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IN THIS ISSUE

• Zvonko Springer has car problems on their safari
• Jean Sterling and Jim Olson write to us
• Geoff Goodship tells of an amusing episode in hospital
• Tom Kyle tips his hat to the Irish
• Judy Marriot is longing for spring
• The editor discusses essentials
• Sites are suggested by Bruce Galway, Carol Hansen, Kate Brookfield, Rafiki, and Tom Williamson

Zvonko Springer recalls some fantastic sights in their

FIRST KENYA SAFARI

We stayed in the park until 6:00, moving to and fro and enjoying nature: the mixture of forest with open meadows, and the "Kombi" car pushing through high grassland, provided one knew where the route was. From the hotel we had seen large buffalo herds, and in the park we met a few of them at a rather short distance of 15m or less. The buffalos were particularly large bodied and certainly more docile than we have experienced before.

There were plenty of noisy monkeys feeding in trees or on the ground, like baboons, or velvet, and blue. Impalas, Reedbucks and Bushbucks grazed in the meadows, and Klipspringers rushed away into the forest. The park was known for its lions in the trees but we had not seen any until the driver said, "Sir, there is one above us." I leaned out through the roof opening and was confronted by a lion resting on a branch and watching me from less than three meters. Unfortunately, the branch was in the way of taking photos, so I opened the sliding door, took pictures, and closed the door fast, saying "Asanti sana!"

When we got back to the hotel, it had filled up for it was a weekend. The new visitors were in the company of the state´s vice-president. The quiet in this modern hotel built of concrete blocks was over. After dinner we sat with a few travellers whom we had met here and there moving in the same direction. The night was rather noisy and we could not sleep well, and the same the Sunday night too.

We stayed at the pool, lazing around and talking with a few other guests on safari. This Sunday was the last of our leave so we decided to rest without using our car, which badly needed a thorough checkup before starting the long drive home. Another noisy night passed, but on Monday morning at breakfast the hotel looked almost deserted as the vice-president´s guests had left very early. Obviously the party had a good time, considering the number of empty beer bottles, etc.

Christa and Gerhard emerged later so we exchanged goodbyes as they intended to return to Mombassa travelling the same way as us. I did not know how much time we would have to spend in Arusha to find a VW service station to undertake the repairs.

We left for Arusha, about 100km away, at 11:00 on Monday, September 6, as I thought we would make it in two hours. The first section of 50km was a macadam road to Makuyuni, and I drove slowly to avoid unnecessary strain on the damaged shock absorber. Later on the tarmac road I would have liked to speed up, but the engine made 100km/h on descents only. I got anxious, sensing that something was wrong with the engine too. The Masai cattle herds next to the perfect road stirred up so much dust that I had to slow down. On the horizon Mount Meru appeared as we got closer to Arusha, and we could see large coffee-bean plantations spreading on the mountain slopes. We arrived at Arusha after 1:00 p.m. so I had to wait until 2:00 when the VW service workshop would open.

My only worry was the car now, not knowing how much time it would require to complete the repairs. We had another 75km drive to reach our next target of Momella. Ljiljana had tried to get some fresh food at the market but everything had closed by midday, so our "iron rations" helped to overcome our needs for lunch again. The service workshop opened at 2:00 o´clock and I was told that they would finish the cleaning and greasing in about a half hour or so. When the mechanic hoisted the car, he saw the exhaust pipe fixing was loose again, and my desperation grew. True - the bolt made by the Indian mechanic had held, as he had said, up to Arusha.

It took a full hour to find a correct bolt to fix the exhaust pipe. After 4:00 the car was lowered and the bad light bulb changed for a new one. The engine started with some difficulty, so another mechanic stopped the process and looked at the air filter. What a mess in it - no oil, but just a hard oily cake. So they started cleaning the air filter, checked the spark plugs, and adjusted the carburetor. After a successful test run, the car was handed over to me shortly after 5:00 and we could continue our ride at last.

