Nelson Mandela’s bronze

Should be gold, but bronze will have to do for now.

The gigantic bronze statue, is a monument, very impressive, located in one end of Nelson Mandela Square in the Sandton City Mall in Johannesburg.  The great statesman is honored during his lifetime with a ton of bronze, and represents the best in politics, if politics is supposed to generate a high sense of honor, justice and human dignity.

Adults and children can’t miss the oversize statue, and many get close and stand in between the legs and the feet of the statesman, and being small in comparison look up to see his smile.

Standing there you can’t help but get a glimpse of things to come.

The hug

Doppio Zero is a very popular semi upscale restaurant in the Firs section of Rosebank Mall in Johannesburg.  A very decent place, always full on two floors, the smoking section upstairs with windows open.  For some reason Pedro and I went there for dinner four nights in a row early May this year.  The hostess, a tall young lady from the Cape ended up remembering my name and Pedro’s name.  I ordinarily showed up ten minutes early so the hostess would show my good friend the table.

Of all the entries I settled for the Vegetarian platter, a popular fare for those of us who used to be meat eaters and converted for reasons more or less known.  As we were leaving the last evening I mentioned that I would not show up for a while as I was going back to Central Africa.  She said “me too”, as she only works on weekends.  I said goodbye then and she hugged me! That hug would not happen anywhere else (in my humble opinion) but in South Africa.  The kindness and friendliness in Johannesburg may not be exceptional but there are moments when things like this happen and you realize that all lands may be equal but some have an extra something.

Thumbnail shine

I was minding my business in the galleria of Rosebank Mall in Johannesburg when I was asked to answer a few questions by an enterprising Israeli representative of a beauty product line based in the US.  When in South Africa I spend quality time walking in that renowned mall trying to avoid the two or three weekly stands in the middle of the main galleria going from the falafel place to the movie theater on the other hand a floor below.  To avoid the beauty product stands I tend to go up the escalator on one hand and descend on the other hand, but this particular day around closing time (6 pm) I decided to answer the call from Mister Noam.

I was used to the question and answer dynamic from my trips to Tel Aviv and Haifa.  He asked me about the women in my life (wife and daughter and mother), my birthplace, and other questions leading to the beauty products (only three) well packaged and made in Israel.  He asked me to show him my thumbnail and using a multifaceted cotton “brush” he asked me if I wanted to remove the visible lines in my nail.  Then he proceeded with the cotton brush and when he asked me to compare thumbnails I realized the one he had finished polishing was really shining.  I thought he had put in a polish of sorts.  I was impressed by I wanted to get rid of the shine.  He told me it would disappear in four weeks.

I didn’t know what to say, but I was upset because I didn’t care for that shine.  He tried a cream and something else and offered me a good deal on everything which I declined.  Mister Noam was persistent but I don’t go for those commercial strategies.  I should have never stopped to listen to the pitch and to the shine, but then again I would never have talked religion with Mister Noam.