While I was writing an earlier post on Namibia, I suddenly had a wave of memories rush over me. Have you ever had the feeling that everything is connected? When looking back on decisions you have made, have you ever wondered, where would I be if I had not done this, that or the other?
How did I become interested in Namibia? Besides the family connection as I have previously related, it was all really a matter of chance. I will explore this world of decision-making and consequence further in upcoming posts.
Image - Pixabay
Let’s start at the beginning. My wife and I were very young when we decided to get married; we had both turned 21 and knew that we wanted to be together. There was resistance from both families for various reasons and we felt that we should make our own decisions and not be influenced by those around us. We were both Capetonians and in reality had had very little experience of the great world outside. I had done a six month stint, working in a small town in the Karoo and was now employed in the communications industry. I had organised a transfer to Johannesburg so that is where we were headed.
Image Credit By NJR ZA - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4155990
We were two innocents abroad. I had booked a hotel room for four nights but beyond that we had nothing arranged. Four days after our marriage we entrained on the Trans-Karoo to Johannesburg. All we had were two suitcases for our personal belongings and a hat box, which held the hat my wife wore at our marriage.
I want to get to the Namibian connection quickly, so here is how events unfolded. We arrived in Johannesburg in April of 1968. We managed to find a boarding house with a room for us in what we later discovered was not the most savoury part of town. Luckily I had a job to go to and to our surprise my wife found a job within days of us arriving there. We had no furniture, no car and no friends. We knew very little about Johannesburg, which at that time was a very cosmopolitan city. Eventually we ended up in a flat in Hillbrow and soon had a great circle of friends.
I worked for the communications company for two years in Johannesburg but being restless I decided to move to another company in the same field only to find they had a “Gentlemen’s Agreement” not to poach each other’s staff, so I had find employment in another field for six months.
Image - Pixabay
I ended up working as a space salesman for a travel and trade magazine owned by John H. Marsh. To fit into this exulted position, I bought a very snazzy suit and 50cc “Buzz Bike” to get around to customers. I must have looked quite a site riding my bike through the streets of Johannesburg with my suit and briefcase. Strangely enough I was quite good at selling intangibles and stayed there for the required six months.
This is where the connection comes in. John H. Marsh had written a book called Skeleton coast in 1944. It chronicles the amazing events of the wrecking of the British passenger liner the Dunedin Star on the coast of the South West Africa, now Namibia. It relates the rescue efforts of the Merchant Marines of many countries, the participation of the British and South African navy’s, plus the South African Air Force, Army, Police and Railways and Harbours Administration. It is a fascinating story of courage, heroism and cooperation. This was my introduction to Namibia and the treacherous skeleton coast.
Finally what I am saying is that all the events described led to me writing this article for Steemit and hopefully more will flow from my keyboard in the future. Would any of this have happened if we had stayed in the Cape? I would say probably not.
This is my link to my first Skeleton Coast - Namibia post
https://steemit.com/namibia/@petruska13/the-magic-of-namibia