text:
Living Free, Standing Tall
About Living Free, Standing Tall
Like a Hermit Crab in Search of a Home
To Inspire . . .
To Inform . . .
To Amuse . . .
All (?) About Me . . .
Contact me at . . .
Bougainvillea and Barbed Wire
First published in The Truth About The Fact, International Journal of Literary Nonfiction
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California,
The South African Airways Airbus engines roared, thrusting me into my seat. Smiling to myself, I glanced at the receding landscape. The next ground I touched would be in the magnificent, enigmatic, paradoxical land of my birth—South Africa.
Excitement and apprehension vied for supremacy in my emotions. The country had changed since my last visit more than twenty years ago. Apartheid no longer ruled. The international and local media made optimistic references to "the New South Africa," and I wanted to believe that another era had dawned for all South Africans. But the cheap watch on my wrist spoke of my underlying fear that the stories from friends about rampant crime might be true. Soon I would stand once more on African soil, able to observe and experience South Africa, the land of contrasts, for myself.
In some respects I would be like the hoards of tourists who descended daily upon the country. But I intended to look past the glitzy advertisements that supposedly represented Africa, to touch the pulse of the new South Africa. I hoped to leave with the assurance that the people I still dearly loved were forging ahead on a path acceptable to all races.
The drive from Jan Smuts Airport to my friends' home rekindled memories. I spotted dots of purple Jacaranda across the countryside. Cars and trucks dodged the ubiquitous, over-flowing African taxis on a well-maintained freeway. The sky was as blue as I remembered it, with cotton-ball clouds, whiter than anywhere else in the world, hovering beneath the blazing sun. The dry air hit my nostrils, filling them with the faint but unmistakable scent of Africa—a mixture of dust and sweat. I sighed contentedly. I was back in my homeland.
My friend slowed the car, and the guard raised the barrier into the subdivision. Turning a corner, I noticed a splash of deep red Bougainvillea draped over the posts of a home's high back wall. A magnificent example of the beauty I came to enjoy. But on closer inspection I realized the blooms were supported by strands of barbed wire that ran the length of the property. Without realizing it, this unexpected incongruity formed the lens through which I viewed the new South Africa and its inhabitants over the following weeks.
The country, known for its natural beauty, had always been a land of contrasts. A high plateau dressed in gray-green grasses ended at the spine of the craggy Drakensberg Mountains, where the land dropped gently to the sea on the east and gathered itself in all its magnificence at the Cape of Good Hope, the tip of Africa. Rocky coastlines protected the never-ending white, sandy beaches from the ceaseless pounding of the Indian and Atlantic oceans.
Perhaps the most widely recognized contrast lies in the diversity of the almost forty-five million people occupying the land. About eighty percent of these are indigenous Africans. The white population, whose ancestors in many cases settled in the area over two hundred years ago, comprises about four million. Indians emigrated from India in the late 1800s and made the country their home, multiplying to over a million. Mixed-race descendents of the early settlers developed their own Malay culture nestled among the mountain peaks of the Western Cape. An increasing Asian population, combined with immigrants who fled the turmoil in Eastern Europe, made up the balance.
I grew up surrounded by Indian saris and curries, inimitable African music and laughter, cricket games and cups of tea, with the lilting cadences of Zulu, English, and Afrikaans filling the air. I also lived through the dark days of apartheid and struggled with the sense of powerlessness to stand against the edicts of an immoral regime.
Although racial divisions no longer rule, I discovered another form of apartheid exists: economic. The contrasts are stark and pervasive. It's easy, when driving through the suburbs of Johannesburg or along the coast around Durban, to form the impression of a thriving economy. Sand and concrete mark the construction of another luxury subdivision. New, expensive blocks of condominiums or apartments beckon holidaymakers to the beachfronts. Plans are underway to widen the mouth of Durban harbor by 80 meters, an enormous and expensive undertaking. There is a feeling of life, activity—until you drive through certain sections of the cities, or past open areas beside freeways. Then the widening gulf between the small percentage of "haves" and the growing number of "have nots" becomes apparent.
In my childhood days, many of the African population lived a traditional, simple lifestyle in mud and thatch huts dotted around the countryside, ruled by tribal customs. The men left to work in the mines or cities, returning periodically to their homes. While the former administration used this system to justify the establishment of homelands and separation of the races, it had existed for centuries prior to the implementation of the Group Areas Act in the 1950s.
With the 1994 change in government, these country-dwellers were free to move anywhere. Promises of housing, electricity, water, jobs lured them to the cities, resulting in an influx that any urban government would find challenging. Lack of skills compounded the problem. Even low-level positions were non-existent, and squatter settlements sprang up overnight. Any piece of vacant land became home to families who constructed crude, flat-topped shelters from corrugated iron, cardboard, and plastic sheeting, ignoring the lack of running water or sewage facilities.
The government has made a concerted effort to build low-income housing over the past decade, but the need is overwhelming. Some 360,000 people in the Johannesburg area alone have registered and are awaiting transfer from "informal housing" to government-subsidized housing. Others prefer to remain in the deplorable squatter encampments—and pay no rent.
The new government introduced Black Economic Empowerment, or what is really affirmative action, in an effort to improve the lot of the black majority of the population. Seventy-five percent of all jobs are reserved for black Africans, with twenty-five percent going to the remaining three major ethnic groups. White, Indian, and Colored youth graduating from high school or university scramble to secure the few positions available to them. Consequently, the prospect of jobs in other countries, especially professional opportunities, exerts a significant pull on the country's young talent.
SAReunited is a Web site designed to offer locals and expatriates a means of connecting with each other, similar to Classmates.com in the U.S. Prior to leaving for my trip, I surveyed the list from my all-girls high school in Durban. Of those who chose to register, fifty-one percent of graduates between 1994 and 2003 had left for the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, Israel, and other countries in Europe and Asia. But even prior to the employment challenges of recent years, disgust with the apartheid policies of the government and fear of the future generated white flight. The effects of this sustained brain drain are now becoming apparent as the infrastructure in the country slowly sinks.
The prior regime invested heavily in a superb road system, designed to provide access to any area of instability across the country. For now, the current government reaps the benefit of this transportation network. But roads, bridges, water systems and other services essential to a healthy society are showing signs of lack of attention. Sewage has repeatedly spilled into the Vaal River due to a problem with the pumps at a sewerage works. I heard a broadcast alert warning people of contamination in the Crocodile River. Kuberg, the electricity giant, failed to plan ahead for upgrades in capacity and service. As a result, the supply has been stretched thin, to the point where television announcements instruct homeowners to switch off hot water geysers and other appliances until further notified. Cell phones are ubiquitous and are the major means of communication, mainly because of an inability to install and maintain land lines. Thieves climb telephone poles to remove copper wire for personal use.
Lush vegetation and foliage are synonymous with South Africa. The tall Australian blue gum trees lining the sides of dusty roads, or surrounding farm houses nestled against a kopje, a little hill, always delighted me. With the departure of trained experts, a shoot-from-the-hip mentality has encroached on the landscape.
Demands on the rivers and reservoirs increase daily. The Department of Conservation reviewed the country's trees and shrubs and mandated the removal of many of those known to draw more water. Not only did this cover the Australian blue gum trees, but also the magnificent Jacarandas that turn Johannesburg and Pretoria into a purple blaze each spring, much like cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C. The people objected vociferously to this desecration of the beauty of the area, which resulted in a modification—existing Jacarandas could stay, but new plants were banned.
Friends who live in the magnificent low-veld area near Barberton came home to find their mulberry trees, once a haven for birds and a source of fruit, destroyed by the local authorities without consultation. I saw no evidence that steps are being taken to replace the trees and shrubbery with more drought-tolerant foliage, and the countryside looked decimated—brown, bare, dusty.
"Africa for the Africans" is the slogan of the day. This attitude prompts the indigenous people to claim private property as their own, and the rule of law is being undermined by the very authorities appointed to uphold it. Tribal chiefs have the power to "negotiate" the transfer of land. Farms that have been viable contributing supports of the agricultural economic base are being arbitrarily "claimed" and turned over to African claimants, with minimal reimbursement to their owners. The people want to own the land, but do not want to work the land, in the larger sense of contributing to the overall good of the economy.
Successful, producing, banana plantations, citrus groves, and grain fields are being carved into small segments and turned over to the indigenous people whose primary interest is providing for their own daily needs. The authorities behind the "land claims" are ignorant, or choose to ignore, the impact on the food supply, both locally and as part of the export trade. Expedience dictates policy.
This mindset has directed African lifestyle for centuries. There is a child-like inability to see beyond the immediate and personal, an attitude that translates to an unwillingness to contribute to the larger concerns of a country's financial, commercial, and industrial life. Lethargy predominates. The people look to a tribal chief, paternalistic government, or overseas charities to not only supply basic needs, but to function as a safety net in catastrophic times.
Where individual ambition surfaces, it often veers off course into corruption. If a white farmer remains on a portion of the property, the claimants expect to be able to borrow his tractor, share his seed and fertilizer, and even, if they can rig it, tap into his electricity supply. Farm owners are intimidated into compliance. In situations where the farmer leaves the area, a benevolent government is expected to come through with everything necessary to make the land fruitful for the new occupants.
Tourism, always an important factor in South Africa's economy, has become a mainstay, a key prop among buckling supports. I found everyone connected to the industry courteous and helpful. Each interaction conveyed the message, "We need you."
