Then I Grew Up

Written by Deborah Jordaan

Good day, beautiful souls. As usual, I hope you are well and being blessed every day. Today I am going to write about baby humans and baby animals, they don`t stay small – they grow up.

I wrote in a previous article about handbag dogs. To my horror, I got asked to babysit a handbag dog.

This is where my subject matter starts. We all love baby animals, puppies and kittens. Beware, people, they grow up and behave the way we program them. They get born all fluffy and cute and when they are big some humans either give them away or dump them. How disgusting. Imagine your mum gave birth to you and dumped you in the nearest bin when you start crawling and walking.

The human is strange, they love the idea of cuteness and when that idea is gone they get bored with the said animal.

Animals have feelings and as with our children no matter how old they get they will always need us and in return when the children are out of the home the dog or cat is your companion. They give you loyalty and love and in return, all they ask for is love, food and water and an occasional outfit.

As I said the human gets bored so when his child grows up he has to keep the child it`s not something he can dispose of. So if you are financially stable you get a nanny even though you may be a housewife, which is strange to me.

Is going to pilates and the mall more important than spending precious time with your child? Of course, some parents need help as they both work and have hectic lives, not all people can afford nannies and they have to depend on friends and family in their community. Yet still, they find time for their children.

Money can buy basically anything but it cant fix the emotional pain the animal is going through when you- the human dont want them anymore.

A child or animal behaviour is based on what they were taught at an early stage.

In general, human being is destructive and gets rid of what they dont need. Yes some people leave the children by their parents as its in their culture the elders take care of them. Each to his own philosophy.

Sometimes single parents need help plus they add animals to the mix, hell no. Life is busy enough, so when you bring any animal into your life make sure it`s not just temporary as the children and dog start forming a bond and they in turn protect the children and you.

Cuteness comes with a price. If it`s a woman, remember she gets old and wrinkly but so do you sir, you don’t stay Brad Pitt forever.

Nee boetie dis nie hoe die lewe loop nie

I am not wanting to insult anyone but hopefully shed some light on these situations.

I myself had my daughter live with family but that was due to my husband abusing me, but that`s a story for another day.

Stay warm and toasty, hopefully with a cup of milo and homemade biscuits.

Tot weer siens. Bly veilig en geseend.

Memories of a lifetime with family (Part 1 of 3)

Written by Chris De Flamingh

I have had many memories throughout my life, some happy and some sad.

During the 1970’s growing up I remember we used to look after a beautiful female fox terrier who belonged to our next-door neighbour, her name was Suzi. This was my first best friend and it felt like she was my own dog as we used to take her in quite often when our neighbours went on holiday.

One sunny day it was late in the afternoon and the neighbours facing our front door had a red brick wall next to their house I was over by the neighbour playing with their kids outside in the garden. I decided I was going to climb this wall cos being a young small boy I was always very curious and up for a challenge to find out what certain things would be like after exploring them. I climbed the wall and found out in no time that this wall was not sturdy (cement plastered) and gave way as soon as I climbed it. It collapsed in an instant and I had a fright but only sustained some minor bruises on my leg. My ego was the biggest injury.

At the age of 4, I had an accident after falling into the hot tub in Youngsfield military base and sustained a fair amount of burns to my body as described in ‘my life story’.

I also had a great fear of heights and at the age of 11 or 12, I went to a school friend’s house and his dad was also in the military. They had a huge trampoline in the backyard and always enjoyed playing and jumping on it as a kid the few times I did visit them. They had a big old tree in their backyard with a wooden platform fitted between the tree branches (tree house) high up in the tree. I climbed up the tree and attempted to step across to another tree branch and my hand slipped off the tree branch and fell to the ground flat onto my back approximately 3 to 4 metres down. I had some pain but it was more so the shock of that moment as I could not believe what had just happened. I swiftly got up and walked home crying.

Whilst living in Kenwyn, Santa delivered my first BMX bicycle. I was so excited, about my first personal transport. I was independent, I was free, and I could explore. I planned all my day trips carefully. Mom prepared me a picnic of sandwiches, cold drinks and of course the much-required stack of sweets and chocolates.

