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Visiting South Africa--Notes and recommendations

I first lived in South Africa in 1972, married a beautiful woman from there, Estelle, in 1973, and have been back every two years or so ever since both visiting family and touring that part of Africa including trips to Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Kenya, and Tanzania. While I lost Estelle in 2021, South Africa and her/my family there remain close to my heart. While there is much I still haven’t seen, what I have experienced is absolutely breathtaking and a lifetime experience to visit. For first time visitors to sub-Saharan Africa, you can’t do better than South Africa—particularly Cape Town in the American wintertime, South African summer. You should try to get a minimum of five days in Cape Town, just to make the trip and jet lag adjustment worthwhile. A week is better, particularly to experience the game reserves. There is much to see beyond that if you can do more than a week or so. While there are many American and international tour companies who will organize tou...
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Why Everyone Needs an Elevator Pitch

Most of us know about the “elevator pitch.”  Entrepreneurs use them to capture the attention of an investor when they have a quick opening—like riding in an elevator. It’s also used to pitch ideas for media content, movies, books, and even oneself when seeking a new job. So why do you need a personal elevator pitch? To communicate your uniqueness. Because we live in a 15-second world, we need quick and easy ways to help new acquaintances see we are passionate, active, and interesting.  In my case, even as a retired person, rather than letting age define me as an old guy, senior, etc. with the associated stereotypes, I’d like to be able to define myself as I wish. So, how do you create your pitch? List highlights of your personal history and current situation. Add current interests and how you spend your time. Incorporate those points into a few sentences, 70-150 words or so.  Wrap it up with a sentence or two of things you want to pursue. Here’s my effort and my own pitch...
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Tips on Being a Hospital Patient Advocate

  Before this year, Estelle and I can count on one hand all the hospital admissions for both of us. Now I’m beginning to feel like an experienced patient advocate. Given Estelle’s blindness and the nature of her health issues this year, I always felt I had to stay in the room with her 24x7 unless a friend was standing in for a bit. You learn a lot when you do that and follow what is going on hour by hour. So, here are my suggestions if you are a patient advocate, I’ll assume you’re an advocate for your spouse here but it could obviously be another loved one or friend. And, it probably goes without saying, if you are the patient, do not go alone if you can avoid it at all. Find someone who can at least meet you there if not take you there. Should your spouse go to the Emergency Room? While never eager to be in a hospital, we’ve learned there are times that is the best choice. Our choice in 2019 in South Africa to go to the emergency room with my unusual indigestion-like symptoms...
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A New Waterfall reminds us of the joy of neighborhood

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After retiring a few years ago, and taking a year off for overseas travel, Estelle and I settled in back home to discover our new life in our old home of 38 years. Covid hit and pretty much guaranteed we’d be right here until a vaccine came along. What we weren’t prepared for was discovering the joy of our neighborhood. One would think, after living here all this time, we would know our neighbors well. In reality, my working life as an entrepreneur and Estelle’s drama studio, were pretty much all consuming—leaving home before dark, returning after dark, and working many weekends. So, other than our next door neighbors, we really didn’t get to know many others at all. Then, over the years, there was quite a bit of turnover on the block so we just never connected, particularly with the new families with young children. Our neighborhood around New Natchez Trace, between Golf Club and Woodlawn, is a great walking area—interconnected, quiet, shaded streets among a wide variety of home...
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David's Rules for Life

Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. Find a soulmate to share your life with and experience the joys of making that person happy for the rest of your lives. Be caring and compassionate with your family, friends, and your fellow man Time heals almost everything, give it time. Don't compare your life to others and don't judge them. You have no idea what their journey is like. Stop thinking too much. It's alright not to know the answers. They will come to you when you least expect it. Practice healthy habits of exercise and nutrition. You will be glad you did for the rest of your life. Nurture good friendships early and throughout your life. You can't make old friends when you're old. No one is in charge of your happiness, except you. Smile. You don't own all the problems in the world Have integrity. Success will come and go, but integrity is Forever. To thine own self be true. Be open to new directions in your life and be pr...
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Report on January 2020 NBB adventure Canoe trip to Okefenokee swamp. Since we were without our NBB adventure group expert trip secretary Rube, on this trip, I’ll try to substitute. It was a small NBB group this time with Dan, Sam, and I making our respective trips to Southeast Georgia. We were all feeling airplane deprived since Dan and I are both temporarily grounded and so, Dan drove 11hr round trip from Canton, GA, I did about 10 hr of commercial air time, and Sam did about 10 hr of drive time to and from Carrabelle with stops at JAX to shuttle me. It would have been a perfect mission for our airplanes. However, otherwise the trip was a very successful adventure, primarily thanks to Sam’s excellent research and planning, and some great luck with the weather. We met in Folkston, GA on Sunday, and Sam and I had some extra time to verify canoe bookings and plans and do a drive and walk through the Chesser homestead which originally was settled in the swamp in 1858...
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Discovering Down Under in 2019

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Link to photo Album Here We’ve been to many 2 nd and 3 rd world countries. We always struggle with understanding the history of how they ended so far behind the First World countries. Australia is a completely different experience. Here we arrive at a previously isolated, former British penal colony, at the other end of the world, that has created a first world country and has maintained it for many years. “How did dey do dat?” We always thought we’d get a chance to visit here one day, and indeed a good opportunity came along in the middle of our six month stay in South Africa. Here’s the 14 hr route the Qantas 747 took. I’m always interested in relative latitude when traveling and it was very interesting to me that Sydney, Atlanta, and Cape Town, at about 33 degrees, are all the same distance from the equator. One of the immediate differences we notice on this trip, compared to our Egypt OAT trip is the amount ...
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