Dancing to a Different Rhythm

Last night I heard some African jazz. We went to a bar in Melville to listen to some jazz and it was great. So was the South African wine I drank. Too good in fact – at 6:30am this morning I realized that at my age, the “not on a school night” law will need to be enforced.

I am still doing archival description. In the past two days I have come across some really neat stuff. To start on a light note, I first came across a letter from Montel Williams, then a note from Melinda Gates, a Christmas card from the Dali Lama, and then a letter from the “Greatest of All Time” – Muhammed Ali. There were also letters from both the Bush Presidents, but forgive me for adding my own bias in saying they do not fall into the greatest of all time category. Then there was a folder of letters from Kofi Annan

Much to my delight, I found a box marked “OPRAH.” I am not sure how many visits she has made here, but the records I came across concerned her 2002 ChristmasKindness project and her school for girls. There in the box were photos, like snapshots. Not sure who took them and nobody knew they were there.
One of the more amusing things I have found was a CD containing a Christmas card list. This is like no list I have ever seen in my life. Oprah again made he list, along with Whoppi Goldberg, Sidney Portier, Quincy Jones, Mrs. Gandhi, Elizabeth Taylor, etc…Sarah Furgeson made the list, but Queen Elizabeth did not. Does anyone have any ideas on that one? Then, there in front of me was Denziel Washington’s residential address in LA. I had to close the file. It was simply too tempting to copy it down.

Last night, Jill and I attended a book launch with Verne Harris at a lovely gallery here in Jo’Berg. Zarnia Maharaj’s Dancing to a Different Rhythm is an account of her life story as the wife of struggle activist and former cabinet minister Mac Maharaj. There have been many volumes written by South Africans involved in the struggle for democracy, but few are first-hand accounts by the women. Verne managed to get our copies signed and I am looking forward to getting into the book this weekend. At the launch, we also met Ahmed Kathrada, a close friend of Nelson Mandela who was mentioned frequently in A Long Walk to Freedom.