Travel brochures portray exotic scenes of lion kills, elephants stalking through long grass, hippo eyes skimming the surface of dams, while attentive Africans cater to the every wish of well-heeled travelers. Guests are whisked from the airport in a secure bus to a game park, increasingly a private park. There they are given a flavor of Africa—food, wine, décor, game-viewing—before being whisked off to the next stop on the itinerary, most often the not-to-be-missed city of Cape Town. They are pampered, protected, and privileged, and leave with the satisfaction of being able to say they have been to Africa, unaware of the mild extortion underlying the international tourist industry.
One of the perks of my 1984 visit was the favorable rate of exchange between the U.S. Dollar and the South African Rand. I loved being able to stay in an elegant beachfront hotel at a price less than an economy hotel in the U.S.
To my dismay, I discovered a new policy exists for hotels, rental cars, and other travel-related accommodations. International visitors no longer get the benefit of the current exchange rate (presently $1 = approximately ZAR 6) because the industry sets the price according to the passport holder's currency of origin. Americans are charged a dollar amount inflated to compare to hotel rates in the U.S. The British pay in pounds based on U.K. prices. Most international visitors purchase tour packages at a set price and remain blissfully ignorant of the basis of their travel costs.
The Kruger National Park charges international visitors three times the rate of South Africans. Their intention is to make the park affordable for all South Africans. This is understandable, given the economic conditions in the country. However, the tourism industry, vital to the economy, is resting primarily on the uncertain prop of international travelers paying inflated prices.
A person's mode of transportation has always been a status symbol in South Africa. My eyes widened with delight as I observed the number of African women driving cars—something previously unheard of. The economic conditions of many Africans have soared and they own vehicles. Others, less fortunate, use the private mini-van taxi services that snake across the cities, each driver establishing his own route. These have in effect replaced the public transportation system.
Nothing brought home to me the erratic driving habits and inherent dangers of being on the road more than a line of tow-trucks sitting at a major intersection in Durban. Each time I passed, there they were, waiting expectantly for the accident that would certainly take place.
The powerful quest for a vehicle has generated a huge market for stolen cars. Carjacking is rampant. A sign on the main N4 freeway near Witbank in Gauteng warned: CRIME ALERT – DO NOT STOP. Another sign read: HIJACKING HOT SPOT.
Gangs specialize in searching out and stealing specific car types, models, and colors, based on requests from their "clients." One woman who was hijacked at a traffic light rode around with her abductors for hours while they ran errands. When they finally reached their destination, and after serious cell phone negotiations, the carjackers threw the keys at her with the comment, "You can leave now. The buyer doesn't want green."
I was beginning to understand why homeowners resorted to brick walls rimmed with barbed wire, electrified fences, and guarded entrance gates in an attempt at maintaining security. Signs everywhere alerted potential intruders that armed response units were minutes away. Once inside the gates, wrought iron burglar guards on windows and doors give the feeling of entering a fortress. And even this does not guarantee safety. Drivers throughout the country are warned to keep all doors locked and windows closed. In the U.S., we live with the possibility that something bad may happen to us. In South Africa, the people live with the probability that something bad will happen.
Thieves resort to anything to secure a vehicle. One fellow in Durban made headline news. He broke the lock on a car, hot-wired the engine, and then discovered the steering wheel would not move. Undeterred, he banged at this until the wheel broke off in his hand. In a flash of inspiration, he reached for a wrench and proceeded to drive off, using the wobbly handle to steer. The police arrested him weaving on a hilly, twisting road.
Manufacturers are now using technology to outwit carjackers. A very effective new device, once installed, can be activated via satellite—it cuts off the gas flow to the engine.
The high crime rate has created earning opportunities for entrepreneurial types. Driving into the parking lot of a strip mall, I noticed three men in straw hats standing among the cars. These are "car guards," whose sole responsibility is to see that nobody steals a vehicle or breaks in while the owner shops. Although the mall or store management may oversee the numbers of guards at a location, their primary income is dependent upon tips from car owners. Since these guards, appointed or self-appointed, are everywhere, at every strip mall, in underground or high-rise parking garages, even in streets outside apartment buildings, it can get expensive for drivers. The occupation is little more than approved begging, but many of them have no alternative means of earning.
Unemployment at the time stood at thirty-seven percent. Government policies designed to improve the lives of the indigenous people have had an unexpected backlash. They raised the minimum wage to a level where many homeowners can no longer afford domestic help, an opportunity that always existed for Africans. One farmer and his three African employees had reached an amicable agreement whereby the farmer paid them a modest salary and provided accommodations on the farm. With the wage mandate, the farmer found he could only keep one helper and fired the other two. These two then joined the ranks of the unemployed.
There are no self-service gas stations in South Africa. Owners are required to hire six to eight attendants, and payment is by gas credit card—no cash. Each pump has an appointed employee, who waves the customer forward, handles the transaction, and then hovers for a tip.
The entrepreneurial spirit extends to hawkers, who swarm cars at stop lights, offering carved animals, or whatever product might be hot at the moment. Such behavior is not unusual in foreign countries. What made me uneasy was the knowledge that carjackers posing as vendors used spark plugs to smash windows.
In addition to the car guards in a strip mall parking lot, I noticed a uniformed, armed guard with an attack dog stationed outside a bank's entrance. Another guard buzzed patrons into 4 ft. x 4 ft. cubicles where they waited for the interior lock to release.
The bank employees were representative of the New South Africa in terms of ethnicity. All were polite and helpful, and my teller even invited me to return to live since "It's a different country now."
The rising crime incidence and general deterioration in the city centers brought about a shift in the shopping habits of affluent South Africans of all races. I recall the pleasure of going with my mother down to Durban's city center, winding our way along swept streets, through clean, elegant department stores lining West Street, where we paused for afternoon tea at John Orr's, our favorite. Now shoppers head to mammoth, modern malls in the suburbs, where car guards keep an eye on vehicles outside and armed guards keep an eye on patrons inside. Across the country, these malls offer superb shopping, a variety of restaurants, movie theaters and, most importantly, a feeling of safety, a haven from the uncertainty outside. Take away the languages and accents, and I could have been anywhere in the United States.
The millions who fall on the underside of the economic apartheid line patronize the vendors who throng the city streets. Some have wheeled garment racks loaded with dresses, others set up tables, while most spread their wares on the ground. My most fascinating vendor sat behind a table loaded with small Smirnoff vodka bottles. Peering closely at these, I noticed the "vodka" came in different colors—green, clear, cream, and dark. Some bottles were still empty, stacked to one side. Then I understood. Here sat a traditional healer peddling her muti—the cure-all for whatever ails you.
I chuckled at the large woman squatting on the sidewalk next to her selling assorted souvenirs. How on earth did she get an Orlando Magic T-shirt?
African women have always been the workers in the family, planting, hoeing, cooking, milking cows or goats, sweeping, building fires, crushing grain, bearing and caring for children, and in their spare time, creating beautiful beadwork. Whereas previously these women did all this out in the farmlands, they now compete in the city for a few paltry sales against other women who offer almost identical wares. And at the end of the day, they must pack up and go home to conditions worse than those they left when living in the country.
The indigenous population exploded in the late 1980s and 1990s at the prompting of the African National Congress who urged procreation. "Have babies. We will win by the numbers" was their rallying cry. So babies arrived and poverty soared. So did the spread of AIDS.
Princess, an attractive young black woman who worked for my cousin, responded to the question about her weekend activities with the words, "Oh, I went to a funeral."
"Another one? You went to one last weekend."
"Yes, but this person was old. She was forty-two."
"Forty-two isn't old," my cousin said, aghast.
"To us, forty-two is old. Our people are dying between ages seventeen and thirty."
South Africa's health minister at the time encouraged traditional healing methods, recommending raw garlic, beets, and olive oil as an antidote to HIV/AIDS and fueling distrust of modern drugs. Pressure from the World Health Organization increased the availability of anti-retrovirals, but the daily death toll is so high the newspapers no longer report the figures. Coffin-making is a booming business, with over 600 deaths a day from AIDS and related illnesses. Enterprising grave robbers are recycling caskets.
Witchcraft and the power of the sangoma pervade African life. A white businessman in Durban took his African employee to see a white doctor. The African was convinced he would die in two days, as predicted by the Tokolosh, a troublesome spirit allied with witches and warlocks. Dr. Dave examined him thoroughly, took blood tests, did X-rays, could find nothing wrong, and sent him home with the suggestion that he consult a traditional healer in order to allay his fears. Despite all this, the man died two days later. The unshakable power of suggestion, used so effectively in Africa, had lodged in his impressionable mind.
How do you communicate when your country's constitution is written in eleven official languages? English has become the primary common language. However, the news and weather are presented in English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, and Zulu at varying times of the day and both are focused primarily on the continent of Africa.
Television soap operas offer the most creative combining of the languages. The characters switch languages like switching hats, one speaks in Xhosa, the response comes in English, someone adds an Afrikaans comment, and the dialogue ends in Zulu. If the soap is primarily English, subtitles cover the other languages, and so it goes. While this is a unique way of encouraging communication in different languages, what is emerging is a conglomerate language, one known only to the locals.
The talk show host on the radio commented on someone's birthday celebration.
"Did you get there in time to eat some of your cook," she said in English. A non-South African might rear up in alarm at this hint of cannibalism, but I immediately knew what she meant. She had used the Afrikaans word koek, meaning cake.
While it is now easy to communicate basic needs with all the peoples of South Africa, situations get sticky when the issue calls for a deeper level of comprehension. I wonder how effective the dialogue around a conference table on a weighty matter might be.
