SECOND FAVORITE AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JOHN

This is my second favorite dahlia. This is the third year it’s remained in the ground and perhaps it’s time to dig it up and separate. It’s been a huge bush with big flowers in the last two years, but not so much this year. Perhaps it’s telling me it needs a bit of love and care. Sheesh, when I think about all the dahlias and lilies that would benefit from being dug up and replanted, I almost feel faint. But, the secret to this, if I manage to do it, is to do one or two at a time or just a section at a time. We’ll see what 2021 brings.

Today would have been our 54^th wedding anniversary. I’ve written other blogs about anniversaries and how I wished I’d been more amenable to celebrating the 50^th. We really did deserve to celebrate because we’d managed to stay together no matter what.

At this time, I also want to share the fact that there were some other men in my life. With the exception of one, they happened while John and I were separated. And there wasn’t a plethora of them because I needed to know the person before I could open my bedroom door. I remember one med student that came by for a piece of cheesecake because what I’d taken to work was gone by the time he got to the lab. I hardly knew him and was appalled that he thought the cheesecake was me. I served the actual cheesecake and sent him on his way.

The one man I was involved with while we were together but going through a very difficult time was wonderful. Aside from John, he was the only person for whom I ever felt a real attraction. We had so much more in common than John and I did, but he had one huge problem…alcohol. I believe I would have left John for him except for that and the fact I wouldn’t have an alcoholic help raise AJ.

I feel I need to share the fact I wasn’t a total innocent, because I think the last post where I really talked about John I was extremely angry and hurt because of a long-term relationship he had about which I knew nothing until I was going through John’s papers. There was no way John had any kind of an in-person relationship with that woman because I would have definitely known about it. She lived first in California and then Tennessee. So, telephone calls and letters/emails must have assuaged some kind of need John had that I could not fulfill. As for any other women with whom John dallied during our marriage, all I have to say to that is he always returned here and never stayed there wherever there was. I actually feel mostly sorry for those women. John was handsome, fun, flirty, complimentary and had sex appeal…how could they say no?

John did love me because he stayed with me. He did his best to protect me from knowing about those other women, but he/they didn’t take into account just how smart I actually am. While I’m only positive about three, including the one in Tennessee, there may have been others. I still remember what the first woman said to me the only time I talked to her. I had filed for divorce and wanted to let her know John would soon be available. By that time as far as I knew, they’d been involved for more than a year. She told me getting a divorce wouldn’t matter, that she’d already broken it off; said she’d come to the conclusion that he was never ever going to leave me. He really loves you and his son and there’s not a chance that will ever change.

So, on this, our 54^th anniversary, I’ve made the decision to let go of the past, to let the anger fade over old or new hurts and to remember all the good times and events and memories I shared with John. When we got married 54 years ago, tonight at 8:00 pm, we repeated vows…”…for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish….”  Following the pronouncement that we were husband and wife, we honored and preserved those, the most important vows, throughout our marriage. Over time, it was the “…forsaking all others….” we each managed to forget and break.

It does take two people to make a marriage. I believe John and I made and had a good marriage, maybe not for all 54 years, but for the majority. It is that majority I will continue to remember and to celebrate today.

FAVORITE DAHLIA AND IT'S BEEN A YEAR

     

        This is my very most favorite dahlia. It hasn’t fully opened yet as you can see the center is still closed. I think I got this one from the Michigan Bulb Company as part of a fire and ice collection. My second favorite (pics of that another time) also comes from that collection. Somehow, I planted this one adjacent the hummingbird vine  and the colors of both complement one another.

Today, at 3:05 pm, it will have been a year since John drew his last breath. As I sit here typing this, I’m trying very hard not to cry. My eyes are very watery and my nose wants to drip…and, NO, it’s not COVID. I seriously did not expect to feel this way at this point in time. I really thought I’d finished grieving.

Maybe that’s why I got shingles although it’s been weeks since the first symptom showed up, but I have no idea how my mind and body work when it comes to stress or the lack thereof. I do know that for the last month or more, I’ve had rather realistic dreams that include John.

