Malachi's nightly walk to the bath

Thought you all might enjoy this.

The Last Trek: A New Beginning

This month I read a book by F.W. DeKlerk, the last Afrikaner president of South Africa. We was succeeded by Nelson Mandela in 1994.

I thought I was world-aware, but have never, never heard about the Afrikaner side of the Apartheid business. Apartheid (and it's adherents) was always this screwy, slimy devil.

Did you know that the Afrikaners were religious refugees from Europe who--like Anabaptists--sought freedom to live without being slaughtered in the "new world" of their time. Many of them were French Huguenots, who had first gone to Holland, and finally moved to South Africa. They were tough and diligent. These guys were farmers, not aristocrats (like the British who settled in parts of Kenya and the southern United States.)

In 1904, they lost the Boer War against the British, which had been particularly gruesome.
After being harassed and slaughtered, they were particular about having a homeland of their own, similar to Jews wanting a geographical nation. And so, in 1984 when an Afrikaner won the South African election, he set to establishing a system that would safe guard the right to self-determination of his ethnic nation. "Apartheid" means separateness.

Apartheid wasn't so much focused on African subjugation as it was on Afrikaner self-determination. The Boers developed excellent school systems, vineyards, good farms, an economy for themselves. And it was successful.

The Africans didn't have systems that systematically promoted their ethnic nations. It seems that the desparity just got too great between the Boers' wealth and the African's lifestyles.

After 40 years of Apartheid, there was too much unrest in South Africa, and it seemed they were headed for a Boer-African civil war. F. W. De Klerk was elected president 1990, and immediately began to dismantle Apartheid. For an African to dismantle Apartheid would have seemed natural. But for a pure Boer to take on the task, I think, makes him extraordinary.

He re-wrote the constitution, set up a fair election system, and let himself be defeated by Mandela. The election was clearly rigged and manipulated, but in the immediate aftermath, even while some of this peer were demanding a re-vote, he voluntarily delivered a Concession speech.

Many of the Africans were astonished when he actually stepped down. They had expected hanky-panky. Instead, De Klerk passed the presidency peacefully to his opponent, and continued working under the new government for some time.

I couldn't read the last chapter because our dog ate it. But that was the gist of the book.

The Music of Silence

Another lovely book:

The Music of Silence, by David Steindle-Rast

The author, a monk, illuminates the path for we non-monk-ies, to gain insights and spiritual refreshment from the monastic practice of praying the “hours.” He explains the purpose behind the “hours,” a pause for prayer, which are observed through the course of the day.

I have posted this on my kitchen door, to help me remember. Louise used to have a koo-koo clock, and I remember her too appreciating the awareness of time's passing, and being reminded to pause for prayer.

Vigils, before sunrise. A time for silence, for mystery, wind, awareness of my weakness sand vulnerability; reflection. It is the inhale for the coming day.

Lauds, dawn. Receive the new day as a gift. Meditate on gratitude and generosity. What opportunities might come today for me to swoosh my largesse of spirit toward someone?

Prime. A deliberate beginning. A time for practicalities; we chose the day’s tasks and areas of focus. At this time, we take hold of our day instead of letting it run off with us.

Terce, midmorning. Coffee break, an upbeat celebration. A chance to appreciate our aliveness, and the primal energy that fuels the universe. Bask.

Sext, noon. Fervor and commitment. Energy wanes as we pass from morning into afternoon. Here were renew our commitment to the day’s focus. We deal with entropic drain. Traditionally a time to pause and pray for peace. We celebrate the meal time.

None, late afternoon. The day begins to evade our grasp, like all things. This enactment of life’s fading helps us to delight in today, even as it beckons our focus toward eternity. Face my aloneness. The more fully we live, the more fully we can let go. We appreciate the limits and boundaries that give life structure and meaning. We return from work, back to our home and center.

Vespers, sunset. Invites us to peace of heart. Neighborliness, festiveness. We invite God in for the evening. “We luxuriate in the quiet beauty of the evening.” Serenity.

Compline, before bed. The conclusion, the close. Examine the consciousness; forgive. Awareness that the cosmos was created for us, and we are at home here. Return to silence. Pray for nourishing and teaching dreams.

Book Report

This is Mom's book report
not the Grand Old Man

Book Report

Oh the weather outside is frightful.. but I have no refugees at my front door..
I read this book and liked it but that was a couple of months ago and I wont write a book report, but I found it on the shelf and thought ya'll might enjoy it. If anyone is interested I'll share.. I'm collecting things to send to Africa and/or I can bring it to DE.
I imagine Aram has read it or would like it, but it is a story and that will work better for some others of us.. It is a good and easy read... and applies to Moms and to CEOs.

The Servant
A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership
by James C. Hunter

Book Review

I know that Sim and Janelle leave the country this week, and there are starving children in China and Congolese refugees camped at the end of my drive way , but I have read another great book:


Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, by Alexandra Fuller

It is the story of the author's childhood, as the daughter of English settlers in Rhodesia. She is about 8 years older than I, in a totally different world, and yet in exactly the same one. Her parents were in the farmer class of settlers, broke English blokes with nothing to lose and a thirst for adventure (and beer).

The story itself caught all my attention for the week that I was working through it, because her accounts of Africa are so well articulated--both in what she actually says and in what she leaves out. Like when she tells of the customs official who casually picks his nose and he flips through her passport. She catches the real vibe of the expatriate experience in Africa, and then puts it into words that increased my consciousness of that vibe.

I wouldn't classify it as a comedy, which leaves one other option. I would warn Louise, if she reads it, that on pg 73, a teenage girl gets raped. The whole thing takes less than a paragraph, and is described nonchalantly and matter of factly, just like a few pages later when a baby sister dies. But it caught me off guard, so there's a heads up.

The misery of diets

To pacify the hippie in-laws, I have gone on a gluten-free diet for a few weeks. Aram and I are doing it together. But my theology says that you should only diet one thing at a time, so I am trying to make myself comfortable, even as I forgo making fresh breads and warm, yeasty pastries.

I highly recommend this recipe for flourless chocolate cake. It comes out like a black chocolate fudgey brownie, and if you bother to do the caramel sauce, you will simply clutch your chest and make inappropriate noises.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, cubed
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter the bottom of a 10 inch springform pan, and line with parchment paper.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir in chocolate, and continue to stir until almost melted. Remove from heat, and stir until melted and smooth. In a large bowl, stir together 1 1/4 cups sugar and the cocoa powder. Whisk in the eggs until well blended, then whisk in the chocolate and butter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for about 45 minutes in the preheated oven. The cake is ready when the edges have nicely puffed and the surface is firm except for a small spot in the center that will jiggle when the pan is gently shaken. Cool cake in the pan over a wire rack. Run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake, then remove the sides of the pan, and invert onto a serving plate. Remove the parchment paper.
4. In a heavy saucepan, stir together 1 1/2 cups of sugar, water, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook without stirring until the syrup is a deep amber color. For an accurate color check, dip a metal spoon into the syrup and lift it out of the pan to check the color. Once the syrup is amber, remove from the heat. Gradually stir in the cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously. If lumps form, stir gently over low heat to dissolve them. Stir in 2 tablespoons of butter.
5. Cut the cake into wedges while warm, and serve with caramel sauce spooned over it. You can also chill the cake and sauce, then warm again before serving.

to Aunt Dorcas and bk again