Sometimes a friend would join in the fun and sometimes I went alone. My trips were as far afield as Kirstenbosch, Constantia and Newlands swimming pools. Travelling all the way from Wynberg was a good distance for a child

Other day trips that I remember were the train rides to Town (Cape Town) with mom and brother. These trips were always filled with excitement for a young little boy, a train trip followed by the smells and sights of the big city itself followed by lunch at a restaurant in The Golden Acre

My family often planned long trips to Eastern Cape or the Transvaal. Mom would always have a huge hamper of roast chicken and potatoes with rice and other veggies. The special treat was the instant puddings and jelly we ate if we were good in the 20-hour car trips

Originally as every young child, I was very close to my mom, as a typical rebellious teenager, dad was my hero and comfort. I clashed with mom for many years before our bond grew close again. Today, I think back in horror at the words I spoke to mom, but realize that I was naïve and had to learn about life.

My dad was a very strict straightforward person and did not stand for any nonsense whatsoever. If you didn’t listen, he would merely lift his big hands and take a good hard swing at us and you know what you have done wrong and believe me, it did not tickle. It hurt like hell. Those were the good ole days and I never regret my upbringing ever.

It taught me to respect and improved my character as a person.

I often climbed into dads car to play with the car switches until one day, I snapped the cable that unlocked the bonnet. My dad was very enraged and he gave me good hiding as a result. Ever since that day he always kept the car locked whilst parked in the garage.

He had to spend money to have it repaired. As a ruling because of similar events that resulted in things breaking, I stopped fiddling with other people’s property as I was always extremely curious about what a button on a radio or some or other piece of equipment would do, had I pressed it. I would always end up breaking something or something would fall and break, so I eventually learned my lesson as a kid and stopped messing with stuff that either did not belong to me or did not apply to me.

I Don’t Belong in a Handbag

Written by Deborah Jordaan

Good day to all the beautiful souls in literature land. Today I am going to write on a subject that might seem insulting to some but hopefully, it can give someone something to contemplate about.

Many years ago when animals used to be wild and free humans decided they need to domesticate animals like dogs, cats or any animal for that fact. The dog comes from the wolf, a gorgeous animal. They are wild and they make a difference to the environment. In Yellowstone Park, they introduced a wolf pack and it made an amazing difference.

The animals all started to migrate and run from the wolf which made a change in rivers because the animals then had to run, fish could continue to spawn and bring more fish into the ecosystem. With the animals not moving they were eating all the fish thereby not giving the fish time to spawn. The buffalo and caribou migrated which caused the vegetation to grow with them moving around. The other animals also started migrating and soon the ecosystem was becoming what it should be.

Then the human came and decided they want a dog or any small animal and they put it in a handbag. BANG – problem.

That poor pet or animal doesn`t know what IS HAPPENING. Now the mere sight of a mouse or insect terrifies them, there are no such things in a handbag. Imagine putting a wolf in a bag. You, humans, are mollycoddling these dogs which come from the wolf and wild dog. You are taking away their ability to be an amazing animals by clothing them and putting them in your tote bag.

Cats must hunt but once again the human takes a room in their house and makes a room just for the kitty that according to them is suffering outside. Cats will find a spot to snuggle. Cats come from tigers, panthers and all the big cats of the wild. The lion isn`t going to come up to you and want to climb into your handbag unless you had him as a baby and never let him back to his kind.

Yes, there are animal sanctuaries but they allow the animals to be wild but also protected. There is nothing wrong with protecting an animal, just give them space to be what their species was born to do.

Exotic animals don`t belong in a basement but once again the nurturing human puts them there. Eventually, animal protection services get called in and the animal has to be rescued because some stupid human thought they could take care of the animal because their money can buy anything. Rather put your money to good use and donate to conservation.

How about if aliens did exist? Maybe they would keep us as pets and see what stupidity we get up to. I love animals but I would rather see them being who they are supposed to be and not in a cage or handbag.

There are conservationists that understand animals and how to save them. They are brilliant but not the person who goes out and buys a Gucci handbag just so they can put their Chihuahua dog in there that cost the price of a car because it was bred for a bag.

If you want a handbag dog or cat go to TOYS R US there are many fur babies there. I love unicorns, but I`m not going to go stick a horn on a goat or horse and keep it in my lounge.

My apologies if I sounded insulting to anyone, it wasn`t my intention. If you watch animal hoarders on television you might agree with me that some humans are in fairyland and by saving them hundreds of animals in their home they are harming themselves and the poor animal.

So next time before you grab your bag and your pooch think how you would feel if the alien stuck you in a suitcase.