One morning I wasn’t quite awake and snuggled back down because I could hear John and he’d let the dogs out. Another time, I was positive I heard him come in the front door. I’ve heard him talking, walking and a variety of other things, and in some cases, it’s come as a surprise to realize that it’s not really him, that it can never be him because he has died. I always feel a sort of pang when I come completely awake and to that realization.

A year ago when John died, I really had no idea about what I was going to do with my life. It was all too new. The idea I was free to make any choice I wanted hadn’t yet arrived in the forefront of my brain. I managed to get through John’s life celebration, my first illness without him, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. By the first of the year, I was beginning to accept and realize there was an entire world out there for me, myself and I to explore.

Of course, my life (or any of our lives for that matter) hasn’t exactly moved along the way I expected it to. That February cruise was to be the first of many fun times traveling hither, thither and yon. As I’ve written, I expected to have a huge garage sale and then sell my house. I had just begun to think about what I wanted to live in and where that would be when the shelter-in-place order came down.

I don’t know what the next year without John will bring me especially if the pandemic continues and continues and continues…I do know I’m grateful he’s not alive because of COVID. I know I’ll continue to miss him, and be lonely because of the pandemic. I’m sure I’ll continue to dream of him, to hear his voice, doors open and shut when I’m barely alert, but that’s okay. For those few moments, I don’t feel lonely. Instead, I feel safe and secure and positive everything will be just fine because that’s what John always told me…things will be just fine. And I know they will be, eventually, but I have to admit I don’t feel just fine today. Today, even though I didn’t expect it, I’m still grieving and missing and wanting.

TIGER LILY AND HAPPY TIMES

          My final lily of the year is the Tiger Lily. I don’t know how I ended up with so many in so many different places. I know last year I cleaned the lilies out of the big tub I had in front, but I didn’t think there were very many tigers in there. I love the way their petals fold back and the black dots on them. I wonder if they come in any color besides orange, but then they are probably not called tiger lilies.

       

        I posted about my mental state on Monday, but neglected to look at or talk about what’s actually coming up this week. Tomorrow, 8/12, it will be a year since John died. The day after would have been our 54^th anniversary. I’ve a feeling it’s going to be a roller coaster kind of week. And, unfortunately, there’s going to be no one, aside from the doggies, who can or will comfort me when that roller coaster is in the dips.

In some ways it seems like John’s death happened a long time ago, and in other ways it seems as though it just happened. And, as for 54 years of marriage, whoooooeeeeee, but that seems like a very very very long time ago. And, yet in other ways, when I think about how much we loved each other as we began our lives together, it’s as though it was just last week. We were so very happy so long ago in the beginning and really throughout most of our lives together.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ve been through some of my ups and downs, read about my anger, feelings of betrayal, and, yes, the love I had for John as well. Marriage and a life together is made up of so many different experiences and for this post, I’m going to choose ones that made me happy because, right now, that’s exactly what I need.

I loved sharing my apartment with John even though he didn’t stay 24/7 before we married. He did spend most weekends and some week nights depending on how tired he was after a day’s work. I remember the first meal he cooked for me. He got to the apartment first and when he picked me up and brought me back, there was baked chicken breast, mashed potatoes with butter and green beans. Up to that point, I didn’t know he could cook anything. He did continue to cook even after his health began to deteriorate…nothing fancy, but I surely appreciated his efforts.

John ALWAYS did the dishes. He liked to do them. He said they kept his hands soft and that must have been true because even with all the work he did using them, they never scratched my skin. He even managed to get some of the other husbands in our group to take on the dishes so the wives, tired from cooking, could relax. Even our sons grew up helping John with the dishes and whenever I host something here, it’s the sons who usually do the dishes.

Our honeymoon, which I’ve already written about, remains in my memory as a wonderful, golden time in a land where no one knew us, spoke our language for the most part, and gave us such wonderful one-on-one times together. The best coke I ever had was there…it formed ice crystals when John opened it.

Our puppy, Fang the wonder dog, was the first “child” we raised. Such a cutie that fit in my hand when we brought him home. Fang went every place we went for as long as he was alive. When AJ got big enough to toddle about, Fang was right there with him as though it was Fang’s job to keep him safe.

