

Salagatle!