From the pleasant city of Arusha we drove in the direction of Nairobi on a tarmac road, and turned right at Oldonyo Sambu on macadam. Despite the delay, we had stunning views of Mount Meru and Kilimanjaro, lit by late afternoon sun with no clouds in a blue sky. Was there anything more beautiful, I asked myself, despite the steep road with many curves needing my full attention.

We often asked ourselves whether the last or previous experience would be the peak of our long safari. Would our last stop at the Ngurdoto Crater National Park be what Sir Julian Huxley said: "The small jewel between national parks"? Already on approaching Momella Game Lodge we had forgotten all the problems we have had as we drove the last few kilometers by the setting sun. The mighty Kilimanjaro peak with the white ice cap was still lit to the left of the road that twisted through the shadowed forest. I turned off to the road to Moshi at Ngare Nanyuiki onto an earth track, making the last 12km in twilight, with Mount Meru in the background looming dark with a rim of red light. The scene was so awesome I almost overlooked a small sign reading: "Welcome to Momella Lodge - 1km." I had to drive back a bit and on a path came to a clearing with a building that looked familiar. We saw the Sachses putting up their tent nearby, so we waved, and a few German shepherd dogs came out to greet us.

The lodge buildings had been constructed for the making of the movie "Hatari" ("Danger") and "Sammy Goes South". We were the only guests and got one large banda, a round building with a conical roof made of leaves. There were three large rooms with enough beds and a comfortable bathroom. Ljiljana did the unpacking so I took a warm bath (gas heater!) first and dressed in warmer clothing. Vesna went to befriend the dogs and came back with two of the five to our banda.

After some time we were ready for dinner and with some expectation went to the restaurant banda. The lodge owner was Hardy Krieger, a German actor who had played in the movie "Hatari". The food was good except that we were served the same soup three times and the meat twice. A larger number of guests had not arrived so it was necessary to eat what had been prepared.

After dinner we sat in front of the TV but I got fed up with the poor reception so went to talk to the Sachses about the next day´s itinerary. We were in bed by 10:30 - a bit late but everybody slept well in the new surrounding.

We were ready by 9:30 a.m. according to the agreed time but the Sachses were nowhere to be seen. We started, taking the wrong direction first, but I turned around and got to the park entrance soon after. After a brief drive we came to Lake Ilkekotoito that had several places where we could stop to enjoy nature. Kilimanjaro was in clouds but sunlit Meru was just grand.

There were not many animals around apart from some giraffes and gazelles as we were late. The road was built on lava or volcanic tuff, and there were many curves and steep sections. I had a real tough drive at low speed of 25km/h. We had to stop often, get out of the car, and stand or walk around enjoying the pristine natural tranquility. After we passed by Lake Longil we had to get through a shallow part of the Jamara River to climb to the crater.

To be concluded.

CORRESPONDENCE

Jean Sterling writes: I was glad to hear that Geoff [Goodship] is home and making progress. It sounds as if he got excellent care and is now doing his part to complete his recovery. Doing what the therapists tell you to do is so very important - the only way to make progress. I´m sure they are delighted to be working with somebody like Geoff, who is motivated and willing to put forth the needed effort. His sentence "Eleven days at home now and I work on that plan every day" really says it all.

His fall sounded like a bad one. I want to offer some encouragement on the shoulder - something I know firsthand. Three years ago I broke my right shoulder, and last summer I dislocated my left shoulder. The dislocation was actually worse than the fracture. After both episodes, I had physiotherapy, and I did all the exercises at home like they told me to. I now have full use of both shoulders, and I´m back swimming at the Y.

At first progress may be slow, but Geoff is willing to do the work, and he will see remarkable improvement.

Way to go Geoff, and good luck to you!

Jim Olson writes: I´m happy to report that I am back home again. I´m not 100 percent healed and have some recovery yet to do, but the essentials are there. So I guess I am launching my kite over the fence and hope to keep it there watching spring arrive.