AJ’s birth…it wasn’t real until it happened and then the look on John’s face the first time he held his boy…words could not do it justice. It was a good thing I didn’t start on the announcements right away because between going home and coming back, John decided to change the spelling…Eric became Arik which became AJ (Johann) when he got to school and every class had six Erics.

Sex…I wrote an entire post about this. It was absolutely positively wonderfully GREAT. I miss it and am thankful we had it.

The way John spoiled Thor after he was born.  Drove me crazy sometimes, but he hadn’t been able to do that with AJ, so I think he made up for it with Thor. Now I can smile and laugh and even appreciate how Thor would turn and look at me with his fingers in his mouth and this big shit-eating grin on his face after Daddeee got him out of his crib for a cuddle.

The year John decided to grow strawberries and built this thing out of old tires. I still have the photo of his crop…one small and one medium strawberry…but I guess they tasted wonderful.

The display station John built when I sold macramé hangers at the elementary crafts fair. It was big and gorgeous and displayed my plants and hangers perfectly. One of the PTA ladies told me she could tell just from the way John looked at me that he loved me so much.

John taking on breakfast, get the kids to school duty since he was a morning guy and I wasn’t either a morning person or a guy. How he cooked dippy eggs with toast for his boys and encouraged them to eat.

AJ’s first driving lesson in the old 1970 VW Campervan. We’re at the ocean and John lets AJ get behind the wheel. I’m in the back and Thor’s leaning between the front seats. John’s directing, AJ’s trying and we end up mired in the sand. John gave some older teens some cash to pull us out to a firmer surface.

Every single one of the birthdays and holidays we shared with each other, our sons, our families and eventually with our son’s families. Each one was special, each one has photos, each one was a very happy time. Imagine, four years with just us and then next month, it will be 50 years with our first child. Each time was different and yet the same and yet so very special.

I just wrote about Kenya, so I don’t need to say much here. But we also went to China for almost three weeks where we were treated like royalty. That trip was the highlight of our lives I do believe. I’ll write more about it in another post.

If I were to get the photos out or begin to scroll through all the ones on this computer, I could undoubtedly fill pages and pages of good memories from my life with John, but I’m not going to do that. The ones here are the ones that popped to the forefront of my mind as I sat here typing.

SELF-PITY TIME

           It probably has something to do with my mental state which is the result of the pandemic, the shingles diagnosis, and maybe the medication, but when I was writing the Kenyan Safari, Post II, it occurred to me that none of the photograph albums or scrapbooks I’ve done over the last 50+ years are probably the least bit important in the long run.

Yes, I’ve kept photos of my parents and grandparents and other family over the years. I’ve even gone so far as to identify who is who and the year on the back. What’s going to happen to them once I’m gone? Is anyone going to really want to have them or even bother to go through and see if there’s anything they’d like to have. Especially when it comes to family and friends my sons never even met…what would be the point of hanging on to a photograph of Great Uncle or Aunt whoever? And, even then, say AJ and Thor want some of them, will Haley or Xander really give a rat’s ass once their father’s have passed on as well?

So many times when I’ve gone to antique stores and malls, I’ve seen really old photos that must have been important to someone at some point in time. At that point, they are for sale for pennies on the dollar or just being given away. The people and the memories that kept them alive are long gone and no one, including the person doing the selling, has any idea as to where or when or who. It always made me very sad. Now, I’m being sad on my very own behalf.

 I know that Haley will remember me far into the future because she grew up having Nana close by and doing things like shopping, plays, movies, holidays and birthdays together. She’ll also remember Pa because she was almost 18 when he died. Xander, on the other hand, isn’t going to remember Grandpa at all because he was only five when Grandpa died. It’s also likely he’s not going to remember his Nana because I haven’t seen him but twice, maybe three times, this entire year. With the pandemic, who knows when I’ll be able to take him to the zoo or have him overnight again. I may be such a stranger by then he won’t want to go anywhere with me.

I’ve also been to those estate sales and garage sales where they’ve hired a company to come in and price and sell the stuff. In most cases, the people who lived there have died and the children don’t want much of anything out of the house. Perhaps if I arrived early in the day, I wouldn’t see what a mess of everything the buyers have made of a variety of stuff, i.e., books, puzzles, bedding, towels, dishes, papers…if you can think of it, I’ve seen it in a big mess.

