STUCK

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.

No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Dr. Seuss

The thing you need to know about Africa is that there is always a “thing.” That “thing” always means a delay. Which means, when traveling in Africa, plan in an entire day just for waiting. Africa is a continent whose people spend an unheard of amount of time waiting. Waiting for a document, a doctor, a bus… you name it.  It’s like the Dr. Seuss’ book Oh the Places You’ll Go where he writes about the waiting place.

Last night, after leaving at 4am and reaching the Botswana border in record time, Ben and Alain (Ben’s traveling companion) were not allowed through. Despite being on a UN passport, Alain needed a visa he did not have in order to pass through the border. He had called ahead to the Botswana Embassy weeks before, spoken to an uninformed person, gotten the wrong information, and that person in their little office miles away brought Ben and Alain’s trip to a screaching halt.

They drove 4 hours back from the border into Pretoria where they planned to go to the Botswana embassy early in the morning.  When they arrived at the embassy today they found that it was closed for file taking (what IS that anyway?). Tomorrow is a public holiday here in South Africa, so everything will be closed. After phoning the Botswana embassy and the Zimbabwe embassy numerous times, it has become clear that Alain can not continue the trip with Ben. This means finding another person to continue the 7 day trip with Ben, at the last minute. Or, Ben goes on alone. They are loosing precious time, and we need to figure out these next steps fast.

If you pray, send up a prayer.

Love,

Kristy