MONDAY, 18 MAY 2020
Comedians and actors, Jerry Stiller (born 1927) and Fred Willard (born 1939) recently passed away. I personally found both of these actors funny. I also saw what other people wrote about them.
I thought how precious their legacy is.
Can you imagine this is what is ultimately written on your headstone, or in your obituary:
“He lived. He was a nice guy – and really funny! Then he died.”
TUESDAY, 19 MAY 2020
There are reasons why we would have a better life if we lived in South Africa rather than in Taiwan. Family and old friends, barbecue, dozens of products you find in the local supermarket or bakery that you can’t find in Taiwan, a greater variety of natural scenery in South Africa, a better selection of restaurants, better pizza …
However, one reason why living in Taiwan – especially in the city – is a hundred times better than city life in South Africa is transportation, and the fact that one is not trapped in a suburb stripped of businesses. I ride my bike ten minutes from home to buy a container full of cooked food. When I have to leave for my classes in the late afternoon, I ride for twelve minutes to a subway station, then sit and read on the train for twenty minutes. The supermarket is a ten-minute walk from our apartment. The bank is seven minutes away by bike. There are several other eateries and coffee shops less than ten minutes’ walk from our apartment. If we want to go somewhere on the weekend, we take my wife’s scooter. If we want to go to a neighbouring town, we take the subway, and then the regular train. And if we want to go to Taipei – a distance of 350 kilometres, it only takes us an hour and a half on the high-speed train.
Compare that to South Africa – if you are fortunate enough to live in a middle-class neighbourhood, it should be added. You open the fridge and see there’s no milk. Okay, you get the car keys, put on some pants and a shirt and shoes, and walk out to the garage. Pull out the car. Open the gate and hope no one jumps from behind a bush to hijack your car. Close the gate. Start driving to the store. Stop. Drive. Stop. Drive. Turn left. Stop. Wait. Drive. Stop. Drive. Stop. Drive. Stop and wait and say no to people who want to sell you stuff. Drive a hundred or two hundred meters. Stop. Wait. Drive. Finally you’re at the mall. Find parking. Lock your car. Step inside the store, get your milk, pay, and walk out. Give the guy who says he looked after your car a couple of rand, drive the same way back home. Stop … wait … drive … stop …
After all these years, there are still things I miss about South Africa, in addition to missing my family. But I doubt I’ll ever get used to that aspect of urban existence. No, should we ever go back to South Africa, it’s either a small town in the countryside for us or a cow in the backyard. And a vegetable garden.
WEDNESDAY, 20 MAY 2020
The other day we socialised with a hot shot Taiwanese businessman. He’s a few years younger than me, drives a luxury sports car, and his wallet bulged with cash (didn’t mean to notice). He took us out for dinner to a place that smelled of expensive perfume, and where one enjoys delicious finger food with exotic cocktails.
Now, I still have to learn things about making money and about business he’s already forgotten. But I did observe that he was quiet when the topic turned to something other than money or business. He was quite interested when I talked about history, and asked me about music and movies.
I realised this morning that someone – maybe like him; I don’t know him well enough to say – probably will look at himself at some point and conclude that he has made it – in an area where most people dream of making it someday. Another few years of success like the last few years, and he never has to work again in his life.
And then, at a cocktail party one day, it hits you: Just having a lot of money is not enough – not if everyone in the room is loaded. You find people talking about art, movies, other countries, history, religion, politics. And not in pseudo-intellectual ways. You get the strong impression people are really interested in these topics. That’s when you realise that money is just one manifestation of the process of becoming a fuller version of yourself – just one part of the pursuit of your full potential.
THURSDAY, 21 MAY 2020
Last night (actually this morning seeing that I go to bed after 2 am), I dreamt a somewhat surreal painting.
The scene is a school, with a large open area in front of school buildings that look like the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Rows of pupils walk in light blue uniforms everywhere.
In the foreground (me, the dreamer, is apparently sitting on a bench on the edge of the painting) two scenes are playing out. One is a film about the life of Marlon Brando. An important aspect of the story is that Brando was an alcoholic and a rebel. Different actors (one I recognised as Albert Finney) interpret the different conditions of Marlon Brando’s drunkenness.
The other scene in the foreground is rows of soldiers in World War I-style khaki uniforms marching to a battlefield.
On the horizon, a huge balloon appears in the shape of the Earth. Just as everyone’s attention is on the balloon, it disappears – note, it doesn’t explode; it’s just gone.
The final scene is soldiers returning from a battlefield. Some of them carry wounded soldiers on gurneys. One soldier has his wounded – or dead – comrade around the shoulder. As the attention is on this soldier for the moment, someone comments: “You can’t hold on to your first death.”
And then I woke up.
FRIDAY, 22 MAY 2020
At the end of my first year in Taiwan, in November 1999, I bought myself an expensive Japanese camera – as reward for working from morning to late at night, and because I thought I would look less poor when I went to South Africa the next month.
In March 2000 I had to go to South Africa again, this time for my younger sister’s wedding. To show the family more of what my neighbourhood looks like, I took a bunch of photos. And because I thought it would be artsy, I bought a black and white film to capture the images.
Long story short, here are some of the photos:
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