SOS

Steve on Sunday

15 November 2020

Greetings my fellow colourful peoples,

I do hope that you are all well and enjoying the freedom that allows you to buy alcohol on a Saturday once again. Let me not write about opening the borders to all countries just as ‘all’ these countries go into lockdown and cannot visit anyway. I have selected the traffic lights I need to sit at, the problem being that there is already a daily battle for that particular position. My pale skin may count against me here. My age definitely so.

Once upon a time a decade or two ago a medical practitioner thought I might be going blind. Naturally I was a tad concerned and agreed with the wise man that I get a second and perhaps even a third opinion. While awaiting the appointment with second medico I thought about going blind and whether I could handle it.

The answer was yes, I could handle it, and I felt a lot happier about the situation. I could still do tours. Just place me in a certain position facing a certain direction on a battlefield and I’ll be able to blurb away ad nauseum. Likewise on a city tour. Obviously driving a vehicle was out of the question but maybe not so having witnessed some seriously atrocious driving this last few days.

Back to going blind. I though that going deaf was perhaps a better proposition but that was not for me to decide. Anyway, to cut a long story much shorter, the decision by the panel was that I was not going to go blind but that my eyesight was deteriorating with time. I, with the assistance of said medicos and their prescriptions still allow me to see pretty well which is good. It is actually my deafness that is now the problem. If someone asks or tells me something through their mask I have no idea what language they are talking. About the only question and words I ever hear is what would I like to drink? Have never had a problem hearing that question.

The reason for the few paragraphs on eyesight is to do with colour. How beautiful the world is with the variety of colours, especially in spring when the flower world erupts everywhere and particularly so in the desert and arid areas. Difficult to describe other than calling it an explosion of sorts – a truly beautiful explosion.

Which brings me to the various colours being used by political parties in the R of SA. The DA uses blue, a relaxing colour which allows you to be cool, calm and collected. It can also denote sadness and or shyness. Like I am sure they are when discussing the exodus of voters this last week during all the bye bye elections. And the seats they lost. Calm, sad and shy and not necessarily in that order.

The party that leads the government has multiple colours – black, green, and gold. Ignoring what they say about what the colours mean the ‘popular’ translation is that black is coldness or mourning, green is envy, greed, friendliness or disgust. I like the ‘greed’ part. Apt. Gold means wealth, riches, excess, and a few more. Also quite apt today.

The IFP and the PAC have the same colours as the ANC.

COPE is yellow and red. Yellow denotes cowardice, happiness, or perhaps caution whereas red is quite an angry colour denoting anger, embarrassment, passion, or lust.

The FF Plus is green and dark orange. Orange is joy and creativity while green is envy, greed, etc.

Of course you are all waiting for the EFFing people with their simple colour of red. Anger, embarrassment, passion, or lust. They are never embarrassed, and the passion and lust part are perhaps interpreted as their keen-ness for power or whatever, but I am sure they are quite happy with anger. I am also sure they would say the red is for blood spilt or something similar.

All I know is that they are not the first to use red as their only colour as the communist party used it long before the commander was born. The infamous Red Ants, they who remove people from their homes, are also all dressed in red, this long before the time of young Jules.

That other strange party known as BFLF, led by a person expelled by the EFFing party, has red, black and green as their colours. I am sure they have a modern day translation of what their choice means but I will stick with whatever is mentioned above.

One question here is whether these fine men and women have thought that the first people of South Africa were not they but the various Khoi, San and other indigenous groups that camp out at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

I do not think they have any colour except that which nature has given them.

I hope you have a lovely Sunday and week ahead.

I thank you.