"What do you see for the future of South Africa?" I asked several people. The response was almost uniform. Each spoke of uncertainty and a wait and see attitude. The present government places tremendous importance on education. However, the present generation of youngsters will not become contributing members of society for many years.
The hope of South Africans lies in children who will grow up educated, able to take advantage of opportunities, willing to assume leadership positions, and desiring to work for the benefit of their land and their people. Their uncertainty lies in what will happen in the country between now and then.
In 2005, the government expanded the Black Economic Empowerment program by mandating that nearly all South African companies put more than 15 percent of ownership into black hands within five years and more than 25 percent within 10 years. These guidelines apply to every company that does business with the government or needs licensing, as well as to those companies' suppliers and subcontractors.
Regrettably, such economic progress is being undermined by the stark reality of the spread of HIV/AIDS. Forty percent of the staff of Sasol, the leading oil and gasoline provider, is infected, as well as 20 percent of the Post Office staff. Who will fill the gap left by trained leaders when they succumb to the disease?
South Africa has not escaped the corruption endemic in Africa. Then Deputy President Jacob Zuma was released from his position and indicted on fraud charges. His financial advisor presently serves fifteen years in prison. Zuma commissioned almost a dozen advocates whose court fees run to ZAR 12,000 (about $1,800) per hour. Funds which could be used to benefit the people by supplying clean water and housing, boosting educational programs, fighting the AIDS epidemic, are being wasted as politicians and lawyers fight among themselves.
The day of Zuma's appearance in court in Durban, thousands of red-shirted supporters and protestors flooded the city. Large tour buses lined up, cars jammed the parking lot, and police closed the surrounding streets.
"If the man has been involved in criminal activities, why are so many people supporting him?" I asked my cousin.
"It's tribal," was his response. "Zuma is a Zulu; Thabo Mbeki is a Xhosa. His guilt or innocence makes little difference."
Such is Africa.
Sadness lingered with me as my return flight lifted into the air at Cape Town International Airport. I reviewed South African history and reflected on my years there during the apartheid era. Anger mingled with deep melancholy. It need not have gone the way it did. The natural resources, boundless opportunities, mineral wealth, and aspirations of the people could have produced a country where all benefited and lived peaceably together. Instead, generations have suffered, and will continue to suffer, as a result of the course chosen by powerful leaders with a distorted view of their mission and worth.
In the meantime, life goes on. South Africans work daily at trying to achieve balance in their personal lives, seeking to offset lurking terror with abundant pleasurable activities, snatching happiness while eyeing the storm clouds. Looking past the barbed wire, through the electrified fences, to the profusion of bougainvillea thriving in a near-idyllic climate.
My mood somber, I concluded the New South Africa is a country poised to soar—or sink.
On Becoming An American
(First published in the 2006 Mid Rivers Review)
I stared out the window of the Boeing 707 at the ragged edge of coastline separating water from land. Apprehension and anticipation swirled together as every minute brought me closer to touchdown in the U.S.A. It was September 19, 1971, and I would soon become one of America's newest immigrants.
The plane landed at Washington-Dulles, and I gazed wide-eyed at the mobile lounge that came alongside to transport us to the terminal. Louis Botha Airport in my home city of Durban on the coast of South Africa had nothing so exotic. Why should it, with fewer than five flights a day? Passengers had to slosh through rain while gusts of tropical wind off the Indian Ocean swirled around the aircraft stairs.
Instead, I heard a whirr as hydraulic lifts turned the elevated lounge into a bus. The worn, dirty string around my enormous package of X-rays and legal documents, the golden key that would grant me entry into the U.S.A., gave evidence of having been clutched for 10,000 miles.
A uniformed Immigration Officer took my package of papers and disappeared. I waited anxiously, stifling the strangling fear there would be some last-minute glitch and I would be denied access into the country.
My mind drifted over the sequence of events that brought me to this point. Earlier in the year, my parents announced they planned to retire in the U.S.A., and my only sibling decided to return to her college town in Tennessee. After a break of three years in Canada, I had adjusted to life back in South Africa, enjoying the good and ignoring the bad. I loved my periodic visits to exciting America, but was always glad to return "home."
As a result of my family's decisions, I now faced two unappealing options: the upheaval of another change of country and culture, or being separated by a vast ocean from the people closest to me. I chose the former, threw myself into preparations for the big move, and ignored my dragging emotional feet.
As I waited in the Immigration office, questions tumbled around in my mind like clothes in a dryer. How would I adjust to this new country? Would I be accepted socially? Would I have difficulty finding work? I was starting from scratch. All I owned fit into two suitcases. Two boxes of beloved books followed by ship. My thoughts were interrupted by instructions to proceed to another room for a picture. A few minutes later the officer returned, smiling and holding out his hand.
"Welcome to the United States," he said.
He then turned over my "green card," granting me the right to live and work in the U.S. My new life had begun.
Those first few years were a mix of misery and wonder. It takes enthusiasm, energy, and determination to build a new life in a strange country, and I lacked all three components. My move was a result of my parents' decision rather than my own internal motivation, and my emotional feet still dragged.
I had to embark on one of my least favorite activities—job hunting. My first temp assignment confirmed my opinion of the awfulness of my circumstances. The Southern dialect was beyond comprehension and my own distinctly different accent didn't help communication efforts. One day I dutifully wrote out a phone message from a Mr. Baile of XYZ Company. The recipient stared at the message. After much discussion, we laughingly determined the name was "Bell"—with a Southern pronunciation.
Socially I felt a misfit. My clothes were different, my expressions unique, my manner reserved. Atlanta had not yet evolved into a cosmopolitan city, and I stuck out like an onion in a petunia patch. My privileged "green card" kept me anchored from moving to Canada where the culture was closer to my own.
On the other hand, I found many aspects of life in the U.S.A. appealing. The supermarkets were a far cry from the corner grocery store in Durban, with one type of milk and only brown or white bread. My love of food soared to extraordinary heights as I surveyed my options.
I joined the ranks of true Americans when I got my first credit card. It was just a gas card, but it gave me a minuscule sense of belonging. Consumerism was the one aspect of American life I adapted to easily.
Our schools followed the British system, providing a thorough but brief education by American standards. Nevertheless, my work ethic and personal abilities soon opened doors professionally. My two suitcases expanded into overstuffed closets in my own condominium. A lifelong dream of owning a sports car became a reality, and I added a blur of brilliant red to Atlanta's freeways. My airline travel benefits meant I could indulge my passion for overseas vacations. At first, I felt as though I belonged somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic, no longer a South African and not yet an American. Then a subtle shift took place. I found myself adapting to the American lifestyle and had no desire to relinquish it.
In 1977, I stood before a judge in an Atlanta court house. Along with immigrants from 43 countries, I raised my hand and solemnly swore allegiance to the United States. While I did not take this step lightly, convenience motivated me. A South African by birth, I traveled on a British passport, and lived as a resident alien in the United States. Becoming a citizen would eliminate confusion.
The years flew by. I realized with amazement I was approaching the thirtieth anniversary of my immigration. Sadly, a part of me remained remote, detached from the throb of American life. The Fourth of July represented just another day off work—nothing more. Those thirty years encompassed confusing episodes and events: the wind-up of the Vietnam War, Watergate, the Pentagon Papers.
Then came the events of September 11, 2001. Riveted to the television, I felt unfamiliar emotions course through me, stirrings of patriotism. Outrage at this assault on America. Sorrow over the innocent lives lost or irrevocably changed. Pride for the selfless commitment of the rescuers. The magnanimous outpouring of support from millions of Americans and friends around the world surprised me. I rummaged in a drawer for the small U.S. flag I received when I became a citizen and proudly hung this on my mailbox, the first on my block to do so.
On September 30, the renowned Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus gave a benefit concert for the American Red Cross. Symphony Hall overflowed, with many people standing in the aisles. At the signal from the conductor, the first notes of the rousing "Star Spangled Banner" filled the auditorium. Hundreds of voices joined the chorus while a mass of small flags created a swirl of red, white, and blue. To my amazement, I discovered tears rolling down my cheeks, my emotions responding to the patriotic surge around me. I felt honored to be a participant in this display of support for my President, my country, my people.
Another year flew by and the anniversary of September 11th arrived. I again turned on my television to watch the memorial events. As I stood quietly during the moments of silence and commemoration, my mind flashed back to that dreadful day. I felt deep sympathy for those who had lost loved ones, and admiration for the many who had valiantly fought physical battles as they coped with burns and other injuries. I empathized with the individuals and family members who struggled daily with unseen emotional trauma.
A voice intoned the roll call of people who had perished at Ground Zero, like the solemn tolling of a bell. At first I was merely fascinated by the sound and variety of names: Aamoth, Adams, Alvarez, Ang, Bailey, Bhukhan, Boisseau, Belilovsky . . . Suddenly, I realized that every name represented a diversity of ethnic, national, and cultural backgrounds. Each surname carried with it the dreams of immigrants from every corner of the world, individuals and families, spread over centuries and generations. Dreams of a life of freedom from government or religious oppression. Dreams of achieving individual goals. Dreams of living in security and safety, free from rampant crime and corruption. This is what America represents. This is what unites her people.
Being an American does not lie in consumerism, or opportunity, or even the privilege of citizenship. It lies in understanding and honoring the ideal of individual worth regardless of nationality, gender, or ethnicity. It is enjoying the freedom to participate in government of the people, for the people, by the people. It is recognizing the millions of individual threads that are woven together to make the tapestry that symbolizes America. It is accepting the dark threads of weaknesses, failures, and shameful traits along with the glittering threads of strength, the will to triumph over adversity, and national and individual resolve.
Now I understand. Now I am an American.
All Rights Reserved. Contact me at: joy@joywooderson.com


