What is new?

The local chemist has doses of the new (current) flu jab on order. They will be here tomorrow. I have had flu jabs for the last few decades (not just years!) and I have not had flu since I have been retired.

The last time I had flu I felt worse than usual, and if I ever feel sick, I feel like death warmed up! I suppose that being retired helps to keep me illness free since I dont have contact with the run of the mill sick people.

The worst I feel is generally when it is cold and where my bones were damaged when I was run down (literally) they seem to cause my muscles to ache. When it is colder than our usual 18 degrees celsius, I battle to walk and to breathe, hence to talk!

I am amazed at people who are fully able to walk and talk clearly, and all they can do is to moan about how they cannot get going in the morning, and that they dont use the health that they are blessed with. I listen to people giving their testimonies in Church, and if we had no loudspeaker system, a mouse would be more audible!

I have befriended a human who has terrible problems. He has been a drug addict since he was 16, and now wants to clean up his act. I know members who would write him off as one of the worst sinners, but having met him, I can see the good in him - much like Luke Skywalker could see the good in Darth Vader. No-one believed him, but in the end, this good showed up!

I know that many members would think of him as a bad person, purely because he was a drug addict, but he is trying hard to pull himself right - is in Rehab in a really picturesque town up past Pinetown! He booked himself into rehab and I hope that he will succeed! I sense a bit of what Jesus must feel - that although he has done things that are not right, there is good in him - worth saving!

I know that he had agency to start drugs or not, but I sympathise with him! He comes from a broken home and some of his friens he ended up with, kind of persuaded him that the ceasy way out was to become an addict!

It has to be easier to fall back on drugs than it is to face up to life, but rehab has to be one of the hardest things to face! If he has a headache now, he has to just grin and bear it as drugs of any sort (Aspirin tablets!) are not allowed. If they were, it is kind of a short step to hard drugs.

I feel that one member in particular would class me as a drug addict, since I am prescribed to take a muscle relaxant tablet every day for the rest of my life. It is either prescribed drugs or cramped up muscles! I have no choice!

If you read my former blogs, you will be very aware that I am in love - with my 2 Landrovers! I know that it is quite extravagant to drive 2 diffferent Landrovers - depending on my mood! - but I say to some people "If not then why not?" that is kind of my motto for life. I definitely love them both far more than I ever loved my wife. I feel that - steel and fibreglass as they are - they love me more than my wife ever did! Turns out that they give me far less strife than she has - divorce not-withstanding!

I have come to realise that when I was married, my cars treated me far better than she ever did! I know that when I remarry, I will not be beguiled like I was the first time round! The beauty of hindsight! I know the women who are completely unsuitable, and I hope that I have the presence of mind to steer clear of these people.

I know that one of the sisters at church seemed to think that she had a chance to be the next Mrs Killick, and started treating me much along the same lines as my ex did! I dont like to be pushed around like that, and even have a HUGE V8 auto Landy Disco that no-one pushes around on the road! If they try, all I need do is to slip it into low range and to effortlessly go over the top of them - and they seem to sense it. My Disco is far more imposing on the road than is my Freelander and even that they steer very clear of! Maybe the splashes of wild dung on the sides (makes it look kind of rugged!) gives them the impression of "Dont mess with me!"

Do I feel superior behind the wheel of my Disco? Sure I do - and why not? I make no excuses at this - I feel superior, because I AM - Go figure!

You would figure that a V8 auto - airconditioned vehicle is a gas guzzler - and bad for Global Warming, but it costs the same to run in fuel as did my 4 cylinder "stick shift" Opel Corsa. That cost me R 500 every 2 weeks to refuel, but my Disco costs R 1 200 a month to fill - even if you factor out the increase in fuel costs per litre!. Running 2 Landys, a tank of fuel in my Disco lasts me 2 months - empty to empty. I dont like to let the guage get too low as I have found that in order to fill up completely, the pump attendants have to restart the pumps. The tank holds more than the pumps are able to dispense without being reset - and it does not even have long range tanks fitted! When the tank is full, it holds more fuel in value than some cars on the road are worth!

Offroaders vs Softroaders

Since I bought my V8 Landrover Discovery, I have found out that it is technically an offroader. I also have a Landrover Freelander TD4, a turbo diesel vehicle - and that is technically a softroader.. The difference is not immediately apparent. Both are automatics and with my Freelander, it is an all wheel drive, whereas my huge Disco is a high/low range selection (manual shift!) when needed - which is not that often in town. Off road is technically when you pull into a tarred parking bay at the local mall!

I noticed a Range Rover Evoque the other day, and was stunned that it is classed technically as a softroader.

Why then do I have a vehicle in the same category (not the same class though!) and a much larger vehicle that is a major off-roader. It will climb vertical walls and wade through miles of mud without getting stuck, although maybe I do need to take a course in offroad driving?

You would think that in Africa, the opportunities to make full use of offroading is endless, but in larger cities (Sandton for example) many huge offroaders venture no further off road than down the driveway, or into the parking bays at the local mall! In 4x4 stores there, you can buy spray on mud, to give your vehicle a seriously used offroad look - designer mud?

Last time I went up to the Game Reserve, I drove through some fresh poop, so had Designer Poop on my offroader - way better than designer mud!

Why own 2 4x4's? I love both of them, different in feel, and I love them. I admit that to drive to the airport in Durban, I prefer my TD4, since that has cruise control. Maybe it is incomprehensible that I would have an off-roader when walking is difficult enough for me, but the freedom you get when you are out of civilisation is a feeling that makes me glad to be alive!