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off-air that he truly enjoyed the interview and as a gift, he gave me a cassette recording of
it. What a great souvenir.
The next morning was an early start. I went with Lucy to High Tech Shoes where
theytoldmetochooseapairthatwasondisplaywhichtheygavemeforfree.Iwasfloored
(again). I asked for a second pair and they threw me out (just kidding). They also gave me
badges forme to sew onmy shirts. After thanking them, Irushed home to get ready formy
first school visit.
Lucy took me to a Grade 2 class at Bertrams Junior School. Their questions were
great and one child simply asked me, “Do you miss your mommy and daddy?” “Abso-
lutely,” I said.
After my presentation, I went to visit Imqualife, a company which subsidized food
for other non-profit organizations. On my way home, I came across a peace march not too
far from the house. Thousands of people from all ethnicities did the toyi-toyi (a military
march dance which was first used to intimidate South African troops but after apartheid
was used to express grievances against government policies.) The energy generated was
unbelievable and I felt the earth shake beneath my feet. They chanted slogans protesting
the inequality and poor availability of jobs.
WhenIarrivedatthehouse,Lucygavemethegreatestnews.Because ofmyRadio
702 interview, she had people call in to STC headquarters to personally volunteer. She said
a local company called to donate supplies, and another lady representing a school wanted
to donate books. This was an incredible lesson on the power of radio. I had several other
experiences like this as I made my way to Cape Town which I will share at the appropriate
time.
My stay in Johannesburg came to an end with dinner with the Taylors. The next
morning I felt a bit depressed even though I knew that eventually I would have to go.
RobertaskedmeifIwasleavingandwithmyeyescastdownwardIsaidyes.Hethenthrew
up his arms and said, “Thank God!” He was joking of course but at least it put a smile
on my face. I had breakfast and Lucy handed me packed lunch for the road. After taking
photos, I said good-bye to the family. Just before I left the Taylor's home, I met Marcus
Holmes, Robert' business consultant. He provided me with some contacts in Bloemfontein
which I followed up on.
I found the N1 and joined the morning traffic. I had to change three lanes of heavy
traffic for the road to Bloemfontein. A police car came up behind me and the officer told
me that I was not permitted on the N1. He escorted me to the next exit and recommended
that I cycle the Golden Highway. This was the R553, a regional road that runs more or
less parallel to the N1. As I started cycling, there were a lot of confusing recommendations
from the locals on how to get to Kroonstad. I decided to ignore their advice and rejoined
the N1 further south from where the police escorted me off. I soon came upon a tollbooth
where the attendant helped me with directions.
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