What does Cafe Rio, SkyWest Airlines and Red Hills Golf Course have in common? Ralph Atkin. Ralph Atkin was instrumental in not only starting these successful businesses, but starting them in southern Utah. At this April Inspirational luncheon, we'll learn of Ralph's businesses successes and failures and hear his advice to the local business community.
Mr. J. Ralph Atkin, a life long resident of St. George, Utah, a graduate of Dixie State College, (AS), Brigham Young University (BS) Accounting, Golden Gate University (MBA) and received his JD From the University of Utah in 1970. He is a member of the Utah State Bar, as well as a member of the state Bar's Business Law and Probate/Trust Law sections. Mr. Atkin was elected the Washington County Attorney in 1970 and served one term. Mr. Atkin served as the Director of Economic Development for the State of Utah from 1991 to 1993. In this role he planned, organized, and conducted several trade missions with the Governor of the State of Utah; these missions were in Asia, Mexico and Europe and Washington D.C. Prior to that, he served as the Chairman of the Utah Travel Council for nine years. He has maintained a private law practice in St. George with his emphasis in Business and Estate planning.
Mr. Atkin is the founder of SkyWest Airlines (1972), retired as its Chairman in 1992 and retired from its Board in 2016. SkyWest Inc. is a public company. He was involved in several mergers and acquisitions in addition to being heavily involved in the initial public offering of SkyWest stock.
Mr. Atkin has created Airlines in Europe (Austria 1995) and West Africa (Ghana 2005). With both airlines, he dealt directly with many levels of government including the President of Ghana. He is also a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) for Dixie State University. He and his wife have been co-chairs of the Centennial Campaign Committee and knows well the strains of "dialing for dollars." He also served on the Board of TruHearing, Inc. a private company until its successful exit in 2018. He recently taught an Entrepreneurial Business class at DSU with other retired CEOS to a class of 11 students.
He is married to Cheri Bennet Atkin, (A.S., Dixie State College, B.S., BYU and M.S., U of U.) They have eight children and twenty-five grandchildren. Mr. Atkin holds a private pilots license (single/multi engine ratings). In his youth, he served an LDS Mission to England and most recently, he and his wife served as Public Affairs Volunteers in Turkey for the LDS Church. The Atkins' enjoy travel, golf and tennis in addition to church, community and educational service but his family has always come first.