That’s one of the reasons I wanted to have a big garage sale and eliminate everything I could that the kids didn’t want. I don’t want to have strangers come in here and price stuff and then have dozens and dozens of strangers come through handling everything that’s meant something to me over the years. I can't explain how doing it my own self would be different, but somehow it would.

Still, it’s just stuff, right? The only problem is that I can take you through my house and in almost every instance I can tell you where or from whom a particular item came. I’ve kept these things a lot of times because they were gifts from people whom I cared about. When I’m gone, no one will remember who gave me what.

Okay, yes, I think I’m wallowing in a huge vat of self-pity as I write this, but it’s exactly how I’m feeling right now. And, I know I won’t continue to wallow for too long because it’s no fun, especially when there isn’t someone nearby who can hug me or offer me a Kleenex to dry my tears…but you have absolutely no idea how hard I seriously wish there was someone to comfort me.

Anyway, I have a good friend that when she heard about shingles, offered to send me a big ladder when I’m ready to climb my way out of a vat of self-pity were I to end up there. I actually didn’t think I would...just goes to show she knows me pretty well. I responded to her email by writing I hoped the ladder would be brought by several of those hunky firemen who pose for those calendars…that would almost make this worth it, and surely lift my spirits and bring a huge smile to my face. But, that’s not likely, so I’m just going to have to CHOOSE to get over this. I’m sure tomorrow’s post will be much more positive.

KENYAN SAFARI, PART II

          The next morning, we didn’t make the game drive. I had had a horrible night with terrible muscle cramps in my legs. John made me stay in bed and get more rest. Then, we lounged around the pool and used our binoculars and telescope to look out at the valley and the animals out there. It was very pleasant. 

Then we were on the road again. And, let me say something about the roads in Kenya, at least back then. They were horrible and the guide/driver drove very fast because that way the van didn’t go into every single little crevasse, it merely went from the top of one to the next. I only rode in the shotgun seat once and as soon as I saw how fast Timothy was going, I decided I’d never sit there again…there was no airlift to Harborview Hospital (or any hospital for that matter) clear out there.

There’s something else I want to speak to and that is the fact that with the exception of Anthony, all the guides (L-R, Tom, John, Timothy and Anthony) were dead from AIDS the next time I saw Anthony at the zoo. It was, maybe still is, a definite plague in Africa. Anthony told us a story  about how if a male comes home and there’s another man’s spear in front of his home, he cannot go in. Anthony also told us about his wife’s family coming to visit. Now, protocol is such that you welcome them, no matter how many, make them feel at home, feed and entertain them. You may not ask when they will be leaving and returning to their own home(s) because that’s considered very rude and is simply not done. Sometimes relatives can stay for weeks or even months. I’ve heard nothing about Anthony for a very long time now and hope he is doing well. Anthony also had many stories about his country and I enjoyed learning some of Kenya's history from him. 

Our next stop was Lake Nakuru National Park. There was lots of territory to cover between Samburu and Lake Nakuru. We saw lots of different kinds of housing, went through a few towns, stopped for gas which was taken care of by uniformed attendants supervised by a woman, had a flat tire which the men in our group helped Timothy change. We saw Mt. Kenya, rain showers falling way far away, Thompson Falls and finally the Great Rift Valley. We stopped at the Subukia View Point and all got out to take photos. There’s one of John and I holding hands (only have large framed one of this) on top of a platform that scared the crap out of me…it was made out of pieces of lumber or wood that I might not have even put in my fireplace. In the photo you can see the Rift valley in the distance and a few of the boards that scared the heck out of me. 

We saw baboons on the drive and learned that they are extremely nasty. They’d sooner rip you apart than not. You need to be very careful around them. There was also a tree where a lion or leopard had stashed its kill for later meals. We also saw a white rhino, actually 14 of them even though they are quite endangered. And they do have those birds on their backs eating whatever it is they eat. We also saw a fish eagle high in a tree.

