South Africa Years 1966-71

We rolled into Johannesburg one morning after a campout following our crossing at Beitbridge. We awoke to clear skies and warm weather; it was early December 1966. We went to find our friends the Benards’ at the parents’ home in Bez Valley. We arrived after 9 months on the road.

The Africa Trip, Journey to Johannesburg

After Europe Africa could be something of a let-down; but it was anything but a letdown. We started off is a manner that could only be described as naive. We thought that we were seasoned travelers after seven months on the road in Europe but we had another think coming as we stepped into and onto the dark continent. The rules were different as was the perception of everything. We survived the ordeal but only because many were praying and thinking of us. We got to Johannesburg and the rules changed once again. As we entered Kenya we found that “we were not in Kansas anymore” in the words of Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz.” But when we came into South Africa we thought that we once again came into Kansas, but that was not the case at all. Kansas had again disappeared. The rules and the reality had again metamorphosed into something different. We were in the land of “apartheid.”

The idea of black Africa and its white counterpart had not blended well, just quite differently from each other. People looked somewhat the same as those of the English we had met but they were influenced by the customs and the mores of the blacks of Africa. We were struck by some of the white women who wore bangles on their upper arms. Floors in houses were “slasto slate”, anthracite coal was burned in kitchens of many white houses and maids brought in coffee and tea in the mornings when one would first awaken. This was the mid 60s so some of the mod customs prevailed among the younger set with short skirts on the women and girls. Some bouffant hair styles still prevailed. The younger men wore short-waisted pants and shirts with no sleeve length using garters to adjust the length of sleeves. Older men wore long waisted pants without a belt with only a clasp at the waist and extra space for pleats and a rather baggy look. All seemed to be self-satisfied with their look and demeanor and saw themselves in a normative position with some less concern for their position in the modern world. The whole place in 1966 appeared to be about 20 to 25 years behind the US. This was both refreshing and disconcerting at the same time.

The trip down Africa on our way to Johannesburg was chronicled in detail in the article in the Chicago Sun Times in 1968. We appeared in the same section as Hugh Hefner of Playboy fame. No connection of course, unfortunately! We went on to live there for just under five years and worked for multiple employers (both of us) and settled into life there which was rather comfortable. We felt the stress of “apartheid” but overall it became the norm until we decided to return to the US. Then the difficulty of living there was apparent and in fact intolerable. We really had to move on as the situation appeared personally threatening. Then it was a great place to live if you were white. Now it isn’t good for either white on non-white, “blankes o nie blankes.” We felt great relief once out of country in both Israel and Europe and eventually the US. A great experience but one not to be repeated.

Living in South Africa

The Africa trip from Naples to Johannesburg (parts quoted from the Chicago Sun Times article in the weekend Midwest Magazine of May 5, 1968)

We crossed into SA after a very long journey through Europe and down through East Africa into southern Africa via, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Rhodesia and into South Africa in December 1966. We breathed a great sigh of relief crossing Beitbridge camping our last night out and on into Johannesburg the next morning. Jo’burg was the first big city encountered since leaving Europe and it was a welcome sight. We met our friends the Benards at his parents house then were shuttled off to a friend’s home where we stayed with the Van Vuurens for a month while we settled into the routine of life in South Africa.

Life was interesting with the routine of a family with David (the husband) and Bennie (the wife nearly 10 years his senior and expecting their first child. Bennie already had Laura who then was 15 and was trying to complete high school which she never did. This is another story but for the record was picked up many years later as Bennie had returned to the US again divorcing and settling in her old home area outside Chattanooga, TN for a wind-down of her teaching career. She came to visit us twice in FL and we came to see her in TN and meet her extended multi-generation family. Laura was by then about 60-something and was a smoker of many years with chronic emphysema which essentially chair-bound her with fits of coughing, but no let up in her smoking habit. Her son Michael lived in an adjacent cabin working mostly in the computer field part-time. Her other son lived in another state and her former husband David remarried and lived remotely. This is indeed a most disconcerting outcome and personally disturbing, very sad.