text:
Permission granted for 5 dwellings outside settlement envelope in absence of 5YHLS
DLP (Planning) Ltd and BE1 Architects have secured full planning permission for 5 new dwellings on the edge of the village of Maulden, in Central Bedfordshire.
Although the Application Site falls outside of the defined settlement boundary and is therefore defined as 'open countryside' under local planning policy, the decision was approved by the case officer, without the need to be debated by the Development Management Committee.
Due to the Councils failure to maintain an up-to date Local Plan and five year supply of housing land, the application was determined in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework 'Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development', to which it was concluded that the development would provide much needed housing in a sustainable location, without causing significant or detrimental harm to the local character or appearance.
Firstly through pre-application discussions, and subsequently through the full application, DLP were able to successfully demonstrate that the development proposed would form a logical extension to the village extending the neighbouring area of ribbon development, and would be in-keeping with its surroundings in terms of scale and design.
This success demonstrates that appropriately designed development can be accepted on the edge of settlements, particularly where the authority is unable to demonstrate a five year supply of housing land.
dlpPermission granted for 5 dwellings outside settlement envelope in absence of 5YHLS 03.31.2017
Permitted Development confirmed for Office-to-Resi Change of Use at Wesley Chambers, Dewsbury
DLP (Planning) Ltd has secured confirmation that a proposed change of use of the ground and first floor offices to 5 apartments at Wesley Chambers, Dewsbury, is permitted development.
An application for prior-approval was submitted to Kirklees Council under Class O of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2015 (as amended). The property, Wesley Chambers, is within a short walking distance of Dewsbury Town Centre and in a Conservation Area. The proposals specifically related to the ground floor office and first floor office suite of the property.
DLP researched and provided evidence to demonstrate that Wesley Chambers was within the B1 use class, for rateable purposes, from April 2010 and this was supported by an examination of the Council's online planning application history. The submissions also demonstrated that in respect of transport, highways, land contamination, flood risk and impact of noise from commercial premises, a reasonable residential environment could be provided within the proposed accommodation.
The development proposals will provide an important source of residential accommodation and future occupiers will have access to a variety of shops, services and public transport infrastructure.
dlpPermitted Development confirmed for Office-to-Resi Change of Use at Wesley Chambers, Dewsbury 03.15.2017
Application Submitted for New Through School in Sheffield
DLP (Planning) Ltd have submitted an application for planning permission and Listed Building Consent for a new through school for pupils ranging from nursery, infant, primary, secondary and sixth form to cover ages 3 – 18.
There is need for additional provision of school places for children in Sheffield, with the most pressing need at primary level, increasing demand from those places will follow through to secondary education and on to further education. The new school will create employment for teachers and support staff and, when fully operational, accommodate up to 1,400 pupils throughout the year groups.
The development proposals include the refurbishment of the former Pye Bank School, a Grade II Listed Building and returning it to educational use. A new school building is being developed on a cleared housing site which was demolished in the 2000's.
The school has been designed by Race Cottam Associates and has adopted a linear arrangement of the new building to respect the views of the listed Pye Bank school while addressing the significant land level changes in the area as well as existing residential properties. Given the site's visibility from the city, the building's scale and massing has been developed on being read at large scale from a distance as well as up close. References to other local exposed sites with a large mass on a ridge such as Stanage and Burbage Edge have informed the evolution of the built form and references the very visible vertical rock stacks with the use of vertical glazing that slice through the solid masses. The building steps in and out to create the appearance of rock overhangs, crags and crevices which also help to vary the building's appearance and massing in all directions.
As well as providing an inspirational new education setting in the north of the city, the facilities can provide a wider community benefit with amenities opened up to use for the benefit of all outside of school hours. A Community Use Agreement will be entered into which will enable wider access to the facilities outside of school hours. This may include, but not exclusively be limited to, weekend use of games areas, night-school learning, community use of halls for events and performances and sports hall for evening sport.
The re-landscaping of the area will also bring an active use to an area of land, which benefits from spectacular views across the city, but has been subject to vandalism and damage.
dlpApplication Submitted for New Through School in Sheffield 03.14.2017
Planning permission secured for building in the London Borough of Barnet
DLP Planning are pleased to have secured planning permission on appeal for alterations and extensions to a building in a Conservation Area that will provide five residential dwellings in the London Borough of Barnet.
We were instructed during the course of the application as our client had been informed by the Council's Planning Officers that they had concerns with the development, some of which had already been completed. We worked with the Council's Planning Officers to resolve these issues through a series of amendments, which enabled them to recommend to the Planning Committee that permission be granted.
Frustratingly, this recommendation was overturned at the Committee meeting. DLP Planning submitted an appeal on behalf of our client which included a detailed analysis of the lack of impact of the alterations and extensions on the Conservation Area. This argument was supported by the Planning Inspector who upheld the appeal and has allowed the development to proceed. This will breathe new life into the building as well as creating five residential dwellings which are much needed in the area
dlpPlanning permission secured for building in the London Borough of Barnet 03.14.2017
WEST OF ENGLAND PLANNING POLICY UPDATE
Over the next 12 months planning policy will go through a period of significant change across the four West of England Authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. All four authorities are committed to the preparation of new Local Plans, which will shape the city region for the next 20 or so years to come. When combined with the proposals for a Metro Mayor, and the emerging Regional Transport Strategy, these emerging policies will play a major role in the development of the city region.
The West of England authorities are currently in the process of producing a Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) which will set out the strategic plan for the area over the next 20 years. The JSP is currently at draft emerging strategy stage and sets the housing requirement for the whole West of England area at 105,000, however this is currently being challenged by multiple parties who state that the housing figure should instead be in the region of 130,000 – 145,000.
Bath and North East Somerset Council's (BANES) Placemaking Plan is currently at Examination. Hearings were held 13th September – 13th October 2016 and a subsequent consultation on the main modifications was held from the 5th January – 14th February. It is anticipated that the plan will be adopted in late Spring 2017. BANES have also started to work on the New Local Plan and held a Call for Sites until the 8th March.
Bristol are also undertaking a Local Plan Review. They are currently holding a Call for Sites until the 21st April with consultation due in Autumn 2017 on their new Local Plan.
The modifications to North Somerset Council's Core Strategy commit them to an early review by the end of 2018. They recently held a Call for Sites from the 20th January – 17th February. The Sites and Policies Plan Part 2: Site Allocations Plan was submitted for Examination on the 24th February with Hearings due to commence on the 15th May 2017.
South Gloucestershire Council consulted on their New Local Plan Prospectus from the 12th January – 23rd February. The SGC Policies, Sites and Places Plan is currently at Examination.
Overall, the planning policy framework across the region is evolving and the next 12 months will certainly be interesting and is a key time for anybody with an interest in bringing forward development proposals!
DLP are supporting a range of clients who have interests across the region. If you require any further information or if you have a site that you wish to promote please contact the Bristol office.
dlpWEST OF ENGLAND PLANNING POLICY UPDATE 03.10.2017
PERMISSION SECURED FOR STUD FARM DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING RURAL ENTERPRISE DWELLING IN THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN
DLP Planning Ltd are pleased to have been granted permission at Committee by unanimous decision for the development of stud farm facilities, including stables, hay barn, horse walker and rural enterprise dwelling.
On behalf of Endless Acres Stud Farm, DLP's Bristol team successfully devised an appropriate scheme located within a Special Landscape Area and produced a robust rural enterprise dwelling appraisal in accordance with Technical Advice Note 6.
As a new business start up the rural enterprise dwelling has been granted temporary permission for 3 years and is specifically tied to the development and use of the stud farm facilities.
Working closely with GSH Architects and the client, DLP are pleased to have secured the permission as this will enable this new business to implement its 5 year business plan and meet the growing demand for stud facilities in South Wales.
dlpPERMISSION SECURED FOR STUD FARM DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING RURAL ENTERPRISE DWELLING IN THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN 03.09.2017
PLANNING PERMISSION FOR A NEW DWELLING WITHIN THE SETTING OF A LISTED BUILDING
DLP Planning Ltd (DLP) in conjunction with be1 Architects Ltd and Cass Allen Associates Ltd has successfully secured planning permission for a detached family home in Carlton, Bedford.
We were instructed to review a previous application for the site that had been refused on the grounds of noise from the adjacent farmyard.
DLP undertook early pre-application discussions with the local planning authority regarding the principle of development, the impact on the listed building and the noise source on the adjoining agricultural farmyard.
We successfully redesigned the layout to mitigate against the noise impact and was able to remove the previous objection in relation to noise.
A revised scheme was subsequently submitted along with further highways and landscape benefits to the Conservation Area including the creation of a new shared access closing off the existing substandard driveway. This application was fully supported by Council Officers and received approval by Members at planning committee.
The four bedroom detached home will comprise a simple traditional design and set back from the Listed Building to enable the heritage asset to remain the dominant feature within the streetscene.
dlpPLANNING PERMISSION FOR A NEW DWELLING WITHIN THE SETTING OF A LISTED BUILDING 03.07.2017
Appeal success for new bungalow in the Sheffield Green Belt
DLP has secured permission at appeal for a new dwelling within the Green Belt in Sheffield. The proposal included the demolition of an existing commercial building to enable the construction of a new bungalow to the north of the city. The application was refused by Sheffield City Council on the grounds of inappropriate development and harm to the Green Belt. The Inspector allowed the appeal, finding that the proposals did not represent inappropriate development in the Green Belt and no harm with respect to the character of the site or its location in a designated Area of High Landscape Value.
dlpAppeal success for new bungalow in the Sheffield Green Belt 03.01.2017

