Dear Everyone,
June 14, 2014
Hey, lots of water over the dam since I last entered
something in my blog, way back in May . Let me start with May 14th .
I returned from a very relaxing and informative 12 days in Zibabwe. My car was
delivered back to me that night with some improvements. On the 15th I got my computer back
from Shirley’s son, Peter, again, with some improvements. On the 16th
I collected a bunch of old clothes and off cuts to be taken to Landsend for use
by the poor there. I stopped to fill up with petrol in the afternoon (for the
trip on the 17th to Mthatha—about 300 miles or 5 hours driving).
When the tank was full and I wanted to pull off, it wouldn’t start. The guys at
the petrol station said it was definitely the battery and phoned a battery
place to order a battery for only R980 or so. But, unfortunately (for them) he
had no transport to deliver. So they scouted around a bit more and tried using
the jumper cables to get it started but that didn’t work either. So they said I
needed a new starter (changing their tune from battery to starter motor). I
asked them to just give me a push and let me get back to the monastery which they
did. The car was full up with used clothing and off cuts and, since it wouldn’t
start, I parked in on a slight incline because I was determined to head for
Mthatha in the morning.
I arrived in
Mthatha , never turning off the engine till I got there and made arrangements
with our mechanic to see him on Monday to see if he could fix it. I slept at
Bedford that night and kept my fingers crossed that it would start in the
morning, which it did. I had Mass with Fr. Guy at Sabelani Sun. morning and visited
the sisters at the convent in Mthatha. Car wouldn’t start and I had to get the
confreres from Abbot Francis to push it (backwards) and it started easily. I
managed to get out to Landsend to leave the old clothes and off cuts there,
seeing Nothemba and Sinovuyo. Parked on a hill and needed it to start.
Frustrating.
On Monday, the 19th, we had our big CMM
meeting with the superior general and his councilor where CMM things were
discussed, especially the matter of Guy and the bishop. Too much talk and not
much else. However, the Superior General had visited the bishop and the bishop
sent a message to the SG that he would like to see Guy and his lawyer to meet
with himself and his lawyer. This was progress. We had a braii (cook out) and
just relaxed a bit and discussed, informally, what had been discussed formally
in the meeting. (I had taken the car to the garage before the meeting and it
was diagnosed as needing a small part but a part that would not be sold
separately from the whole starter motor.There you are. So he ordered a starter motor and by the time
I was leaving on Wednesday, it still wasn’t there so I told him to cancel it
and I would take it to a friend in Durban who would have a look at it)
That evening I spent with Guy and the boys at Sabelani
(home for boys) and slept there and again on Tuesday night. ON Wed. morning we
organized a 7am meeting with Mr. Sachin, the troubleshooter from Eskom
(electricity supply) to solve some problems (we have been working on these
problems for more than 2 yrs.( and then I headed back to Mariannhill. I stopped
on the way to visit a friend whose
arches had collapses on both feet and he couldn’t walk.One had bee
repaired earlier but this one needed special surgeryand he had a big boot on
his right foot that he would have to wear fro a couple ofmonths.That was on the
21st. The car continued to start or not start, like Russian
roulette. Mostly it started but you had to be wary and prepared.
I slid back into my usual routine for Friday and on
Saturday I took Bishop (emeritus) Lobinger to the airport for his home leave
trip to Germany. I spent the morning with the friend who specializes in helping
Cas, and fixing Opel Astras. He fixed the problem with the starter and when I
was ready to go home to fetch the bishop and take him to the airport, ha, it
wouldn’t start again. So he had to crawl around under the car till he found
what the problem was and fixed it. I was
sweating because we were cutting it rather fine for getting the bishop to the airport.
On Sunday, the 25th, I took one of the sisters
from the hospital to Savannah Park to get her involved with the community and
to give them a chance to see a real live, active, young(er) nun. She was then
invited to join their choir and since she is the head matron of the hospital,
she has her own transport so she is free to drive herself if she wants. We then
went to a home for a nice bryani lunch. And then home.
From Monday 26th
to Wed. 28th , I attended a workshop on Leadership and Ethics at
Glenmore Center, a conference center in Durban. I won’t go into details but it
was presented by a prof. from Chicago, an Italian American, and he could easily
have been a stand up comedian, which made his lectures enjoyable and
interesting but, too American. I felt that many of the references that he made
(like Saturday Night Live) went over the heads of many of the African
participants, and he talked way too fast especially with his American Chicago
accent. Otherwise his presentation were lively and excellent. One of the things
that came up was that one of the virtues that is often lacking in leaders is
humility, being able to admit that they made a mistake.
On the 29th I picked up some copies of the
wedding brochure which I had suggested to my cousin’s daughter for the wedding
in September in Milwaukee. After that I took one of our students to the prison
to visit his brother who is one of 4 or 5 accused of murdering one of our
priests at his mission. That was 4 yrs. ago and the trial is still going on.
They were supposed to hear their sentences the next week but it was postponed,
again, till August. Holy Moses. They have been in jail all this time without
being sentenced. What the heck is going on.
Hey, it is now the 24th of June and it seems
that the hurrier I go the behinder I get. I will put this looooong epistle out
and try again next week. Enough is enough and maybe even too much. Cas.