As we lived in the VanVuuren household we experienced some of the things for which we would remember SA forever. In the morning the “girl” would bring the coffee (an instant brew made with instant coffee and milk Not a bad flavor and brought to your bedside and placed on the nightstand. The “girl” did the cooking and house cleaning. All meals except breakfast included “mealie paap” essentially white corn grits as known in the US. Squash was always included in meal menus and names like “pampoen” (pumpkin) , gem squash, and others were frequent inclusions. We encountered a soon-to-be-favorite sausage referred to as “boerevors” or farmer sausage. We also snacked on South African jerky known as “biltong” sometimes made from the speckled meat of an ostrich. We are forever indebted to them for their hospitality given so far from our home.

 

Settling into apartment “Splendid Place”

During the time we stayed at Bennie and David’s house we searched for an apartment in the center of Johannesburg. We found one in a new building called “Splendid Place” (something of a misnomer as it was anything but splendid) with garage parking nearby. It was a one bedroom with a kitchen and living room on the ninth floor. What we did not know is that there was only one elevator for the whole building . This made for a periodic ”jamb up” which made the trip to the ninth floor extremely slow and tedious. From our balcony we could see clearly over the downtown area and could see the green grocers store just below. One Sunday morning we awoke to the sounds of picks hitting pavement and went to the balcony to see what was going on. What we saw were several Africans with pick axes who were employed by the city and were making repairs to the road below. They had a chanter who Chanted the rhythm for their work making one noise for down, one for resting and another for rising. This was so interesting that I went below and photographed them while they worked.

We stayed in this building for a year getting acquainted with downtown and the life in general in South Africa and more specifically in Johannesburg. During this period Barb was pregnant and was working for IBM in the same area. Ed Benard’s father had a house recently purchased in the northern part of the city ((in Randburg on Peatlands Rd.and offered it to us at a reasonable rate. Thus came our new place with the impending birth of child number one, Rebecca; this was 1967.

 

To work for both of us; City Engineer’s Department and IBM

We both have employment during this period; Tom with the City engineers department in town planning .Barbara on the other hand acquired a job with IBM in the Johannesburg headquarters. She was the first female professional hired there. The job was as a programmer with special skills that she brought with her from the US. She was able to work there for most of her pregnancy but as she grew closer to her due date she was asked to terminate her employment.

The job at the city was most interesting. It was a senior planning position and an overview was obtained which provided the much-needed insight into how things worked there. It should be recalled that at the time South Africa was applying “apartheid” to all the racial groups. This meant that many times there were three or even four doors for whites, colored Africans and Indians. This situation that applied also to toilets and other facilities. Public transportation was segregated between whites (in Afrikaans, blankes) and non-whites (nie blankes) created a complex of seating and even separate vehicles on buses and trains on the rails and roads. Soweto which
stands for “south western township’s”, was home to nearly 800,000 residents during this period. Movement into and out of the area was restricted and we carried identity cards and blacks had passbooks. Blacks could be arrested for not having proper authorization to be in a particular area at a particular time. Whites were restricted from free access to Soweto so a special permit was required entering. Because I worked for the city I had a permit. This proved useful later when we prepared an exhibit for the City Engineers Department during the Rand Easter show an annual exhibit in Johannesburg.

During this period Barb’s sister Elizabeth came for a visit which lasted about 9 months. She helped with Becky when she was small and went with us on several trips both
inside and outside the country. We always camped and by this time owned the VW Kombi. She discovered many things about the world and was able to return home with
a treasury of experiences for a 20 year old. She was able to share them with her soon-to-begin family and her new husband Charlie Pech.

 

Barb pregnant with Becky then with Ian

Barb’s pregnancy with Rebecca went well and she prepared herself to be a mother in a foreign country. She had to leave her job at IBM in about the seventh month and so made preparations at home for a new arrival. We acquired the usual baby bed, a table for changing and a high chair. We had no phone at this point and had a coin available that could be used at the corner phone in a commercial area. We had to go to a “nursing home” to have the baby and it was located across town about a half hour away. Unlike in the US, South Africans utilize these for a stay for the mother which usually extended to 10 days. Most prospective mothers would have welcomed this but not Barb. She would not have it and stayed only two days and came home with the new baby. Since we had no family there I took off work for a few days to assist with the transition. It was great to have this new arrival, to welcome her to the family and to send the usual telegram to the family in the US. We still had no telephone and the call was made to the nursing home in the usual middle-of-the-night-time; we raced across town in our VW Beetle which we brought with us down through East Africa. It was still several months before we could acquire a phone and we continued with using one in the commercial area. All went well and we survive to this day.