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


whats up with the chatbox?
hey rob i noticed the chatbox although it doesnt seem to work for me it always says im disconected when i try to enter it any ideas on that?
Re: whats up with the chatbox?
Hmm.. I'm not sure it should be working. What happens when you click log in exactly?
I'm not sure what's up sorry. It comes with the forum I can just turn it on or off, there are no settings or anything.
Rob wrote: I'm not sure what's up sorry. It comes with the forum I can just turn it on or off, there are no settings or anything.
Have you tried clicking join in this bit instead of clicking log in?
haha I forgot about that its a bit big.
Ill get working on the chatbox, I was wondering why no one was in it lol.
Rob wrote: haha I forgot about that its a bit big.
There's a chat box here?? Yay!!! But...where do I find it at? Am I over-looking it?
A chatbox would definitely be cool.
Diksee that's a hilarious avatar.


GREER – Zach Cummings was doing some coaching at Limestone College in the fall, helping the men's lacrosse team for which he had played the previous two seasons.
After one practice, Limestone athletic director Mike Cerino pulled Cummings aside and, taking note of his coaching skills, asked if he might be interested in a position at Riverside High School — a head coaching position.
He interviewed, was hired and tonight, Cummings will lead the fourth-seeded Warriors (9-4) against visiting and fifth-seeded Spartanburg (7-4) in the first round of the boys lacrosse playoffs.
Cummings, 25, graduated in December with a degree in criminal justice but admittedly had no idea what he wanted to do at that point. He had done some coaching as an assistant, both at Limestone and in the summers with clubs back in Maryland.
In the meantime, he's serving an internship in the athletic department at Limestone — learning from his former coach, J.B. Clarke, as well as Mike Cerino — while pursuing another dream. In December, Cummings was taken in the Major League Lacrosse supplemental draft by the Charlotte Hounds, who are coached by Cerino.
It was Cerino, then the coach at Limestone, who recruited Cummings to come to Gaffney out of high school in 2007. Cummings signed but opted for a Maryland junior college.
He came to Limestone for the 2010-11 school year and redshirted and then played the next two seasons and became a first-team All-American.
This weekend, Cummings will begin training camp with the Charlotte Hounds. The following weekend the Hounds will travel to Maryland to scrimmage the Chesapeake Bayhawks.
So much to look forward to. But first, his current team has him pretty excited.


An EES Procedure is a block of code written by the user which returns one or more outputs for a given set of inputs. Internal Procedures are written directly within EES. A remarkable feature of EES is that the user can also add (and later remove) external Procedures written in C, Pascal, and FORTRAN. The external Functions and Procedures are used in exactly the same manner as internal Functions and internal Procedures.
External Procedures are written as dynamic link libraries (DLLs) under the Windows operating system. There are two formats for external Procedures which exchange information with the external routines in different ways. The .FDL format passes inputs and outputs in arrays containing 8 byte real numbers (doubles). The .DLP format passes inputs and outputs as linked list. EES identifies the format by the filename extension which must be .FDL or .DLP. External Procedures written in FORTRAN 77 must have a .FDL filename extension since linked lists are not possible. C, C++ and Pascal procedures can use either format.
When EES is started, it examines the files in the USERLIB\ subdirectory and subdirectories within these directories. Any files having a .DLP or .FDL filename extension are assumed to be external Procedures and they are automatically loaded unless directed otherwise by the Library Manager. The Procedure name used in the EES equations is the filename (without the extension). An external Procedure can also be manually loaded using the Load Library command in the File menu or by use of the $INCLUDE directive. It is possible to load multiple EES Procedures and Functions in one .DLL file as explained in the Multiple External Routines section.
A skeleton listing of a compiled procedure in .DLP format is shown below. This listing is written in Delphi XE_4 but the same calling sequence is used in later version of DELPHI and C++. Example code for DELPHI and C++ are provided below.
The major concern is the Procedure header. To be recognized by EES, the Procedure name, called ProcName in the above example, must be the same as the filename. The procedure statement has four arguments.
S is a 255 character ansi C string with 1 byte per character. The actual string length may be less than 255 characters. It is terminated with a chr(0), following the normal C string conventions. S can be used both to send text information from EES and to return text information from the external procedure. The text information sent from EES to the function appears within single quotes as the first argument in the procedure call statement, as in the following example.
Arguments are separated by a list separator which is the comma in the U.S. system and the semicolon in the European system.
Note that the list separators still indicate that there three outputs but all of the outputs do not need to be provided. Computational time will be reduced when the number of outputs is reduced.
The text information is optional. If it appears in the Call statement, as above, then S will be set to this text without the quotes. Otherwise, S will be set to a null string. The input and output variables of external Procedures are always doubles regardless of the Complex Numbers setting. Note that Array Range Notation (e.g., X[1..5] can be used as shorthand in the Call statement.
Inputs is a pointer to the head of a linked list of input values supplied by EES. Each input consists of a value (double precision) and a pointer to the next input, as indicated by the ParamRec structure. The procedure may have one or more inputs. The next field of the last input will be a null pointer (nil). The Procedure should count the inputs to be sure that the number supplied is as expected and issue an error message in S if this is not the case.
Outputs is a pointer to the head of a linked list of output values calculated by the external Procedures using the supplied input values. Each output consists of a value double precision) and a pointer to the next output, as indicated by the ParamRec structure. The procedure may have one or more outputs. The next field of the last outputs will be a null pointer (nil).
S is returned from the external Procedure as the null string and Mode should be set to 0 under normal circumstances . If an error or warning is encountered in the external function, S should be set to an appropriate error message and Mode should be set to a positive value. If the string is not null and MODE>=0, EES will then terminate calculations and display this error message. If MODE<0, then EES will assume that string S provides a warning message, which it will display and continue calculations.
A method to register external functions and procedures is implemented in EES versions 10.011 and newer. Before calling the Procedure the first time, EES will call it with Mode=-1 and with the character string S set to '['+EESIDNo+']', e.g., . EESIDNo is the EES registration number that appears on the EES start-up screen. The external procedure can ignore this information or it can internally set to flag if this EES license is not intended to use the external procedure.
The .FDL format differs from the .DLP format in that it uses arrays to transfer the inputs and outputs between EES and the external routine, rather than linked lists. An .FDL external routine can be written in any compiled language, including FORTRAN, C++, and DELPHI. The format for all languages is illustrated by the following FORTRAN subroutine fragments.
S is a 255 character string (CHARACTER(255) in FORTRAN) that can be used both to send text information to the procedure and to return text information from the procedure. The text information sent from EES must appear within single quotes as the first argument in the procedure Call statement, as in the following example.
The text information is optional. If it appears in the Call statement, as above, then S will be set to this text (without the quotes). Otherwise, S will be set to the null string.
The external Procedure is expected to provide an example of the calling sequence of the procedure in string S when MODE=-1. S is also used to return an error message if necessary in which case the external procedure must set MODE to a value greater than 0. The error message will terminate calculations. A warning message (which does not terminate calculations) can be presented by setting MODE to a value less than 0 and copying the warning message to string S. In normal operation, MODE=0 and S need not be defined.
NIN and NOUT are the number of inputs and outputs provided by EES. The routine should check to see if these agree with the expected number of inputs and outputs. INPUTS is an array of REAL*8. (REAL*8 is a double in C++ and Delphi.) Calculated results are placed in the OUTPUTS REAL*8 array. There above example shows the INPUTS and OUTPUTS array to be dimensioned for 50 elements, but this limit is flexible. The current implementation in EES can pass up to 410 variables to an external procedure.
Click here to view a .FDL external procedure in FORTRAN using the Open Source GNU Compiler Collection (GCC).
Information concerning external procedures can be obtained in an identical manner to built-in functions with the Function Info command in the Options menu. The Function Info dialog has a Function Info button which, when used, provides help explaining the use of the selected function. When the user clicks the Function Info button, EES will look for a file with the name of the compiled routine and a .PDF, .CHM, .TXT or .HTM filename extension. The .TXT file is an ASCII text file. The .HTM file should contain HTML code readable by a browser. This help file will be displayed if the file is found in the directory in which the external library file resides; otherwise a message will appear which states that help is not available for this item.
If an ASCII file is provided, it should be formatted so that each paragraph ends with a carriage return. Long lines that do not fit within the Help window will be broken and word-wrapped as needed. Blank lines and spaces can be used to make the text more clear.
Note that .PDF files, Windows .CHM files (such as the you are now reading) and .HTM files allow figures and formatting options and so it is a better way of providing help than a .TXT file. The Windows .CHM and .HTM files can be composed using any commercial Help generating programs. .HTM files can also be written in Microsoft Word.


