14 Falls
At first the 500 Ksh (About $5 USD) price seemed a bit steep for 14 falls - but as I counted I realized that it was closer to 16 or maybe 17. Now that!.......... is great value.
Offsetting this trophy of value for sightseeing dollar is the challenge of pollution throughout Kenya and in particular the Mother Nature's waterways. According to my Mom (an authority on all matters because she's an excellent Mom and that's what excellent Mom's do) Environmentalism is a luxury enjoyed by the well-heeled and not the purview of those who must but do not chose to live daily with abject poverty. It's an excellent point.
And I agree with Uhuru Kenyatta, the big cheese in Kenya, that gay rights is on the agenda but unfortunately on the bottom page 24356 of a To-Do list of the same number of pages. Environmentalism is just above. The point he has made is that there are many important issues facing this young country and success requires prioritizing and focus on the big pieces for now.
The lush natural environment of Kenya has a tremendous environmental absorptive capacity and my thinking is that Mother Nature can continue to forgive the sins of the environmental transgressor for a while yet, but I wonder for how long. Pictured below is a closer look at the river....note the garbage caught in the branches to the right ... and the white is actually foam from the water that is severely polluted from the upstream discharge in Nairobi. Rivers are more part of the production process than the natural environment. Trucks take away finished goods and the waterways remove the waste.
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| One challenge for Kenya is dealing with pollution in the streams rivers. Damned plastic..... |
If you've ever seen the commercial for Dos Equis Beer starring the most interesting man in the world I suspect he was only chosen because my friend was unavailable at the time. His exceptional practical skills are only exceeded by his brilliance in understanding the world around him and being able to live deliberately within it. He wrote and sent this to me the other night.....
The Brazilian doctor tells me a car is needed
To transport a child arrived dead at the ER
The mother is hysterical, do I need her to come too
No, I can do it
I walk through the compound
Thinking about problems I must solve
And the bodies of dead children I've seen
I speak with a driver and he backs up to the ER
I ask in the ER about the child, I'm told it is in the OPD
The OPD is closed but I check each ghostly empty room
Back at the ER I see the child on an examination table
A medic is just finishing wrapping the body in a blanket
And he carries it to the vehicle
The mother follows
She doesn't seem very hysterical
But her grief is palpable
ebbing and flowing
She doesn't know how to be
With her child now dead
she is on the edge of breaking
She throws back her head and shoulders
and wails unrecognizable words
The medic lies the dead child
In the back of the land cruiser
Then after some discussion in Amaric he agrees to ride in the front
So the driver and mother don't have to drive alone
The mother climbs in the back
with the body of her child
Someone closes the door quickly behind her
The vehicle pulls slowly away
And I see through the back window
Her head and shoulders thrown back again
But I can't hear her wailing
Ive barely seen her in the failing twilight
It's as if I've only seen outlines and profiles
Of a tragedy in a smoke filled theater
Colored in shades of grief
I'm left standing there unable
to walk away for a moment
My task is accomplished in securing the vehicle
But I can't take a step until
I tell myself
You've just witnessed
another African tragedy
Then I step, pensive and fatigued
SFW
Below my friend & Sunday brunch partner Shiku gazing at the gazelles after a pleasant brunch in a jasmine scented Karen garden restaurant on a beautiful lazy sunny afternoon in the Heart of Africa.
Shiku operates a charity called "Sports for Change" helping kids in Kenya
Thanks for reading! Layno