Life continued for us in SA. Barb was again pregnant and we were expanding the Davis clan. Ian came to us in 1969 but his birth was different (c-section) but again in a nursing home. All went well and we now had a matched pair with one of each. We continued our life in southern Africa and did extensive traveling while raising the children.

 

House Pentlands Rd.

The house on Pentlands Road was South African “quaint”..It had a tile roof, minimal appliances and a water system with a tank in the attic which when filled created pressure for the system. Over time it showed its age as periodically it stuck in the open position with water pouring in and the toilet bulb designed to be an automatic shut-off not working. It became necessary to open a hatch into the attic and to ”whack” the malfunctioning bulb into submission, shuttling off the water flow. If one didn’t do this water could come cascading in torrents from the attic… well you can picture this. We also had a brick fireplace with an arch over the fire area which someone had painted the cement between the bricks with white paint. Interesting.

We had three bedrooms, a bathroom with tub, dining room, kitchen and living room. All were ample and essentially comfortable. The stove was electric and the fridge was initially a borrowed one replaced soon with a model containing a freezer on the top. As Becky came along we purchased an automatic washer for the clothes (Hoover) and placed it in the kitchen. It worked well as the clothes and diapers were dried outdoors in the abundant sunshine. No driers here. All the windows had metal casements which fit together “casually”. Heat when needed came from a coal fire in the fireplace which heated minimally. Usually heat came from going to bed early in our house; thankfully the coldest times were short in duration. Coal was delivered by Africans riding on a flatbed truck with a brazier (made from a 55 gallon drum cut down) containing a coal fire for warmth for the workers. Coal was in 200 pound burlap sacks which were then hoisted onto the back of the workers and in our case dumped on the floor of the garage.
It was up to us to get it into the house and into the fireplace. Primitive!

The kitchen had an electric stove which during frequent (in summer) electrical storms would arc visibly on top and blow the circuit. The first time that this happened I went looking for the circuit breakers. There were none but there was a box built on the outside of the house with wire connecting circuits and extra wire close by. This was a mystery until explained and a friend told me how to operate it. The wire was of several diameters corresponding to the apparent load. One used a given diameter wire for a described circuit and simply hand wrapped the wire accordingly. Once explained it was a “no brainer” and all was repaired rapidly. Thank goodness, as it happened frequently.

We lived on Pentlands Rd. for the remainder of the time that we spent in Johannesburg. When we would leave on a trip we had to secure the house as break-ins were frequent (to all but us). We would put some of our valuable stuff in the attic through the hole through which the stick was pushed for the water tank. Then each internal door was locked with a key to inhibit internal movement in the house.

The windows were covered with the ubiquitous “burglar bars” to minimize access. It must have worked as no break-ins occurred and nothing was stolen The local joke was that if four people were carrying an object down the street they were probably doing it for hire. If only two were carrying the object then they were stealing it!.

 

Birth of the children

The children were both born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Rebecca was born Nov 20, 1967 and Ian Jul 11, 1969. They came home to Pentlands Road where we had prepared for them and they were welcomed. We had a large yard with fruit trees in back and they played in the grass among the trees. We made a sandbox for them with some tree stumps and trunks cut to size and painted. We also constructed a small playhouse with a canvas roof for shade. It was very handy for them to simply crawl or walk into the fenced back yard and be watched over by Muti our dog, the same age as Rebecca. In winter with no rain the grass dried and turned brown. When small, the children crawled in the grass and were covered by dried brown grass which left a trail into and throughout the house. This along with other characteristics of a small child made work for “good” Nelson our “house boy” who cleaned up after them.

