My Africa Story – 18

A very kind man noticed me, saw Doctor Olson’s sign and went in to tell them about me just hanging out (literally) of the car. When Dr. Olson explained to the doctors at the hospital I had just returned from Africa, they were certain they had a rare disease they would be able to tackle … Read more

My Africa Story – 17

As soon as I got in the car with him, his greeting was “You look like hell!” “Good, I wouldn’t want to confuse anyone!” I mumbled. I managed to drive the hour back to Lafayette and crawl into bed to try and ease away from the drowning feeling that had overtaken me. The next morning … Read more

My Africa Story – 16

Somehow Fred managed to push my flight back by seven days and he sent a Telex to my boss to let him know I wasn’t going to make it back for another week. And I spent the entire week in bed, sleeping more often than not. When the week was up, I boarded a small … Read more

My Africa Story – 15

I was more tired than was warranted for the leisurely day of being driven through the scenic jungle, but still, I headed for bed before 8 pm. The next morning I could hardly get out of bed. My back ached and I had a raging fever. Not that we knew how high the fever might … Read more

My Africa Story – 14

Fred noticed an area where the jungle was rather tame by comparison and had the driver pull over. Now, you would have thought with Fred’s experience in the jungle he would have warned me and had me wear a dress rather than slacks, but it was not the case. Rather self conscious and very embarrassed, … Read more

My Africa Story – 13

I could barely contain my questions after the last of our guests parted. “Why didn’t they bring their wives?” I queried. “In Africa, the more girlfriends a man has, the wealthier he is presumed to be.” Fred explained. “Don’t the wives mind?” I wanted to know. “No, their job is to have and care for … Read more

My Africa Story – 12

We arrived back at the compound, somewhat jostled, somewhat dispirited, but nevertheless, we had a wonderful weekend. The house was well taken care of by the amazing, young, vibrant and overly polite houseboy, Ade. I didn’t care for the way he addressed each of us, as though we were royalty. He even bowed as he … Read more

My Africa Story – 11

Fred had to restrain me from leaping out of the car to come to her rescue. He explained the severe restrictions they had for bringing anything into the country. It was beyond my comprehension, but I had to work very hard to try and understand the situation.

My Africa Story – 10

Since they weren’t expecting guests for lunch, the house boy went out and came back first with a quart bottle of beer and of course, no glass. I had to pick up the bottle with both hands. A few minutes later I was presented with some form of meat on wooden skewers. I gingerly took … Read more

My Africa Story – 9

Inside the Hotel Sarakawa there several night clubs offering a jazz club, reggae, rock and roll and even a string quartet. There were at least four restaurants and several dress and souvenir shops. I had never seen such a large property. The first night we went to Hotel Du 2 Fevrier for dinner. The hotel … Read more