My second baptism,

Where do I begin? Friday evening I prepare for my journey to “The Bush” to meet the Lion. I mean for one I am a Leo and as the one turning 27 (yep getting old) it is my right to come face to face with the animal that signifies my spirit. You like that last sentence huh? Don’t worry you can go back and re-read it……………I’ll wait……….Moving right along……I took a nap downstairs in the lodge for a couple a hours and the antiquated door bell woke me up. No dreams this time so I must have had a lot on my mind. It’s my guide and for the moment best friend Clifford. I am surprised at how much him and I connect on a mental level. I have a feeling we’ll be friends for a long time. Upon leaving my room with my packed items I encounter an African Business man who pulls up to the lodge in a 2010 landrover. Out he comes with two video vixen-esque women into the house for some 2am fun. What got me was he had a wedding ring on, and I later found out he was a politician from the capital just taking a weekend vacation to have plumbing work done if you know what I mean. For shame to use tax payers money and the wealth of the country on no fashion sense having money grubbing bitches while there are people subjected to mashed corn some three blocks away. I have to say in guilt the women were supple as they were Oh My God (the usher version) fine! After a brief second guessing of the trip and opting to have fun with the girls and dirty politician Clifford and I mounted up and set away for Victoria Falls. The trip was long as hell and dark too. The fascinating thing was the stars. I had never witnessed the stars and space this way before. I saw color and weird shapes this time, not your average 6 bright white circles in the air. We chatted here and there about life, women of course, and art. It felt good to talk about art again from a basic formal perspective that wasn’t clouded with empty rhetoric created by critiques and inept artists who do more talking than producing quality work. On the way to Vic. Falls there were a few moments that made the trip interesting. We both had to let the week out and were looking for a rest stop to do so. We arrived at one and the bowl itself looked like an entry way to hell via aged fecal deposits so we declined and continued to drive. While driving it got so bad we started to scout bushes where anonymity would be guaranteed. We found a remote spot and became one with nature. I let the week out near a dug out whole and thought nothing of it and later to my luck found out from Clifford it was indeed a snakes hole. I hope the snake didn’t mind me depositing my dookie in his home I thought. It was great being one with the bush and boy what a sigh of relief that ensued afterwards. I mean it was wonderful how the conversations really opened up. I smiled a couple times along the way. Yeah it was that good. We arrived at Victoria Falls around 8am and the town was desolate. There were only a handful of people and many baboons and warthogs walking about the city as if it were Animal Farm, the African sequel. The weather went from frigid in Bulawayo to unnervingly hot and dry. We had tea and planned the day accordingly and set off to the adventure that was Victoria Falls. Before we even got to the falls we found a game park near by and circled around a bit but didn’t really see much. The Zambezi river was nice, but we were here to see the falls, and that is where we traveled next. I grabbed a poncho on the way for safes sake and to protect my photo-copied passport and camera…………Didn’t do much. Even before getting to the falls it seems as though it’s raining but it’s not. You would have to be there to know what I’m talking about. In any event we continue walking and it continues to get for rainy. I’m wondering to myself where is all the rain coming from and then I see the falls…………………I believe in God and I am always remind of God and his power, and I have to say Victoria Falls gave me this sense of knowing this was the work of God. It was something that defied everything I’d ever seen in my life. Before that it was Krispie Kreme Doughnuts. The falls were unabashed and out of control, and just a sight to behold. It was dangerous and beautiful at the same time. There were rainbows everywhere, and water spray just drenching the other people there and myself. I stood there and my future flashed before my eyes. It was spiritual. I wanted to take time to mention my dear friend Willer who passed away 8 years ago. He was a Leo as well and our birthdays are near each other. Rest in Peace man and Happy Birthday. We left the falls, and devoured 9 pieces of fried chicken and chips (fries), and were on our way to Hwange National Park where my mission was to witness the Lion in the bush. We arrived at the park around 3pm and started to drive about. Hwange’s roads were non existent and were better suited for a 4x4. Clifford and I drove in a station wagon. The park was dry and hot. Clifford and I barley had liquids. We mistakenly took a turn off the beaten path and found ourselves lost within the park. At first I was bored out of my mind looking at impala after impala, and then it started getting dark. It was around 6pm and darkness was starting to cover the sky. We are lost with no sense of direction in a national park with wild animals. There are Lions, cheetahs, hippos, buffalo, and crocs in this park and we wasted almost a quarter tank of gas. With my crazy imagination I start to ponder the most outlandish of thoughts. Will I see 27? This is going to be one of those tv news incidents where two travelers are found dead after being mauled. Life really flashes. I’m thinking of all the bad things I’ve done. I start to think about my playstation 3 and who is going inherit it should I meet a horde of elephants. Maybe my anxiousness to see a lion caused this to happen? I couldn’t think straight. My palms were sweaty and I really wanted out. An hour and half later we arrive at a camp site. We attempt to strike a deal with the campers asking them to allow us to park the car and let us sleep until morning where we can figure out how to get the hell out of here and a Bitch Ass Patrol guard tells us we can’t because the people will not be comfortable with us parking our car and sleeping in our car for the night. There are wild animals in a park and we are sent off into the night to figure our own way out. Clifford and I continue to drive into the night and in that time came across hippos, giraffes, elephants, and those damn impalas. I was growing tired, and it was getting unwearyingly cold. We finally made it back to where we started and found a guard who was generous enough to let us camp for the night for $10. we settled next to a couple of nice people gave us tea the next morning. I woke up on my birthday to the sound of a Lion who just killed a buffalo and was calling out to me. His roar was unbelievably loud! I thought it was close. We used binoculars to see if we could spot it but the pride was lost in wilderness. We continued in the morning, this time following the main road, and saw quite a bit of wildlife. By that time I had been so over the whole “national park I want to see animals in natural habitat” mode that they didn’t seem interesting any more. We accidentally ran over a dying snake and witnessed a jackal become the victim of an eagle and several vultures. We saw crocodiles swimming in a pond, and came face to face with an elephant who was missing a tusk. Clifford explained a poacher must have tranquilized one at night and stole the tusk somehow. After 6 hours and traversing Elephant dung and passing by millions of impalas we escaped the park! We both didn’t say a word for from the time we left the park. Once the signs ended and we knew we were a certain distance from the park we both just let out a sigh of relief and starting talking again. I learned a lot at the park. I learned that I get most upset and on edge when I am hungry, or tired. I learned the power of negotiation in times of uncertainty. I never got to see the Lion, but I saw light and life heading back to Bulawayo. I survived the Bush. Happy Birthday to Eric (no middle name) Telfort. I entered 27 humble again.