Nelson lived in a place attached to our garage consisting of a room with a toilet and shower. He was provided with a stipend at the going rate and supplementary food and milk. We had a symbiotic relationship for about three years. When we left he went to work for Benards along with Muti who lived out his life there taking care of their family.

 

The yard/the roses/ and cold winter nights

The yard contained planted rosebushes in front. Each bush had its own square excavated around it about 18 inches on each side. The bushes were about three feet tall and produced blossoms each summer. There were 15 or so bushes placed like soldiers in the yard; a basic landscape of uninteresting character. The side of the lot adjacent to one neighbor had a relatively thick hedge which provided privacy to both sides. One day Nelson was asked to trim the hedge and did so unsupervised, big mistake. He proceeded to trim the bushes into stripped limbs with a foliage “top knot” every three or four feet. It was like a bad haircut only with a longer recovery time.

Heat for the relatively freezing winter nights (at 5000 ft altitude) was provided by coal in an open fireplace. Houses were constructed with “air bricks” in the walls, small openings extending to the outside for guaranteed air exchange. Once the fire is made inside the coal grate heat radiated about two feet our into the room. With outside temps in the 20 degree F range inside the temp was about 35 as there was limited wind (except for the airbricks). Needless to say it was ”damn” cold. Evenings were spent trying to get warm almost sitting in the fireplace and retiring was initiated earlier and earlier.

 

The dry cleaning business “Clean House”

This bit was not predictable. Because of some inexplicable ambition on Ed Benard’s part coupled with the rest of the 8 person group including some very supportive and patient wives, we entered into the dry cleaning business! Admittedly there was a need in Johannesburg in those days for some DIY activities to fill some latent needs. We also had access to an automated dry-cleaning machine from Van Vuuren’s company recently imported from some foreign company (in Italy) I believe.

We overlooked some rather critical facts in our initial enthusiasm, which would come back to haunt us and over which we laugh (or cry) today. While there appeared to be a need no one locally really considered this a real need. Few in SA at the time did anything for themselves; all things were done by blacks as servants. We were attempting to attach US standards to a non-US situation. We also overlooked provincial “shop hour” regulations. Although the need was only minimally recognized we could (we thought) overcome this by advertising and promotion. We hired a lady to do most of the daytime cleaning and that went well. Then came the expectation of delivery of the clothing to the customer (and the pickup). This was conceived as DIY, then why the need for so much service? Demand. So we hired a delivery person using a “purchased-for-the-purpose” scooter. Another complication, the driver (who turned out to be Nelson who was a flat cleaner in our flat who we hired away) could not drive. It fell to me as he had come our way to teach him to drive in the evenings. Picture if you will a Vespa three wheeled scooter with a box on the back and a covered cab on the front with a bench seat. We sent Nelson to driving school but he needed to practice. In the evenings we would take off down the street at a high speed (there were only two speeds that he knew, flat out and fully stopped). We appeared to be OK on the straightaway but in the rapidly executed turns I went flying out the side, holding on for dear life as he sped on.

This lasted only a short while longer as he piled the whole thing up against a parked car and totaled it. We struggled on with this complex “mess” even though our mascot “Ouma Skoon”) Grandma Clean as we named her, attempted to attract customers. They fell away and soon the whole thing imploded as we worked late nights to catch up and internal squabbling took over. We decided to go our separate ways with David VV taking back the cleaning machine and we closed the doors, ending the chapter of our entry into the dry cleaning world. However one flyer of “Ouma Skoon” remains in our possession and we are reminded thusly of headier days in the past.

 

Teaching town planning at “Wits”

Wits was the University of the Witwatersrand, which was the main English language University in the area. I met the head of the Town Planning Department Professor Mallows and we discussed my becoming involved in the post-grad course which was taught in the evening for students who were working at jobs during the daytime hours. We started soon after and to facilitate teaching he connected me with a planner who was like many other such persons trained as a land surveyor, Barry Diesel. We co-taught the course for a year and later I did it on my own for another three years. We used a place called ”Halfway House” as a study site and created with the students a new town plan. This was a lot of fun and the course worked well. Later some colleagues and I bought land in the area and made a bit of a profit as we sold it. The site had been a a stage stop earlier on the road to Pretoria and had an historical significance. I learned a lot from these experiences and enjoyed it in the process.

