News Update

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël!
Happy New Year! Bonne et Heureuse Année
Feliz Navidad! Prospero Ano Nuevo!
Glaedelig Jul! and apparently for Danes, every day is happy!

We enjoyed a multitude of Christmas celebrations this year with sumptuous meals at Trav & Sylvia's in TBay, at Rich & Sue's in Emerald Park and at Tom & Mariette's in Winnipeg. And while staying with Wendy's dad, we enjoyed the regular three-squares and not a few tarts and other Christmas baking! As a result we finally got back to TBay toting some unwelcome additional baggage! However, I have new skates and Wendy has her gym membership—New Year's resolutions beckon! We drove out to Regina on the 18th and 19th, and we returned on the 28th & 29th. The trips went well; we enjoyed spending time with loved ones along the ways, and it's good to be home. We drove down to Gravelbourg on the 27th to help Ruby celebrate her 75th birthday; we were able to greet many friends, relatives and acquaintances there. On the way back to Regina, we enjoyed a chance to visit with Aunt Mary in Moose Jaw. We plan a New Year's eve celebration this evening, and we look forward to each new year and day!

We wish you a great New Year, with good health and meaningful activities!

The Holiday Season

We enjoyed a multitude of Christmas celebrations this year with sumptuous meals at Trav & Sylvia's in TBay, at Rich & Sue's in Emerald Park and at Tom & Mariette's in Winnipeg. And while staying with Wendy's dad, we enjoyed the regular three-squares and not a few tarts and other Christmas baking! As a result we finally got back to TBay toting some unwelcome additional backage! However, I have new skates and Wendy has her gym membership—New Year's resolutions beckon! We drove out to Regina on the 18th and 19th, and we returned on the 28th & 29th. The trips went well; we enjoyed spending time with loved ones along the ways, and it's good to be home. We drove down to Gravelbourg on the 27th to help Ruby celebrate her 75th birthday; we were able to greet many friends, relatives and acquaintances there. On the way back to Regina, we enjoyed a chance to visit with Aunt Mary in Moose Jaw. We plan a New Year's eve celebration this evening, and we look forward to each new year and day!

We wish all readers a Happy New Year, with good health and meaningful activities!

Schemes, Dreams and... Rhymes

Dreams are dashed, and schemes have come to nothing. The best laid plans of mice and men... are about equal. And as I ponder and reflect on what could have been, and what could have been done differently... I am tempted to regret.

Like many others I sing Paul Anka's words,
"Regrets, I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way."

I live life with a determination not to regret, but now, as often, I struggle in trying circumstances. I do not regret Zambia; I do not regret getting to know John. I lament his untimely passing, dreams unfulfilled, schemes unrealized. I wish I did not feel there was something more effective I could have done. I wanted... I want a better ending.

But for now I leave the closing thoughts to Joni Mitchell:
"Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost but something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From WIN and LOSE and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

I've looked at life from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all."

Schemes & Dreams

Even more often these days (and nights) my thoughts are of John. I am guessing that anyone who spent very much 'quality time' with John came to learn of his dreams. The main one was to have a shop, a mechanical repair shop, of his own. This would variously be expected to appear 'when he retired' or 'some years from now'. I have always encouraged John in this dream.

John's mechanical work was an art form. The stereotypical Zambian mechanic can make anything run, and I also know some of those, but John did not fit that stereotype. He certainly could make anything run, and he was a constant amazement to me, but always his priority was to return it to standard. That meant he wanted it to be the way it was supposed to be. Running was not good enough—it had to be right! I remember one time when the alternator from someone's car had failed. John disassembled it, and using the little multimeter from Canadian Tire that I had given him, he proceeded to understand how the thing worked. Then he did some adjustments, reassembled it, and it worked! My Isuzu is a story all on its own. It had been driven without the benefit of coolant before it came into my possession. As a result, the engine had seized, and, presumably, been repaired. However, the repairs had not been accomplished, and I (read John) was left to deal with the results. He took the engine apart so many times and replaced so many head-gaskets that our friend Jack used to tease us, "Better throw away those bolts and install a zipper. It'll give you quicker access!" But John did not give up. Eventually, with new sleeves, new pistons, new rings (and way too many of my new dollars)... it was right, and by the final year of our time in Zambia, it was running very well indeed. Thanks, John.

I believed if John ever set up a mechanical repair shop, he would be a great success. The demand for mechanical repairs done well is unending. So, we would chat and dream. This past summer we pushed it further—we developed some schemes! The only filling station in Kalomo (a nearby town) had closed. The BP (British Petroleum) franchise was rescinded due to poor management on the part of the franchise holders. This created an opportunity, and John could see this as well as I. He had already discussed the possibilities with officials from BP, however, it did not look promising. BP was hoping to have someone take over the old filling station property from the owners and begin again. John understood how bitter such a transaction could be, and was unwilling to fight that battle. So, he traveled to Livingstone to discuss with another petroleum company the possibility of establishing a new franchise in Kalomo. He and I went to the town council and were successful in obtaining an assignment of an ideal plot of land for a new station. We began discussions with still another petroleum company in Lusaka. Our conversations, emails and letters continued into September and October. It was exciting to hear his excitement.

But now... schemes, dreams and John are gone.