As a traveler one of my main goal this year is to document the Durbar festival in the northern part of the country.
I set out to ask my friend, Mohammed who lives in Bauchi State when the Durbar festival will be. We agreed on dates that I will come down to Bauchi.
Durbar festival is also known as the traditional Hawan Daushe Durbar. It is part of the activities marking the Eid-el-Fitr, also known as the 'small sallah'celebration. This is an annual festival celebrated after the 30 days fasting by the muslims globally.
The word 'Durbar' is of Persian origin and was first linked to ceremonial parades marking the proclamation of Queen Victoria as the Empress of colonial India in 1877. History has it that the the Hawan Daushe Durbar was introduced to the emirate during the reign of Muhammadu Rumfa in the 1400s. It is also noted that it still takes place in the states that were under the then Sokoto Caliphate with each state having its own emirates ruled over by an Emir.
Some of the States that still perform the Durbar festival are Katsina, Kano, Bauchi,and Kwara amongst other northern states.
In Nigeria,the first Durbar was held in 1911, subsequent ceremonies were held in 1924, 1925, 1948, 1960 and 1972. The Durbar festival was prominently present at the 2nd World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, also known as FESTAC 77. Since then it has been celebrated once a year, after the muslims fast.
The festival is usually observed a day after the 'sallah' day which sees the Emir riding on horse back with his title holders to pay homage to the State Governor and the prominent families in the State. This year's Durbar started on the 25th of June with the emir making his rounds across the State. You can sight small groups of horse riders Following him with the horses all dressed in colourful attires with some to match colours of their riders outfits. Sounds of gun shots echoed around where the group were. The shots were coming from dane guns that were being fired in celebration. The following day, the 26th was the main Durbar festival where every households will be represented.
Passing through town on the evening of the 25th, you can see some portions of main roads blocked for free traffic flow for the procession the following day.The Emir ends the day with a visit from the State Governor.
On the morning of the 26th, as early as 8:00am there were horses all brushed and well dressed in fanciful attires galloping on the streets of Bauchi. In the company of my host, Mohammed and another friend Khalidz, we paid a visit to the Cikasoron Sarakin of Bauchi, arrister Hassan Suleiman Saraki, where we witnessed the preparation for the Durbar according to the family tradition.
The young lads of the house were brushing down the horses and saddling them up, i get to see the different layers of saddle given to the horses.
At the door entrance was a group of four men playing different traditional music instruments to set the whole house in the festive mood. We got to learn that they were praise singing for the riders.
Then came the dressing up part. If you've ever seen a Durbar horseman, you will will notice the headgear, some are very big with different layers of colourful clothing around the rider.
I witnessed the turban tying process and i must say it is a bit similar to women tying gele for a wedding or important occassion. Here also it is a professional that ties the turban, not just anyone. For this family, their symbol is fire. You get to see different representation for each households during the procession at the Government house where the whole parade starts from. Different title holders and their families file in with musicians and colorful horses and riders. You will be able to observe the different class that were there. All i can say is that everyone was represented.
The hunters with their dane guns, the charmers with their snakes and parrots, the wildings with their hyenas and Baboons, the classy with their fine breed horses and high quality clothings and the royal guards.
There was a huge procession of crowd waiting to watch their families and others file out to town and majorly to catch the Emir. It was held at the government house as a sign of the Emir paying back the visit from the governor from the previous day. It was paegentry at its finest and the most colourful festival I have ever witnessed.
NOTE: The Durbar is always rowdy if you want to catch the whole festival at its peak. I will do it again next year and i hope to witness the bigger one in Kano.


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text:
Maxol Partners With Garvey Group To Boost Munster Presence
May 04, 2016 11:27 AM By Publications Checkout
Maxol has secured a contract with the Munster-based Garvey Group to supply fuel to its three service stations, located in Castleisland, Co. Kerry, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick and Dungarvan in Co. Waterford.
The aim of the partnership is to boost the Maxol brand's presence in the Munster region, and comes as both parties invest in improving the quality of their customer experience.
Brian Donaldson, incoming CEO of Maxol commented on the news, "We are extremely pleased to have won the contract to be the fuel supply partner to The Garvey Group, and warmly welcome Kevin McCarthy, Managing Director; Jim Garvey, Finance Director and their team to the Maxol network."
He added that, "This new supply partnership strongly endorses the investment that Maxol has been making in repositioning our brand in recent years, and adds three new high quality forecourts to our expanding network."
Kevin McCarthy, Managing Director, the Garvey Group, said, "Maxol has been investing heavily in its business in recent years and we feel it is the best fit in terms of fuel brand for The Garvey Group, as we too continue to invest in our business.
"Our research shows Maxol is the most trusted fuel brand in Ireland and like ours, is a solid family business, with similar company ethics centred on meeting the needs of Irish consumers."
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan.
Maxol
Garvey Group


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Please send me more information on 401 175 W 2nd Street Lower Lonsdale, North Vancouver Thank you.


Shoaib Malik announced his retirement from ODI cricket on Monday, June 25. He will be playing his last ODI series in the World Cup 2019 to be hosted in the UK.
Speaking to the press at Lahore ahead of the tri-nation T20 series, he made his statement. He further added that he will continue to play T20 matches subject to his health and fitness.
"I will try to play T20 cricket if I continue to stay fit and put up performances," Malik said.
Malik who debuted for the national team in 1999 has amassed a total score of 6975 runs at an average of 35.22 that includes his 41 half centuries and 9 full centuries. As a bowler, he has taken 154 wickets at an average of 38.65 runs per wicket. Malik took the rein of Pakistan after the team was knocked out of the 2007 World Cup.
Malik already retired from Test cricket in 2015 and when asked whether he misses the long format, he replied-"You enjoy Test cricket till the time you are fit. Sometimes you have to take strong decisions. Many people take them keeping their future in mind. But, I tried to take it keeping the future of Pakistan cricket in my mind.
From today Pakistan's training camp for the Zimbabwe tour will begin and the team will leave for the African nation on Thursday, June 28.


You'll no doubt be shocked to learn Jussie Smollett's neighbors in Streeterville do not believe he was attacked by racist rednecks in the dead of winter who put a noose around his neck and beat him while proclaiming their liberal city is "MAGA country."
[...] cops have yet to identify any suspects -- and some people in his tony Chicago neighborhood are growing skeptical.
"I don't believe it happened the way he said it did," said Agin Muhammad, who lives in the same swank high-rise near the Navy Pier as Smollett.
"I've been in this neighborhood five years. I don't believe it, not around here . . . Half the people are gay and the other half are black."
That's MAGA country for you, folks!
Just a thought: maybe they can't find video of the attack because it never happened?
Source with knowledge of #JussieSmollett investigation says that Smollett�s manager, Brandon Moore, has REFUSED to let police examine his phone. Moore is the key witness who said he could hear the attackers over the phone.
Police said last week "if the investigation does reveal [Smollett] made a false report he will be held accountable," according to Fox 32 Chicago reporter Rafer Weigel.


Our OR Slip Dress comes back in a new fabric and the same elegant versatility defines it. Adjustable spaghetti straps adjust to fit the square neck line perfectly along your bust. The soft and durable raw silk fabric allows for more chances to wear this classic style with a variety of layers.


Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, which is celebrating its 100th year, has announced the recipients of the 2017 Citizen of the Year awards. The honorees will be recognized at the annual 2017 Citizen of the Year awards reception, Thursday, Nov. 9, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Eagle Ridge Golf Club, Lakewood.
One person was killed and several people injured in a crash on Route 88 in Lakewood in front of the entrance to the Ocean County Park around 9 p.m., according to the Lakewood Scoop. Dozens of emergency personnel responded to the crash, according to the report.
Phil Murphy chided Mahwah for creating an "overarching perception of anti-Semitism and discrimination" in its rejection of an eruv. Murphy slams 'anti-Semitic' rhetoric around Mahwah eruv Phil Murphy chided Mahwah for creating an "overarching perception of anti-Semitism and discrimination" in its rejection of an eruv.


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HomeResearchResearch ExplorerStudent ThesesSocial Stratification of Health and Well-Being in a Transiti...
Social Stratification of Health and Well-Being in a Transitional Society -- Evidence from Contemporary China
UoM administered thesis: Phd
Yizhang Zhao
Existing research has shown that inequalities of health and well-being have deep roots in social stratification structures, and a large body of literature has shown that an individual's social class position has a positive association with their health status and level of well-being. However, most previous studies have adopted a static perspective, focusing mainly on the impact of an individual's current social class position in the current social context. Yet very little is known about whether individual-level changes in social class position and societal-level changes in resource disparities between different social classes may affect people's health and well-being. This research has comprehensively examined how changes in social class position, i.e. social mobility, may affect people's health and well-being in inter- and intra-generational mobility trajectories, how the impact may differ across institutional sectors, and how the individual-level findings may vary in a changing social context, especially in a dynamic social stratification structure. The empirical analysis is based on contemporary China, which has experienced rapid social changes on a monumental scale in the past few decades, and has witnessed a high social mobility rate at the individual level along with observable changes in the social stratification structure. By using data from both cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys in China, and by employing various statistical models in empirical analysis, the research shows that the impact of social position and mobility depends on at least three factors. First, it depends on mobility trajectories -- while upward social mobility is beneficial in general, the influence of downward mobility is rather different in inter- and intra-generational mobility contexts; second, it depends on institutional sectors -- even upward mobility does not bring much benefit to people without local citizenship; third, it depends on resource disparities in the social stratification structure -- the individual-level association needs to be embedded within a dynamic social context, as the relationship between social positions per se may also change over time. Theoretically, this thesis contributes to the existing literature by employing a dynamic perspective on both the individual level and the societal level in examining how an individual's social position may affect their health and well-being. Methodologically, this study employs diagonal reference models to meet the challenge of the multicollinearity problem of position effect and mobility effect, uses propensity score matching to reduce potential bias in group comparisons, and uses a repeated longitudinal design to deal with the age, period, and cohort conundrum. Empirically, this research focuses on the case of China, a society that has been experiencing decades of rapid social change, which sheds light on both academic research in the field and on future public policy in China.
Supervisors/Advisors
Nick Shryane (Supervisor)
Yaojun Li (Supervisor)
Anthony Heath (Supervisor)
Related Faculties/Schools
Social change, Hukou system, Age-Period-Cohort conundrum, Diagonal reference model, Internal migration, Health inequality, Social mobility, Health and well-being, Contemporary China