 

Barb teaching computer Tech

After the children were born Barb no longer worked for IBM. She had skills however and a previous employer (IBM) that gave her a leg up in the job market. Her skills were in demand and we could use the money so she began to teach at a local college. This went on for an extended period, usually during an evening course. We would alternate nights as someone had to take care of the children and we did not have a nanny, as so many there did. We tended to not trust the local population of native folk with such a responsibility even though it was common practice. We both then did the evening school effort teaching.

 

Tom working for the City Engineer’s Department in Town Planning

At the same time that I taught at Wits I worked at the City in the Planning Department under Tony Marsh and Dave Nichol. Both these folks were good people and I enjoyed my time there. Again I learned a lot as I was working in a foreign environment with different rules. Most prominent of the new and different rules was the “apartheid” concept of separation of the races and idea which evolved over the years that SA developed from the “boer” times from the previous centuries. The laws as such were put in place just after WWII when change was in the air and the the Nationalist Party came into power. Just before we came Hendrik Vervoerd, the Prime Minister, was assassinated on the floor of parliament by a Greek dissident with a knife.

 

The new job at Rand Mines Properties

In 1969 I was approached by Rand Mines for interest in a company that they were forming to develop some properties on former mining land that they owned in Central Johannesburg. I was employed and we continued to put together a staff who could do the job. The group was led by Ivor Prinsloo an architect. I was there for about 2 years during which time we established a presence within an old mining firm and started to create a plan for development of the land. A new town in town was designed by Prinsloo and an architect from Cape Town and was named Ormonde. we designed and studied other mining land for potential use during this period. A couple of my students from Wits were employed and entered into the design process. During this period I was asked to put together a trip to “Expo 70” in Japan. I was asked to act as technical advisor to a group going to evaluate financing and design for additional projects in the mining land and expanded the two weeks for Japan into a six week exploratory jaunt around the world which included Japan and expo70. This was a great experience and made my employment there worthwhile.

 

Many trips around Southern Africa were made during our most liberal vacation time

Rhodesia: we went back there for a trip in 1968 and visited with friends and family of people that we knew in Johannesburg (we were there initially during our trek down through East Africa in 1966). We saw the country more extensively than before and it was still under white rule with Ian Smith at the controls. We did major cities as Bulawayo and Salisbury. Great place, friendly people and potentially very prosperous at the time. This is not so today; far from it.

We visited a farm with 1000 acres under irrigation, no small feat for this place recently rescued from the bush. We visited the Matopos, a farm high above Mozambique where they raised coffee and Bulawayo where Cecil Rhodes statue resides in a traffic round about. We wanted to go to Wankie Game Reserve and asked for directions which were freely provided. They said “just go to the Cecil Rhodes statue in Bulawayo and go straight out the other side to the west. Continue on that road for 200 miles until you come to an iron bridge. Immediately after the bridge turn left then you will be in Wankie.” We followed directions and sure enough all was in place and we were able to find our way, but it was the dry season and the water holes were empty. Alas no elephants. A great place but a bit of a disappointment.

We also visited the ruins at Zimbabwe, now the name of the country. A most impressive building project. Fantastic stonework, definitely not done by contemporary locals. Estimates are from 500 to 2000 years ago.

Swaziland: This small country located totally within South Africa and ruled by an ancient King with over a hundred wives, was intriguing. We met people from there on the boat coming to Mombasa (the Ramsdens). The husband was an attorney (the attorney general in fact for the country). They invited us to their home in Mbabane and we visited them there several times. They had four children and regaled us with stories of life in Swaziland. They were involved in rights for blacks and had lived in SA previously. We lost track of them as with many others over the years. Many good memories for this connection.

