Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Dinner For One

Been a strange experience, the last 3 days, in virtual solitude, fighting fevers, the cold, and the mental malaise that goes with it.

Last night Alex brought me a plate of food (chicken a la king with pudding and some bread rolls).

I'm starting to realise there are a heck of a lot of people in Jozi that I do know. And also starting to realise a lot of these people stick to certain territories. I'm not the only one who roams within the green 'safety' zones of suburbia.

I've noticed at a few intersections close to work, you see a 'helper' walking an apparently blind, disabled or older person, and playing the role of 'provider to dependent'. So far I haven't given any money to these people, and have noticed no one else does. My first thought was that I must give them money, but now I wonder:
is this another case of inviting vagrants and the poor and criminality into your neighborhood, because the more you give the more freeloaders you attract, the more people who start to demand and expect and want handouts?

While I was sick I also watched Faith Like Potatoes. I think guys like Angus Buchan are passionate and hardworking and courageous, but showers of rain aren't signs of divine intervention. Feeling something doesn't mean God is speaking to you. Nevertheless, it seems mean to criticise people who dedicate their lives, ostensibly, to being good.

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