Geoff Goodship describes one of his

HOSPITAL EXPERIENCES

Some funny things happen if you spend some weeks as a hospital patient. Things that might not be funny elsewhere can seem hilarious in hospital.

The main rule on a rehabilitation ward is "rehab". "Get better; make progress; try it yourself." Nursing staff are helpful, observant and patient, but want you to do as much for yourself as they think you might be capable of. Ever better is the goal in rehab. I bought into that completely.

I also learned quickly that my rehab ward had a dress code: "no open- at-the-back hospital gowns when you´re out of bed." Nursing staff never asked me to tie that hospital gown behind my back with one hand, but didn´t mind if I tried.

After a week lying flat on my back with a frozen right arm and leg, it was time to begin my real rehab. "Get dressed," was the order, and I was delighted to hear it.

Before you can walk, you must stand, and before you can stand, you must stop lying down. I spent twenty minutes lying on the top of my bed twisting and turning as I struggled to pull my pants on with just one good arm. A smiling nurse offered help when I accidentally stuffed one of the sheets into the back of my pants with my one good hand. "No thanks, I´ll do it myself," I insisted, anxious to please. When I finally succeeded, the smiley nurse returned to help me sit up and slide my feet gingerly to the floor beside my bed. She helped me use a transfer board to slide my bottom from bed to wheelchair.

Ah, wheels! How great it felt to touch those metal hand grips and move myself forward. It was easy. I began tentatively to explore my new freedom. The smiley nurse seemed to be enjoying my progress, my rehab. I moved out of the room to the hallway.

Feeling very pleased with myself, I met another patient in a wheelchair who asked, "Do you always wear your pants backward?"

I looked down to discover she was right. The smiley nurse emerged from my room, still smiling but saying nothing. Right then I decided that if she could keep a straight face, so could I. I kept my pants on backward for the rest of that day.

Tom Kyle has fond memories of

IRELAND

With St. Patrick´s Day almost here and the stores decked out in green and shamrocks, I have to believe there are a great many Irish out here. And it such a small country! They were a promiscuous lot, I think.

I got to thinking of the many pleasurable times I enjoyed in Ireland in my early youth when my father had business in Belfast. The family would cruise down the Clyde from Glasgow and across to Belfast and find ourselves soon in the coastal resort of Bangor.

This was our base. My uncle´s house, where we stayed, had a glorious garden, seeming to flow in an endless sweep all the way down to the Irish Sea. It was a change from my permanent home in the city centre of Paisley, which had a small space for a garden - but that space was used for the ubiquitous coal bin.

We were not aware of any "troubles" back then; at least we never heard anyone talk about them. I suspect that today, things are a wee bit different, which is why I prefer the memories. Such as playing marbles in the main street of a small village near Bangor with nobody around to bother us, and hardly a car in sight.

When I returned for a trip to Ireland at a mature age with my family in 1968, we heard little of the "troubles".

That year we drove from Belfast south to Dublin, and had selected a hotel in the village of Skerries on the seacoast just north of Dublin.

On the way, our daughter became ill and I had to stop the car on a quiet stretch of the narrow highway. Hardly a minute passed before there appeared two young girls from the farm bordering the road.

"Can we help ye´, mister?" in their twinkling Irish voices.

What we needed was some water for clean up and I suggested this would be good. The two promptly returned with a large basin with warm water, soap, and a thick towel.

A moment of pure kindness towards strangers which one does not see too often, no matter where, but remembers always.

The continuing trip was full of similar friendliness extended by the Irish folk we met both North and South.

Proleek Stones

During that trip we also had the great treat of staying at an old mansion-hotel near Dundalk. Ballymascanlon had a magnificent driveway leading to it, and we were spoiled from the time we entered the main hall. On the property we soon discovered there was a group of ancient stone dolmens which date from 3700 B.C., called the Proleek Stones. Weighing almost 40 ton, the top stone is balanced on the others, and the local folklore states that if one throws a stone on top and it stays there, the thrower will surely be married within the year.