We stayed at Lion Hill Lodge which provided a view of the lake. The lake is actually pink…pink from all the pink flamingos. It’s amazing how many there actually are. When night comes, they move toward the center of the lake to avoid predators. There are also a lot of pelicans in this location. We drove down, close to the lake and it’s very smelly. It doesn’t have sand like a regular beach, but this inches thick mixture of salt and pink flamingo poop. You can see depressions from large animals who visit after dark to drink from the lake. Nakuru is also the location of the largest candelabra tree forest in the world. That's us lounging on the porch of our cabin and a photo of the lake from that porch.

The next day we travelled again and on our way to our next and final location, we stopped at an elementary school. We had each brought books, school supplies and things like soccer balls for the school. Again, it was very interesting to see the Kenyan take on school. This school’s motto was, “Education is a weapon”, and its mission was “To provide quality education which will be a weapon against ignorance.” Another sign which I found terrific was, “There are three kinds of minds: 1) Simple minds – discuss people; 2) Ordinary minds – discuss events; 3) Great minds – discuss ideas.” The school taught Form 1 through Form 8 classes and the teachers went from room to room rather than the children changing rooms. One of the teachers was wearing a brand new (at least they looked that way) pair of light blue Levi brand levis (how come the stock dropped after I bought some stock???).

We visited several different Form classes. Blackboards consisted of walls that had been painted black and then written on with chalk almost to the point of being unreadable. In each room, there were many teaching aids on the walls. These were on large pieces of cardboard and hand printed. At the time, my zoo was in the process of building the African Village. The project manager for that was on this trip and there was discussion about purchasing these “authentic” aids. There were those of us who pointed out that the people in this school couldn’t just go to the local store and purchase new pieces of cardboard to make replacements. Instead, I took photos of every single thing and gave them to the project team when we returned. I should also say that whenever it was possible to obtain “authentic” things like plastic tubs and food containers for our home exhibit, we did so.

We were each invited to ask the children any questions we’d like. I asked what they did after school, i.e., free time, play time. The children did not understand this concept because after school, they help their parents do whatever needs doing whether it’s herding cattle, gardening, cooking. There is no play time.

The fact that if a child doesn’t pass his or her Form 8 exams, s/he will have no future. School is required and children are expected to do well. I asked what happens if a child doesn’t do what s/he is supposed to and this was another concept that wasn’t understandable to either the children or the teachers. How can you not want to do well when not doing so means you have no future? I wonder if it’s still this way 20 years later.

The children at this school also had formed a conservation club which meets after school. There was a conservation corner with a variety of bones and skulls the children had collected as well as hand-printed and drawn information on the walls. Not only do they talk about conservation, but they work on conservation. They plant a variety of stuff and protect it by building stick shelters to keep animals from eating them.

Toward the end of our visit the children in Form 6 were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. Two said they wanted to be teachers ($100/month pay back then); one said a doctor; one said a pilot and the apparent class clown said he wanted Anthony’s job. A visit like this with children so well-behaved, hard-working and eager to learn really made me wonder what we were doing wrong here to have so many children grow up without a decent education or even the desire for one.

On our way to Maasai Mara, we took a quick detour so we could all say we’d been to Tanzania as well. Our driver drove us around the stone border marker. Our stay at Maasai Mara was the longest one of the trip…three days. It was also the most interesting lodge, built to look as though it had grown out of the hillside. It was also decorated in a beautiful fashion with Maasai colors, decorations and beautiful landscaping. It also had a pool. 

During our game drives on those three days, we saw plenty of wildlife. There was an entire lion family, which consisted of one male, four females and 11 cubs. They walked ahead of our vehicle down the middle of the

road. One of the cubs kept annoying the male, but he must have been a favorite because dad didn’t really do anything. We also saw hyena, topi, gazelles, giraffe, a huge herd of impala, jackals, African elephants, a secretary bird (my personal favorite), hippos, crocodiles, ostrich and finally, on the very last game drive in the early morning I finally saw the last of my big five…the cheetah. She halfheartedly chased after a gazelle and then, realizing I wanted a great photo, posed perfectly for me. We also saw the only black rhino left in the park…sad.