The Cape: one of our longer trips early on in our stay was to Cape Town and the southern tip of Africa. One benefit of the job with the City of Johannesburg was long paid vacation times of at least three weeks plus holidays. The pay was low but the time off was incredible for us and wanting to travel, it was our kind of job. We went to the Cape shortly after Becky was born and did so in the same 1965 beetle VW that carried us through East Africa with Becky in her portable crib in the backseat very comfortable indeed. We took our tent of the time, the same one through Europe and Africa and cooked over our gas cooker that we used. We took the tram to the top of Table Mountain with Becky in arms and she slept most of the time. It was a good trip which we enjoyed except for the diapers that had to be washed and dried daily in the sun. Cloth ones were the only ones available. Barb was a saint and a good mother.

Natal Parks: These were small game parks within SA. They had curious names such as “huluhuluwe” and contained animals such as rhinos and other game. We again slept in our “tent-of-the-time” with child or children in tow. We would take a hike or drive the car over roads within the park and view game . Some of our best photos of game were in these parks. They were within a day’s drive of Johannesburg and we visited them several times. Local folks we’re the best sources of information for all our potential journeys.

Camping in the Drakensberg: We had a great time doing all these things.This was a favorite with mountains nearby and on the route to Durban. A favorite park was called the “Golden Gate Highlands” in the Orange Fee State (since apartheid renamed) and we camped there several times. The campground as in most SA parks had minimal facilities, but we had sufficient for tenters with water, bathroom, showers and a small town with stores (provision shops) nearby. The mountains could be climbed just outside the camp and I did so frequently and a couple of times with Becky in a backpack using a time trial to measure my efficiency. In one set of a minimal challenging nature I could do the climb is just over 15 minutes. When we got to the top Becky about 18 months old said “oh daddy, too much windy.”

Pilgrim’s Rest: When working for Rand Mines Properties one of the perks of the job was the ability to reserve a stay at the cabins at Pilgrims Rest a former mining town. We had camped there in a nearby campground but for about $14 per night we could rent a cabin with all furniture, linens and a fire built and tended by an african houseboy for a couple of days. We did this one winter and experienced one of the coldest nights in the country. We had a wood fire built in the stove but the cold crept in and so early we went to bed early to keep warm. We piled the covers on high and all four of us were in the same bed The covers were so weighty that my legs lost good circulation and became numb. It was a long night, but the temp in the day went up into the 60s. We bought meat at the local butchers as we remembered from our previous camping trip. The town was quaint complete with provision stores and a hotel. An interesting place hearkening back to the turn of the century.

Kruger Park: This was a park of the tourists as one could mingle with elephants and lions. The campground was surrounded by chainlink fence and was safe from marauding animals and had huts adjacent with thatch roofs and servants. When outside the enclosure one could wander the roads at will and see wildlife up close and personal. We did much of this on the first day and made note of two things; the time to return to the enclosure (5 pm) and the speed limit. Well we noted the time and decided to return to the enclosure which was zipped up promptly at the designated hour. One didn’t want to be caught out and locked out of the camp for the night. The other is the speed limit at about 30 MPH. We decided to kick it up a notch and get in on time. Alas a cop was waiting and nailed us. This really did stick and I had to pay a fine but we did just get in on time. Whew!

 

Time to go

When you realize that it’s time to leave and you begin to focus on what is next, then you have to make a move that makes sense to you. That is what we did. Even though the move was somewhat far-fetched, it was in keeping with the previous trajectory of our lives. The circumstances that we faced were peculiar to SA as “apartheid” prevailed at the time. One from the outset seems himself for the reality and becomes numb to the prevailing circumstances. When you decide to leave the veil is removed and you begin to see things as they are and you no longer can be immune to the oppression all around. This begins to play out as guilt but then becomes a level of fear that you may “not be able to leave “ and that they (the government) may detain you and you can’t get out! We did however get out and breathed a sigh of relief as the plane finally departed Jan Smuts airport (after an 18 hour delay) on our way to Israel and a one week stopover on the way to Europe and then on to the US.