Proleek Stones

Far from marrying age, our children had great fun throwing stones up, but they kept coming back down. I told them at the time that there was a leprechaun up there throwing the stones back.

But in all truth ... we never did see a leprechaun.

Judy Marriott, like most of us, is

WAITING FOR SPRING

We are winter weary - and we are thinking of the sunny yellows and greens of spring!

The mounds of snow we had to deal with all winter - we want to forget about all that and think thoughts of green instead. We are waiting anxiously for the snow to melt, the mud to dry, and the promise of wonderful things emerging from the earth. Two weeks to go and winter will be behind us.

We are looking forward to the first warm day when we can turn the thermostat down for at least a few hours and open the windows, letting in sunshine and warmer, clean fresh air. What a wonderful treat!

Spring will soon be here. Gardeners are waiting and looking forward to the first "dig" and getting their hands dirty. It has been a long, cold and windy winter here in the Northeast USA, and we will be very happy to see it leave. It cannot go soon enough for us.

John and I can already see our lilies poking up through the ground on the sunny side of our shed. The grass we planted last fall is doing well, and such a pretty shade of green. Our lilac bush is bursting with huge buds - we are so looking forward to their beautiful, fragrant white blooms. Soon the crocuses will be showing their wonderful colors, followed by our tulips and iris. It won´t be long and the robins will be building their nest in the tree outside our living room window, where happily we watch everything.

Beautiful springtime, the promise of new birth!

We will still have some cold, damp and chilly days because after all, it is still March and we live in the Northeast. But spring is right around the corner, and we can hardly wait.

FROM THE EDITOR´S DESK

As I grow older, I find I no longer need a number of cosmetics I used to believe were essential to make me presentable. In fact, there is only one cosmetic that I absolutely cannot live without: my eyebrow pencil.

My eyebrows are still where they always were, but they are no longer visible, having faded to the shade of my skin. Without them, the face in the mirror is not my own. It has no expression - no character. What use is being able to raise one sardonic eyebrow if no-one can see it? (I can wiggle my ears too, but that talent is good only for amusing very young children.)

So the second thing I do after breakfast with the newspaper (which I read from long habit) and checking my e-mail is to pencil in my eyebrows. The first is to get dressed. Now I am ready to face the day and anyone who crosses my path - or even if I see no-one but the cat, who does not care.

If I am going shopping or to the library or to my volunteer job at George Derby Centre, I will apply lipstick - a useless gesture because in no time flat I´ve chewed it all off again. But at least I look healthy before I go out.

If I remember when I am going out for lunch, I will apply foundation cream to cover my age spots, but I usually don´t bother. No-one really looks at old women anyway. There is some consolation in that because when we were young we were always told to think of our appearance: "What will people think if you go out looking like that?" Now we don´t have to worry about what people think, but instead we dress to please ourselves.

And having eyebrows is important to me so I can recognize the woman in the mirror.

THIS WEEK´S SUGGESTED SITES

Just to put things in perspective, Bruce Galway suggests this site which shows the relative size of objects in the universe:

Some of you may have received an e-mail purporting to describe the Canadian health care system. Carol Hansen forwards this URL for Snopes´ assessment of the information:

Kate Brookfield forwards this appeal: The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on ´donating a mammogram´ for free (pink window in the middle). This doesn´t cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/ advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising.

ED. NOTE: While you´re there, why not click on the Hunger site, Child Health site, Literacy site, Rainforest site, and Animal site. It takes only a minute to click on all six, unless you are tempted to buy any of the products displayed on each site.

Rafiki sends this suggestion for women only - The woman in my mirror:

Tom Williamson forwards this URL for a video of the Swiss Drum Corp:

For an old skit from the Air Farce, see this video on outsourcing:

If you want to use this banner anywhere, feel free - I stole it off the net. ;) St. Pat´s day isn´t until next Wednesday so it´s a wee bit out of sync, and there is no need to include any pix for the occasion....