At some point during this time, we were out on an afternoon game drive. An elephant appeared off to our right, but instead of moving toward it, our guide began to back up and turn around. We wanted to know why. Timothy pointed out that the elephant was in musth. His huge Johnson was hanging way down and there was fluid from his temporal lobe dripping down his face. Timothy told us you see that, you go away quick quick. Funny story…one of the people in our group was a young woman who wasn’t sure about how to use her dad’s camera. Well, she’s the only one that got a photo of that elephant with his Johnson showing.

On our middle day there, we were taken to a Maasai village. We were met by the chief and what appeared to be the entire population of the village. It was morning, but they’d all been up for quite a while, sending their cattle out to graze. That the cattle stayed inside the village inside the fence was obvious due to all the huge cow patties all over the place. I’m sure they laughed for a long time at all those white folks trying to avoid stepping in cow poop. I took a photo of a Maasai warrior which I now wish I had blown up and framed. The women in their kangas and jewelry insisted we women dance with them. Talk about feeling ridiculous, but I did give it a try. They even managed to get a couple of the men to join them. This village also had a market, but we weren’t forced to run a gauntlet. They let us wander from woman to woman and purchase what caught our fancy.

Our stay there was both relaxing (pool time), exhilarating (game drives), fun because we’d all gotten to know each other, plus one of the couples celebrated their 37^th wedding anniversary. The lodge staff made a special cake for this couple and came out en masse to sing them the Jambo song and wish them well. Another member of the group went on a fishing trip to a nearby lake and brought back fish for dinner…it was very good. 

After we went on our final game drive, we were taken to the bank of the nearby river for breakfast. There were so many hippos in the river and I didn’t know they could be very dangerous. Once again, we had a guide with a gun, just in case one of the hippos decided to climb out of the river and see what was happening. We’d also had lunch at the river upon our arrival at Maasai Mara. 

Those two meals at the river seemed like something right out of one of those old movies, only the natives weren’t carrying a cargo. They were set up with tables with cloths and napkins, chairs silverware, china and glassware. We had mimosas and the cooks would make an omelet to your specifications. There was so much good food available at every location, it was hard not to overeat.

Breakfast over, it was back to the lodge, gather up our bags and leave for the small plane that would take us all back to Nairobi. Looking down from the airplane, it was amazing to see all the trails on the ground, amazing because they had all been made by human feet. It was so hot in Nairobi John was about to keel over. Once in our room in the Safari park hotel, he laid down on the floor, opened the fridge and held two glass bottles to his head…I laughed and took this photo.

Our trip home called for some time in Amsterdam. I was too exhausted to leave the hotel, so we just went to our room and dozed until it was time to get back on a plane. The one memory I do have from the Amsterdam hotel is this huge vase with dozens of yellow tulips on the concierge’s desk. It was clear glass and enough tulips had been included that the interior was completely tulip stems while the heads rose above the vase.

Back home, I had 27 rolls of film to get developed and my sense of size is not very good. I ordered what I thought were 4 x 6, but instead they were 3 x 5…the larger prints would have been so much better. Once we’d been home for a while the trip leaders put together a potluck at the zoo so we could look at all the photos and ask for copies of ones that other people had taken. That’s when I got the photo of the elephant in musth and the one of me with the Maasai dancers. It was so good to see everyone and it’s hard to believe that in a few months it will have been 20 years. It’s also when John and I made the cover of Newsweek and National Geographic thanks to one of the men in the group who had serious computer skills. I’ve lost touch with most of the people who were on the trip with the exception of the trip leaders who still work at the zoo. We connect via Facebook or on visits to the zoo.

Of course, I have a ton more memories than what I’ve shared here, but you wouldn’t want me to go on for too long…right? I also have two complete albums of photos. I made one for John and one for myself so we wouldn’t have to fight over who got to take it to show to whoever. It was a wonderful and remarkable trip full of great memories. I’m glad I pulled out those albums and took a trip down the Kenya memory lane.

Here's a few more photos I couldn't fit into the body of the post. The white rhino from Lake Nakuru, the only black rhino left at Maasai Mara when we were there, the impressive Maasai warrior and our covers of National Geographic and Newsweek...didn't know we were so famous did ya?

