Always Africa

June, 1997. sunrise at Matopos. Winter. Yes, winter. I am wearing a sweater because it is cold.
In Zimbabwe, in lands of elevation above 4,000 feet, there is winter weather during the cold months of June and July. People wear jackets and sweaters. Everyone gets the flu. The wind blows harshly and the Africans shiver.
But winter doesn't last long. So no one really cares. you just get cold for a while and then it's over.

I am at the Matopos Hills at sunrise. A time and place of magic. The home of leopards. Oh yes, if you had magical eyes you could see the leopards crouching behind these strong boulders. Coming home from their night hunting, with a goat or a wart hog or nothing at all. Coming home to their lair to sleep the long day. You will never see them, but they will see you.

Leopards are watching me. Even today, even 18 years later and across the world, the leopards are still watching me because if you ever go to Matopos that is what will happen.

The leopards do not guide or protect me. They do not intercede with my fate for better or for worse. They are only watching me.