 

The Return Trip through Israel and Europe 1971

The return was not without its own character. We were to depart from Jan Smuts Airport in JHB at mid morning with our stuff and the two children. Fran Benard was there to see us off with her two at the time. We talked then gathered at the appropriate time for departure. This was at the time of hijackings around the world with special emphasis on Israel. This was our destination on El Al Airlines who at the time I believe only owned three planes. Ours had a mechanical problem so a part was requested which drew out the scheduled departure time for hours. Finally with all our stuff in transit to the plane we had no backup gear (ie diapers) and we were not alone. The demand was put to the airline and some were found as were meals to fill us as we waited. We were searched thoroughly by the Israelis including Becky and Ian then near 4 and near 2 (with their toys and homemade backpacks). Finally we were put up back in downtown JHB for a brief night and back at the Airport at 5 am for exit flight. Finally we were off and flying a route across Africa into Nairobi to Tel Aviv. At that time because of apartheid no SA plane could overfly Africa except for a few countries. With El Al we had no such restrictions as we did on our way to Europe and Japan back the year before on South African Airways. Finally we landed in Tel Aviv and our Israel portion was underway albeit late so that we missed the portion to the Red Sea at Eilat.

We traveled over the country visiting known sites of Jerusalem, and Nazareth via Egged Bus and had a good journey. We were so integrated that once we were taken for locals on the bus and Americans asked us in Hebrew from a tourist guide if we could speak English. Becky was so enthralled that she thought she could read Hebrew, she in fact really was convinced that she could! We visited Jerusalem and entered by one of the gates consulting our guidebook. “Fodor’s Guide” for a good place to eat. We were referred to a place outside the gate called “Uncle Moustache’s” where we had an evening meal. The food in Israel is outstanding and this was no exception. After much juggling and a trip to the kitchen the owner said ”how about if I make you a representative plate of all the dishes?” We said great and he did! Wow what a pile of great food including hummus which we all liked. We ate to our heart’s content (including both children). We continued on our way the next day and visited the two “kibbutzim” where we had made reservations. One was near the Sea of Gaililee or Lake Kinneret as it is known locally (named Kibbutz Kyriat Anavim). We had a good look around and sampled the great and ample food while we considered our next step, maybe join a kibbutz?

We had left some personal items including clothing in Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem we stayed at an old colonial Hotel in the central city. This was in April and when we left SA it was summer. Israel was in winter and one morning as we walked, me in my “safari suit” short sleeves, short pants with knee socks, the temp was 33. Shocked!

We arrived in Europe visited with friends in Germany, made a quick visit to Denmark, Sweden and Finland to see city-related stuff. I met the chief planner for Helsinki on recommendation from Tony Marsh, chief planner in JHB. We had a good chat and I was back to Copenhagen to collect the family then four us on a flight back to the US. On the last night Ian got an earache which he had somewhat chronically. We had a Danish doctor in for a visit at 1 am; he again prescribed antibiotics. We were off in the am on the return trip to the US. Enter the famed “vitamin C”. Antibiotics previously had little effect and we vowed to find another approach.

 

North to Alaska

We had spoken of our attraction to Alaska and our desire to go there for a long time. This subject came up while traveling on one of our many trips in SA. So we right there resolved to pursue the idea of going there and perhaps if we found it to our liking, to go there and live for a while, maybe forever). An opportunity arose for me to plan and eventually advise during a trip to Japan for my employer in SA. Needless to say I jumped on this, and during the planning I was able to expand a two week trip to Expo 70 in Japan into a six week trip to France, Germany, Canada, the US, Japan, Australia and Hong Kong. I surmised that to get from the the US to Japan a great circle route could take me to Alaska on the way. I arranged this detour as an overnight with a bit on each side from Chicago to Tokyo and met with appropriate folks in Anchorage to get the “lowdown” on Alaska. During this stop I met with Bob Pavitt who was the Planning Director for Anchorage later as the director in the Governor’s Office in Juneau. After returning to the US we made a journey to Alaska in our pickup and took a job in the Governor’s Office in Juneau. Quite a trip (to be covered in another place) and we again saw a lot of the USA during that time from the midwest through Canada into Alaska and up the Alaska Highway (which at that time was 1200 miles of gravel!).

We settled in for what we thought would be a few years, maybe forever, but as with all things with us forever is elusive. We were in Juneau for just under three years then off to school in Davenport, Iowa to become chiropractors for three years then back to Juneau for another six. With all its splendor even Alaska couldn’t hold us “gypsies.”