APOLOGIES...

 for not having Safari in Kenya, Part II ready for publication today. Yesterday was rather difficult and I didn't write a single thing beyond a FB post and an email. Today will be different and Park II will be ready for your reading pleasure tomorrow (Sunday). 

SAFARI IN KENYA, PART I

           Yesterday I mentioned our trip to Kenya in 2001. It’s been some time since I revisited that experience. Perhaps today (Thursday) having made dill pickles and frozen garlic, plus the fact we’ve had clouds and rain (yippee my garden is so happy), this would be a good time to look back.

              It seems like we had decided on Kenya before the end of 2000 because I got a great pair of binoculars for Christmas and I bought John a telescope (he could only see out of one eye) for Christmas. It was a trip of 16 participants including the couple who were the leaders…both zoo employees. It was sponsored by the travel agency with whom the zoo contracted and as such, we were able to both go for the cost of just one. Once all the zoo employees were on board, it was opened to volunteers, so it was a nice mix of staff and volunteers.

          Neither one of us had been on such a long plane ride before, but we managed, even John with his looooooong legs. The plane landed in Amsterdam where we transferred to another airplane bound for Nairobi. I can’t remember now if the guide, Anthony, and his staff met us or if they joined us at the Safari Park Hotel. It was a very nice English-style hotel and very comfortable.         

          Our first excursion was to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Mr. Sheldrick was no longer alive, but his wife continued his work of rescuing baby animals, i.e., rhinos, especially elephants and other animals that had been abandoned for one reason or another (poaching). There was also a school group in attendance and I was amazed to learn that these children were required to go to school, that most of them spoke three languages and that the uniform they were wearing was required. Later on, I learned that even in remote villages, children would bring gallon jugs of water with which to clean their school. 

          This trust was very educational when it came to elephants. There were a number of babies and some were even still nursing. Their keepers held bottles so they could drink. The keepers also stayed with and slept with them at night…more like a foster mom than a human/elephant. The keepers also held big umbrellas over the babies because the direct hot sun would burn their skin…I didn’t know that. The keepers also helped them take mud baths which also prevented sunburn. I still have the t-shirt I purchased in support of this place.

          There were three vehicles in our group with five or six people in each one, plus the driver/guide. The top guide, Anthony, spread himself around the three so we each received the pleasure of his knowledge and company. Following lunch at the Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi our caravan headed for The Mountain Lodge at an altitude of 7,200 feet. During the drive, we also noticed that Kenyans do not waste an inch of space. They grow corn and garden wherever there is space, i.e., the road medians and edges. Also, during trips down the various roads, there were always pitstops so we could use the bathroom and the native peoples could sell us stuff. I do have to say that the bathrooms were the absolute worst I’ve ever encountered. In fact, one person in our group was so appalled she wouldn’t go. Toward the end of the trip she was so constipated, a doctor was brought in and there was talk of flying her out to Nairobi, but everything did end up coming out okay…joke there, ha ha ha.

The Mountain Lodge was about four stories and each room had a balcony which overlooked the waterhole. When we went to bed, we were told we would be wakened when the animals came to the waterhole during the night. Sure enough, sleeping soundly, there’s a knock on the door. We got up and went to the balcony. From there, we saw Cape buffalo and waterbucks, but not much else. The next morning, we were taken on a nature walk through the forest surrounding The Mountain Lodge. We had a local guide who led and were followed by another guide who carried a fun…just in case. Again, not a lot of animals, but we did see particular lily (photo) which doesn’t grow anywhere else and cannot be cultivated.

The next day, we moved on and over the equator which is a big deal. Now, I’ve read that water really doesn’t swirl the other way on the other side of the equator, but our guides provided a demonstration and it does indeed swirl the opposite direction on the other side of the line. Trick??? I don’t know but I was impressed. We all had our pictures taken with one foot on the north and the other on the south side of the equator line. We also received a dated certificate that certified we had crossed the equator on 17 March 2001 at Nanyuki Kenya. Very Cool!!!

