The Beagle, a 2008 Toyota LC on a drift across Africa, piloted by Jim (FitzRoy) and Ann Colleen.
The Beagle, a 2008 Toyota LC on a drift across Africa, piloted by Jim (FitzRoy) and Ann Colleen.
“How do white women not have babies??” The Himba girl insists on an answer. She is practically stamping her foot with impatience. How could I not have children?? I’m frank and tell her through the interpreter that there’s condoms, rhythm, drugs – two of those three choices being unavailable to her. Jesus. She is young and already a mother. We stand in their corn garden and discuss it. There is not much more to say.
But there is much to say about the Himba women. Look at how they present themselves – how can we as westerners expect everyone to be like us? Their tribe’s recent history is fraught with genocide from German colonialists and the threat of the Namib government to build a dam that will bury their homelands in water. They don’t want to change – but schooling would do good.
We visited a true Himba village, not a reenactment, and through an interpreter we are shown a life lived on the ground. It was a moving experience. 
Yo Sis, i’m back to Billings, after 5 weeks in the Swamp / fortunately the Wagners are high ‘n dry away from the maddening crowd.
I really enjoyed my time there with the kids. Abigail is as cute as ever and Xander is a wonderful little boy, he’s his own person and what a kewl little person he has turned into ~ we had a lot of fun…but don’t get me wrong it was indeed serious Grampah craftsmanship/grampah’s rules…not letting a few inches of freedom turn into a mile of doormat.
Thank you for the cards esp the one in DC ! nice to get mail esp dedicated to birds.
i didn’t see any photos mentioned in the current dialogue of birth control / eugenics / (only the rich should have kids) (leaving only Whites and monied People of Color) my two cents:)
Art Walk Friday night was very fun, It’s so kewl to have a Father Daughter in the same gallery and we always have lots of fun doing this event 7 times a year. Photos on the Sandstone Gallery Face Book.
Sophie is riding bare back these days in return for shoveling horse manure and grooming…
I’ll have a lot of photos from my trip /working vacation/ on my FB in a few days. On 05.08,2017 i’m losing my Earthlink Internet provider and E-mail ~ i’ve subscribed to Charter-Spectrum for WiFi, new phone (connected to the modem) and new Internet Provider. I’ve been with Earthlink since 1994 but i need WiFi and this is the only solution. Tom gave me a new Laptop with Windows 10 (mind boggling to be sure) It’s photo editor was at first a major headache but now it’s way better than Windows 7 not to mention the color on screen is dazzling compared to this old tower. But i’ll keep both and be all the more knowledgeable with my new Laptop!
My new E-Addy is: willycrain@outlook.com
Love ‘n Huggggggs
Will
So good to hear from you – great news about your new computer. Photo editing, isn’t it amazing what you can do? At least once you figure it out! Can’t be any worse than Word Press (haha)
Yes, I bet it is alot of work at the Wagners keeping the kids in line – the grandkids that is 🙂
This morning we are on the Zambezi River and are soon to be in Zimbabwe. More from there. TY for sending your new email, good luck with all that. Love and Hugs!
So beautiful!
How incredible that you are witness to and participant of this moment and this place, like two tectonic plates sliding over/under one another. Life shifts. Neither of you (the girl in the field or you) will be the same ever again.
c
Kathy says: I had a friend in the Peace Corps in Africa in the 70’s. They tried to educated the women about birth control and convinced them that birth control pills were the easiest to do. The women thought that if the pill was so magical, why not take them all at once. They tried that, got sick, so wouldn’t touch them again. That angle didn’t work!
Yes, there are so many factors that enter into this! Where would a village girl keep her pills? The huts have no privacy. It is a difficult situation.
Catherine Wiggins says: Oh what a treat !
I’ve been away for a while and I’m just delighted with this entry !
First let me just say, to get it off my chest, the cone shell adornments are making my head explode!
WOW ! Aren’t those woman just stunning! What beautiful faces! So fun to see such great shots with you and Jim included.
Interesting that they do not have birth control programs in Africa. I wonder why that is.
Guess I’m going to have to write some letters. You would think this would be a program for young girls that would’ve been in place long ago. This was beautifully written. Thank you so much for sharing.
Good health to you both ❤️✨💫
Cat
Oh, yes, you should have seen the ornaments, Cat! Spectacular. And there likely are birth control programs here, it’s just getting to the villages, having it not be a stigma to not have children, there are lots of factors in play. But it was interesting that the young woman did not want to have any more children.
marlenemarlenemarlemarlenene says: These photos enlarged even better than the last post, except the gourd photo, couldn’t get that one any bigger. Whoa, the shell necklace was striking, well, all of the ornamentations are so special. I can appreciate the differences, I don’t want them to be like us – “wouldn’t it be a real drag if we were all the same?” (Jimi Hendricks). Great to have you and Jim in photos with these lovely people.
Ha-ha, Jim, what that smile about?
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