Cold wet weekends

It looks set to be another cold wet weekend. Last weekend it was so wet that a family who farm up near Vryheid, could not get off the farm. They are diligent members - a member of the Branch Presidency, his wife the Relief Society President, his son the Elders Quorum President and his other son, the Sunday School President! If they are not able to get through the mud, there are 2 consequences:-

The Auxilliaries are kind of operating at a stretch!
The general attendance is down by 4 at least!

The EQ President is young - 24 - and is currently seriously dating a girl (woman?) from Hillcrest. He gives every impression that sooner rather than later, he will get married! I know that he, his father and brother actively farm, so their attendance is pretty well dependant on the weather! When his family cannot make it off the farm to get to Church, it seems that no-one is at Church. When Theunis gets married, that will mean that 5 people are stuck on the farm. I know that Kosi Bay twig was started with 3 members, and they are almost ready to be an independant branch! Looks kind of like there will be a need to have a twig/branch up near Vryheid! Then if it rains, they will not be stuck on the farm with no way to get to Church!

I did assure him that his sweetheart is safe from me! I am looking to marry a much older woman than that! I feel that Michele was from a different generation to me and as such her mindset was not my mindset! To go for a woman several generations younger would be suicide! Di and I have the same birth year, and she was born in the maternity home where both of my brothers were born. How is that for a great sign that we are from the same generation? I was born further north, in a town (Dorpie - smaller than a dorp, Afrikaans for town) between Salisbury (now Harare) and Kariba Dam. Sinoia (now Chinoiye) has 2 claims to fame - the limestone caves there, and ME! The last time I was in Sinoia (that is what it was called when we left Zimbabwe) it was a tiny settlement - a few houses, a shop and a hairdressers. When my Mom married, she was a hairdresser in Sinoia. My grandfather was a mechanic at Heinrichs Transport, a major industry in the north of Rhodesia, and their headquarters was in Sinoia. My Dad used to farm up closer to Kariba, and I was born in Sinoia. Then my Dad joined the army and was stationed mainly in Salisbury! Before I did my National Service, he was Paymaster at the RLI Barracks, opposite the High School that I attended. When I served my NS callup, it was at the RLI and I volunteered to join the pay office. The day I went there was he day Mugabe was elected and the bush war ended. I actually saw more action than the guys who went into the Commandoes - and I had fun!

It was great that I served at the barracks, but could live at home - literally 5 minutes from the back gate - IF you walked! The food in the troopies canteen was dreadful - at it's best - but fortunately it was not long before I was promoted from Trooper (Troopie) to Lance Corporal, That entitled me to eat at the Corporals Club. I am convinced that armies are run by the Corporals, so we were looked after. Then we were promoted to Full Corporals!

That is when a troopie who laughed at me for joining the Pay Office, was shaken to his roots. He came to the Pay Office, leaned against the door post and said to me "Catch me a casual!" (troopiespeak for "Give me a casual advance on my pay"). I freaked at his casual attitude and without thinking I said in a bone chilling voice "I am a Corporal and you will treat me as such!" The office - including the Paymaster (a Captain) was deathly quiet and the poor troopie sprang to attention, threw me a salute and begged my apology.

He was scared that I would put him on a charge for insolence, but his reactions were enough! In the army you only ever saluted a commissioned officer and I was only(?) an NCO (Non Commissioned Officer). They had to brace up if they spoke to us, but saluting was reserved for Lieutenants and senior! We even had Captains who treated us as almost godlike (we DID handle the most important thing to them - their pay!) and if you were on charge, you invariably had to spend time locked up, and then faced a fine for your misdemeanour.

The paymaster was impressed as I had stood up to my rank, and that was the reason we were given rank by him!