One thing I just don't have the emotional tools to deal with is seeing a grown man cry.
Don't get me wrong. Tears are tears, no matter whose they are. The weight of sorrow comes in equal measure to all of us.
And yet, the tears of men are seldom seen. Perhaps they just dam up behind a tough façade. And, once in a blue moon, may spill over at the slightest touch of tenderness.
Like the time I saw an old man cry, a gardener from the neighbourhood.
He was sitting under a huge oak in a little open field close to my home, his shoulders hunched, staring at his hands resignedly. I recognised him from a splendid garden down the road. There was a 'for sale' sign at the house, I recalled. My people have moved, he replied when I enquired after his well-being, far away, over the water. And me, I look for the new job, every day I look. He lifted both rough hands. “These hands can work, Mama, they can. They love the soil. But they keep on being empty.
He let his hands fall back in his lap. “All that is left for me now is the ‘aar-three-fifty'. He was referring to the government's poverty relief grant of R350 per month. But you can only apply online.
Denne historien er fra May/June 2022-utgaven av Home South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May/June 2022-utgaven av Home South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Pestilence Domestica
We usually call them dirty, dangerous and utterly gross. But what if we looked at domestic pests through a different lens, asks Karin Brynard.
Quick as a flash!
These 15 dinners can be whipped up in a jiffy - before the power goes out!
The gift that keeps on giving
By taking cuttings and dividing existing plants and those from friends, Anne Turner and her son David have created a stunning garden that takes on a whole new personality as the seasons change.
Upcycle it!
Tuis Home food editor Johané Neilson and her husband Allister revamped a second-hand melamine wall unit to create a bespoke wall-to-wall display cabinet, for less than R3 500!
Little house in the forest
Thanks to her capable father, Neilke Pretorius and her partner enjoy an idyllic lifestyle in a custom-made home hidden in the trees.
Living large, inside and out
South Africans love a space where indoors and outdoors come together.
Modern CLASSIC
With authenticity as a guiding design principle, a young family has created their happy space in a 105-year-old house in the heart of vibrant Sea Point.
Peace & quiet...
A cinematographer and a set designer found the perfect bolt-hole in the Eastern Cape Karoo where they can truly relax and unwind.
ART AND SOUL
Five years ago, the Krugers transformed a tired city bungalow into a unique and modern family home.
Group therapy
Add impact and create rhythm using repetition and collections, as these Home readers have done.