Memories of a childhood move from South Africa back to Southern Rhodesia.

May the Lord show you His favour and give you His peace.

Numbers 6:26

Two questions.

How did Dad get those packing boxes made of plywood?

Why don’t I remember seeing the house empty?

There is something you need to know about my Dad. He very rarely bought things from a shop and here is why. In the late 1950s and early 1960s there was a lot of Tuberculosis. This is an infectious disease caused by airborne bacteria ( Mycabacterium tubeeculosis). My first remembered home was on the grounds of an isolation hospital in Rhodesia where my father was in charge, with doctors visiting daily. Dad was very protective of these ill patients and they loved him. He then went on to help stop this infection by travelling with a medical team to factories where he would speak to people about the illness and its symptoms. The team would then x-ray those who had symptoms and those diagnosed would have those close to them x-rayed too.

It was while visiting and making his acquaintance with so many factory owners that he realised we didn’t need to go to shops. Factories always had seconds they were happy to sell at very low prices.

So here is the answer to our packing cases that smelt wonderfully of tea. Dad had found someone who was happy for him to have them. We soon started wrapping some things in paper and some of our toys we just gently put in the boxes. My roller skates went in too. I would miss the cemented back yard where I spent hours twisting, turning and jumping. I would miss Rosie, Renee and Beverley and I can’t remember the name of the teacher who wacked my hands for talking. Do you think I would miss her?

Now why didn’t I see the house empty?

My only explanation is that I was at school. Mum and Dad insisted that school was the best place for us and if we were sick we went to bed with the offer of “egg flips” ( no coffee or brandy). Mum mixed the yoke with milk, a bit of vanilla and sugar. Then she whipped the white of the egg with a little sugar and stood it in peaks on top. It looked like sunshine and snow in a tall glass. We loved it!

My sister reminded me that Mon wasn’t in the car when we left and that she was picked up from work on our journey out of Johannesburg.

So who saw the house empty?

Dad.

Peace is the stillness in your heart when trouble swirls around you, a quiet mind in a raging world.

Anonymous