After that, our next stop was Samburu Serena Lodge. This is one of the places where the Survivor television program was filmed, not in the lodge, but the Samburu area…I missed that episode. Each of us had a little cottage in which we stayed. The food, as in all these places, was delightful and yummy. In particular I loved the way they served coffee, i.e., hot coffee and warm milk if you used milk. Something else I really loved was the way we were greeted. We were always met with warm or cold wet hand towels and glasses of juice…passionfruit was my favorite.

Checked in, we went on our first game drive that afternoon. We saw impalas, zebra, reticulated giraffe, dik-dik, bushbuck, Cape buffalo, gazelles and a leopard tortoise. We only saw the tortoise because there was a short cloudburst (really hard rain, but lasted about five minutes) and it was the water which brought him out. We also saw elephants, in particular a mother who stopped to nurse her baby. I also found out the elephants do hold tails, it’s not something from circus training. There was gerenuk, amazing how high they can reach on their hind legs and lions, even a lioness with cubs. These animals paid no attention to our vehicles, and we were able to take lots of photos.

The next day, we went to the Samburu Native Village. Again, a learning experience. The Chief and other important males met with us under the Parliament Tree (where they make important decisions that affects the tribe), and the Chief was given $20 per person for our visit. They did not wear western attire, but the native Kanga. Their village is surrounded by a boma which is a fence of spiney wood which keeps the wild animals outside and the people and their cattle safe inside. The shelters are made of a variety of stuff and covered with dried animal dung. We were provided with an example of how to make fire and a couple of our group gave it a try…at least one of them was successful.

We were entertained by the schoolchildren, and invited to go inside one of the shelters. It was extremely dark and so hot inside, and the animal hide on which we sat very stiff. I didn’t realize until I took a photo using the flash that there was a mother and child inside the shelter with us. I probably blinded them. The shelters are very primitive and a pillow is a piece of wood shaped like a slingshot, you know the “Y” shape and you put your head into the center…not very comfortable I’d say. The shelters also include a cooking fire and in this one, the cooking utensils were suspended from the ceiling. Not someplace I’d want to live ever.

Back outside, the women performed a native dance. We had all been instructed prior to leaving the US that we absolutely could not talk about or bring up female circumcision. That didn’t keep the Samburu from doing so. We were told that women with silver bracelets on their arms had been circumcised. Again, they wore the native Kangas.

It was hot…sooooooooo HOT. All I wanted by then was to go back to the van and drink a bottle of water. But, to do that, we had to run a gauntlet of women who were selling items they had made. I don’t remember if I bought anything other than a baby rattle, I figured I’d give to my grandchild when it was born in the fall. That never happened. It was a dried gourd and suspended from the gourd were strings of beads. At the end of each string was this shiny circle of metal. Yes, it looked familiar, but it wasn’t until my son Thor identified those pieces of metal as the ends from “D” batteries that I recognized them. Needless to say, the rattle may be in Haley’s saved stuff box, but she never got to rattle or chew on it.

Back at the lodge, only one other person joined me in the swimming pool. It felt absolutely decadent, but so cool and WET. After that and lunch (I still cannot imagine going to the Samburu village in the afternoon in that heat.), we went on another game drive. This time we saw a leopard in a tree. And, funny story here. I had given the kids the old Pentax camera when I bought a new one for the trip. John wanted it back. He was going to use it even though he had no idea how to do an F-stop or whatever. Out of 27 rolls of film, and using a camera he didn’t have a clue about, John took the very best photo of the leopard in the tree. In fact, I framed it and it hangs on the living room wall. Good job, John. (Unfortunately I cannot share that photo with you because it won't scan in the frame.)  

We moved on and saw more Cape buffalo, lions, Thompson’s gazelles and Impala. In one place we stopped on the side of a wide, but low water river, on the other side of which were some very nervous zebra. Anthony explained what was happening. There were three female lions, probably sisters. One of them got up and disappeared. We couldn’t see where she went. In a bit, the other two moved into two separate gullies on the riverbank. The zebra became more nervous. Suddenly, the lioness that left is loping across the river on a diagonal toward the zebra which suddenly disappear up the bank and into the foliage. The other two lions get up and begin loping across the river. Anthony said they’d eat well that night. I’m just glad we didn’t get to see the lions take the zebra down. 

Well, that’s enough for today…I’ll continue my Kenya memories tomorrow.