I am saddened to hear about the death of the grande dame of South African music, Miriam Makeba at the age of 76. For decades she has been affectionately known as Mama Afrika.
Her professional career began in the 1950’s and in 1959 she teamed up with Harry Belafonte, who assisted her in gaining entry to and fame in the United States. She released many of her famous hits there, including Pata Pata and The Click Song. In 1966 Makeba received the Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording together with Harry Belafonte.
Because of her very vocal attacks on apartheid (even testifying before the UN) the South African government revoked Makeba’s passport and she spent the next 27 years in exile. Nelson Mandela persuaded her to return to South Africa in 1990. Since 2005 she has been holding concerts in all the countries and cities that she’s lived as part of her farewell tour. She died in the early hours of this morning in Italy from a heart attack.
She will be greatly missed and remembered with fondness.
I leave you with two songs. The first is arguably her greatest hit - The Click Song (Qongqothwane) - a song even a white South African girl who grew up under apartheid, knew as a child, although of course I couldn’t hope to pronounce it!
The second - from Paul Simon - is one of my All Time Top 10 songs and I love this version with Miriam Makeba, where some of the lyrics were changed to tell her story
I can still not watch the news without shedding a few tears! America, you did something great on Tuesday!
I think the most amazing thing about this victory is the potential to inspire individuals to strive and dream for something more than their present circumstances. I was very touched yesterday when the mayor of Atlanta said that she had visited two inner-city schools in the morning and that the students, who mostly come from circumstances above which they are not expected to ever rise, have been transformed by hope. It has dawned on them that they CAN change their destiny, that hard work and commitment CAN make a difference and that they CAN succeed. That is huge!
This is not about waiting for change. This is about finding the capacity for change inside oneself. For me, it’s about asking the following questions:
Can I heal my past traumas?
Can I love myself unconditionally?
Can I overcome my inertia?
Can I reach for my dreams?
Can I work hard towards my goals?
Can I align my lifestyle with my beliefs about health and nutrition?
Can I lose weight?
Can I get fit and healthy?
Can I inspire others by setting an example?
Can I be a mother?
Can I be trusted to look after myself properly?
Can I succeed?
Can I be proud of myself?
Can I change my life?
And then having the courage to say:
YES, I CAN!!!!!
The road may be long, the challenges may be steep, but I can do this… And I will!
Saturday night, the Fertilehealthy household. Craig and Hanlie sit down to a delicious pasta supper. Few words are spoken while they eat. These two take their food seriously. They both go for seconds, as is their habit. After two bites of her second helping, Hanlie looks up with a puzzled expression and says: “You know what? I’m actually full.” After picking his jaw up from the floor, Craig cautiously says: “Then stop eating!”
Hanlie looks at her half-full plate, briefly thinks of all the starving kids in Africa and wonders if she’ll be struck down by lightning for wasting food. She makes up her mind and says: “I think I will.” And she does! She takes her plate and throws her food in the compost bin.
Now, I know that this mundane scene would probably be cut from any blockbuster movie, but in my life this is HUGE! I don’t think that I’ve ever really been full in my life. I can’t remember ever stopping eating before my plate was empty unless there was something I didn’t particularly care for (and there’s not much of that in the world)
Of course, being the analytical person that I am, I have to examine what had prompted this extraordinary breakthrough. My friend Charlotte, the hot babe who has recently lost a lot of weight, visited me on Saturday afternoon. Once again we chatted about our emotional journeys. She helped me see how far I’d come. We spoke about our anger, our fears, our obstacles, our identities, our failures and our hopes and dreams. Just speaking about this with someone who intimately knows what I’m talking about provides amazing comfort and a sense of release. It doesn’t matter how close you are to your other friends, your spouse or family, if they have not been fat, they will never understand the issues.
Charlotte helped me see the many victories I’ve had on my journey. We have to not only acknowledge, but celebrate our victories! I have learned so much this last year. Healed so many old wounds. I understand my issues so much better. I know my strengths and my weaknesses and how to work with them and through them. I am so much better equiped to finally bring my lifestyle in line with my beliefs about health and nutrition, to start being active every day and to heal my body and my fertility.
I’ve been very interested in the US Presidential campaign, although I must admit that I’m glad it’s nearing the end. It’s been exhausting!
Of course, we all have strong opinions about this race and I’m not going to rehash the issues. What I have found worrying though is that the one side is running a very divisive campaign, basically saying that if you don’t think like them or vote for them, you’re not a real American. In fact you are anti-American. I’m not even American, but I find that notion very offensive, as I’m sure a lot of Americans do!
Let’s get Bruce Springsteen to remind us again what the real America is all about:
This is all just an excuse for me to feast my eyes on a man who I consider to possess an extraordinary amount of raw sex appeal! Of course, he’s much younger here (circa 1985), but that’s more or less when my hormones woke up and he had a lot to do with it! To me he remains The Boss!