2015 oil on canvas 30″ x 30″ contact for price The playground when empty looks and feels different. Do we recall our childhood or try to avoid it?
2015 acrylic on canvas 30″ x 40″ That mumble jumble imbroglio. It is quite simple when the brains relax and focus on one thing at a time. All makes sense. Focus.
2017 acrylic on canvas 48″ x 48″ contact for price Fictitious Jane has the best fun. There is no boundary, no sadness. Even rainy days look bright and feel warm.
2017 acrylic on canvas 40″ x 30″ x 0.75″ contact for price Capturing the moments. The spark of your smile. The wrinkles around your eyes. The day and the night.
2017 acrylic on canvas 36″ x 24″ x 1.5″ contact for price Time might not heal but memories might fade. The mark of time will eventually replace some of the footprints.
2016 acrylic on canvas (diptych) 40″ x 60″ That dance in the deep layers of consciousness, the quiet conversation that often continues on long after its time.
2016 oil on canvas, diptych 36″ x 48″ contact for price The third degree, it burns deep. Especially when the fire is cold and not something we caused.
2016 acrylic on canvas 40″ x 40″ contact for price White dominates here and tints other colours. There are white, black, red and yellow. None is pure.


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Wedding photography — it's development in india Essay
🎓 Home › Essays › Wedding photography — it's development in india
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The wedding portraits seemed to follow a traditional method of strict control over the poses of the people throughout 19th century unlike the other dynamic genres like war photography depicted the life of people after the war which paved way to photojournalism and marked its place in the publishing industry. Photojournalism is the art of telling stories, news, through pictures captured on live location, which is then edited and printed on newspapers. An effective photojournalistic story provokes your curiosity about the scene and emotional content represented in the photograph. It creates a wonder that particular time, moment, emotions, places and people. The mystery is both fascinating and rewarding; and sometimes, the series of images provide clues to help illuminate the understanding.
In India, for a long time period of time traditional photography was a dominant approach that was practised. The other conventional styles and approaches for wedding photos reach India only after 30 years as Indians were busy fighting for their independence. Post Independence and Partition war displayed importance towards photojournalists like Homai Vyarawalla who was the first Indian women who captured the most celebrated her photographs of the departure Lord Mountbatten, India's last British viceroy; the first raising of independent India's flag; preparations for Mohandas K. Gandhi's funeral cremation; Dalai Lama XIV's arrival into exile in India; visiting dignitaries; and, especially, her many images of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister. She defined photography as – a language, a medium of communication, a method of recording events and conveying messages, a system of making known viewpoints, and opinions about reality. Every photograph taken gives a report on something. It is designed to serve a practical purpose or serve an inspirational purpose or combination of both. Today photographs of such calibre are rare. Inspired from the celebrated photographers like Homai and Lala, the 20th century brought in the booming technical advancement and many Indian professionals as well as budding photographers started pursuing photojournalism in new avenues one such example is the wedding photography or wedding photojournalism.
Inspired from photojournalism, making the photograph tell a story as well as shifting the photographer from his/her studio to live location, the development of the wedding photojournalism began when the photographers captured the wedding event promptly and created a meaning in context to the event. The photos became a fair representation of the events in both content and time, and combine with other elements made it relatable to the families and the couples themselves. At any given moment, the photographs acted like a time machine that brought back the memories of the event and conveys the story of the time, place, people, society, nature, objects, emotions, style, social beliefs, cultural changes.
The developments in the portable roll film based cameras and compact flashbulb lighting, created profitable opportunities for photographers to show up at the venue of the wedding, capture the ceremonies and then try to sell the photos to the bride and groom. Most of the amateurs who took advantage of the portability of small, newly designed cameras and despite of low quality results, the photographers created competition and made the studio photographers to start working on location. It was difficult to imitate the studio settings and photographers would have to bring heavy photography equipment and bulky lighting to wedding locations. The photographers found it almost impossible to document a full wedding using limited amount of expensive film and the possibilities of color photographs during then was still unreliable as the colors shifted and faded after a short period of time. So photographers continued to work with black and white film. With the invention of digital color photography, new creative opportunities and requirements emerged. Digital cameras allowed deeper coverage of the event with a virtually unlimited amount of photographs. The digital color photography changed the Indian wedding photo dramatically.
In recent times, photographers are using weightless, mirrorless compact cameras with low light sensor technology as the requirements in a wedding is that the photographers have to carry their cameras for more than eight to nine hours and they have to swiftly move along in small spaces. The invention of low light sensor technology transformed the cameras to be self sufficient, now photographers don't require to hire an assistant for every event to carry lighting equipment. The technical development needs to keep growing in this field and the reason behind it is that the event happen only once and every moment is precious for the client. This becomes a challenge for all the photographers and for the cameras to perform its best at every moment. Because this is the only profession that deals with real people, real stories on a every basis and the so the photographer become more empathetic and more reflective towards their work and the requirements. At the end of the day, these photos are meant for the bride and groom's grandkids and not just for them today.
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Ammomanes és un gènere d'ocells de la família dels alàudids (Alaudidae). Aquestes terreroles habiten deserts, planures pedregoses, pastures àrides, turons i terres de conreu, des d'Àfrica i Aràbia fins a l'Índia.

Fan 13-15 cm de llargària. El plomatge tendeix a ser ocre pàl·lid per sobre i blanquinós per sota. Bec curt i cua més aviat curta, negrosa, amb àrees blanques.

Llistat d'espècies
Se n'han descrit tres espècies dins aquest gènere:
 Ammomanes deserti - terrerola del desert.
 Ammomanes cinctura - terrerola cuabarrada.
 Ammomanes phoenicura - terrerola cua-rogenca.
En algunes classificacions l'espècie Ammomanopsis grayi és inclosa dins aquest gènere.

Referències

Alàudids

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Wow, I was nominated by two people for the Unique Bogger Award. Thank you so much to the Saturday Night Reader and The Spooky Red Head. These are two very different blogs but I love them both so much. One is all things books and her reviews are amazing. The second is all things anime and cartoon plus she gives you facts about things that are completely unique. Let's get to the rules and then the questions.
4. In the spirit of sharing love and solidarity with our blogging family, nominate 8-13 bloggers and ask them questions.
Graphic designed by Ginger Mom & the Kindle Quest!
If you could interview ANY author (famous or not, Indie or traditionally published), who would it be and why? Either Victoria Schwab or A.B. Endacott because they are my favorite authors and I love whatever they publish.
What is your favorite part of blogging? Talking about what I love most and all the friends I've made.
What is one of your biggest goals for your blog? To reach a loyal following, to host my own giveaways, and have authors request and send me books to review. Also to maybe make an income from blogging.
Do you have a blogger who inspires you to keep blogging? If so, who? And what about them inspires you? I would say all the bloggers I follow. They all have special things about them and I love blogging so it is not hard to continue.
What was your favorite book as a child? Junie B. Jones books and Amy Baker's Love You Like a Sister.
How many hours (on average) a week would you spend on the internet? Way too many to count. I work from home, I do schooling online, I blog, and of course social media.
What's something you believed was true when you were very little? Prince's and fairytales.
Quick, you're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and there are zombies outside your house. What's your weapon of choice? Dagger.
Everyone and their mother has done this award at this point so I won't be asking any questions or tagging anyone.


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Zane Smith may refer to:

 Zane Smith (baseball) (born 1960), American baseball player
 Zane Smith (racing driver) (born 1999), American stock car racing driver


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