Schemes

Zambians use 'schemes' differently from us. Perhaps it is like many words where they have learned a more British denotation. There are British words that they use in Zambia while we tend not to use them at all—like 'lorry'. However, during our schooling we may have learned such words and therefore we know what they mean when they say 'lorry'. Such words rarely cause a failure in communication. 'Schemes' however, falls into a different genre—we know what we mean by 'schemes', and we think others mean the same thing! Thus we found it somewhat amusing when Zambians refer to NAPSA (National Pension Scheme)! As we have come to learn about NAPSA, we start to wonder whether our understanding is not, in fact, the correct one! And we certainly found it amusing when our teachers talked about (and worked on) their scheming! Although again, when we observe the goings-on in classrooms, we wonder whether the joke may have been on us! However, let me assure you, when Zambians speak of 'schemes' they mean the same thing as we do when we speak of 'plans'. And, I suppose, they may have nefarious schemes, just as we have diabolical plans.

Retirement in Zambia typically refers to age fifty-five, although at Namwianga many did not choose to retire then. Government workers (most of employed Zambians) were required to retire at age fifty-five. Namwianga workers participated in NAPSA, and were expected to retire then as well. However, the pension schemes being what they were, retirement was not often a golden time. The retirement scheme usually provided for several lump sum payouts. One lump sum would be for unused holidays—which the Zambians hoarded assiduously. The workers never took holidays, even while on holidays! A fact which caused no end of consternation and financial burden on employers. The workers then took pleasure in selling these days back to the employer, while saving some for retirement when they would get paid out. There were strict rules on how holidays were to be taken, and under which conditions holidays could be paid out or accumulated. These rules were carefully ignored. Holiday payouts were one of the absolute bonuses of life for the Zambian worker. A second lump sum was for repatriation—maybe I should get back into discussions of denotation once again! Repatriation to the Zambian worker meant he was being paid a lump sum to reestablish himself into what he might have been doing if his life had not been interrupted by a career! Then a third lump sum was the actual retirement savings plan. Now if all of this sounds like a remarkably generous set of provisions for the workers—they were! Even more so because the holiday payout was totally a cheat! And the repatriation was usually at no cost to the worker—he typically had left nothing to pursue a career, but was reward handsomely to return to the proposed nothingness! As it sounds too good to be true, it also was! Salaries ended promptly in the month of your fifty-fifth birthday, although arrangements were often made for teachers to at least complete the remainder of the term at salary. Holiday payout usually happened first, although it may take some years before all the necessary paper allowed this to be accomplished. Then repatriation could be considered, and careful calculations followed by even more extensive paperwork allowed this to be delayed for years further. Finally, the pension was due. It amounted to many years of gross salary and usually took a gross number of years to begin to be paid. While it was designed to be a lump sum, it usually took the form of 'cents on the dollar' that were doled out from time to time, due to the non-liquidity of both the government and NAPSA (National Pension SCHEME!). As a result, virtually all retirees were looking for a source of income and food to keep body and soul together long enough to make the many trips up and down the road through multitudinous offices and officials (no small number of whom expected a share of your retirement) to collect their retirements. Not surprisingly, few were able to accomplish retirement!

John is Gone

I am still numb with the shock of the news... my friend, John, is gone. He passed on this morning, and I find it impossible to accept. A young and vital man, the mind cannot accept that he should be ill or die.

John was among the first to befriend me when I moved to Zambia. And among Zambians he was certainly my best friend, perhaps the only one I could truly call my friend. He spoke the truth to me, not only when it was pleasant. Zambians have a pleasant way of often only telling you what they think you want to hear; John was always straight with me. How I miss him! Even over the phone his good humour, his thoughtful consideration of each situation came through. "Well, I suppose," he would say doubtfully, and then continue to tell you how it really was.

John was chief mechanic at Namwianga, and those who followed our misadventures have some recollection of how many times he came to our rescue as we waited with our failed Isuzu. I cannot forget how he came down the road to me while I waited in the dark after my 'road accident' (as the Zambians always call it). The truck was undrivable with one front wheel about 45 degrees to the intended line of travel. He took off the pieces of tie rod, headed off to the nearest town, welded it together, returned to reattach it, did a rough wheel alignment on the side of the road, and I drove that truck home without a shimmy! He had no sophisticated tools, but in his own careful way he did some fine tuning on the wheel alignment back at the shop and when we put it on the fancy computerized system in Lusaka, they found there was nothing they could adjust. I bought a replacement tie rod, and gave it to John to install and do the alignment his way!

John was a wonderful friend and brother to me. John and Tebia visited with us often (at least every week) and also hosted us to meals in their home. I find it hard to imagine life in Zambia without John there.

"Toyobonana alimwi," we said to each other as we parted this past August, but we both thought it would be sooner rather than later.

How He Got US Stuck in Iraq

As my good 'yellow dog' Republican friend, Jack, can attest, I've been consistently anxious about this venture since even before it began. And it has turned out pretty much as I predicted. However, the question remains... what next?


The picture is designed to be humourous, but perhaps it does more... I think it remains widely accepted that the place to clean up was (and continues to be) Afghanistan. Perhaps a withdrawal from Iraq to regional bases could be accompanied by increasing the policing and development of a solution in Afghanistan while maintaining some contact and control of the chaos in Iraq. It is simply not acceptable to pull out of the mess that has been created like they did in Vietnam. My first choice would include a large scale withdrawal to support bases in the region. At the same time they would install personnel for training and leadership support within the governmental, policing and armed forces of Iraq. This would need to be done in consultation and coordination with regional powers and players including Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia. It is my position that one of Dubya's worst faults has been his continual unilateralism—his unwillingness to dialogue with his adversaries (even his friends!). Truly that is how he got stuck in Iraq in the first place.

It's time to go back to the basics, and that means he needs to stop the fighting, and start the diplomacy—talking, discussing, negotiating... With recent disclosures that even Rummy realized it isn't working (Is that why he was fired!?) perhaps support has been reduced to Laura and the dog. So even though he famously said that that would be enough for him to continue, maybe even Dubya can accept that it's time for a change.