A moment in memories

Today, I briefly stood outside the Bulawayo Chronicle offices.  Looking into the old building (it was old when I worked there in 1979-80), I could see it hasn't changed much, if at all.  I didn't have a camera, but this is a picture from Flickr.

I briefly thought of walking in the doors, then decided that no tourist would have reason to visit a newspaper office.  Sure, I worked there, then, but I don't now.

I returned to the rental car and headed back to Victoria Falls.  This time, knowing the road and car better, I completed the trip much more rapidly, in about four hours.

Can we return to our memories?  The 32-year-old events which bring me here are seared in my memory; but they are directly relevant only to a small group of peers, some of whom have died and others who have dispersed elsewhere in the world.

Nevertheless, the choices I made then define my life today.  The choices we all make when we are young shape our directions, of course.

Despite change, some things remain the same.  The old Victoria Falls Hotel, which I reported on two days ago, is much like it would have been decades ago.  The Chronicle building looks like it looked when I worked there.

Much is different, though.  Although I recognized some aspects of the streetscapes in both Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, the communities have changed.  There are new buildings and new values.

Of course, the great Victoria Falls remain the way they have been since before recorded human history.

Travelling down memory lane in Zimbabwe

Some 32 years ago, I discovered many life answers living through the transition from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe.  Now, in the Victoria Falls Hotel, I'm reliving memories from a different perspective, observing the consistencies in tradition and experience despite time and change.

The hotel, for example, is largely what it was in the early years of the 20th century.  White patrons are served by black waiters, the thundering falls in the near distance.

When I last visited Victoria Falls in January 1979, I had managed to finesse a work permit marked "journalist" so, instead of heading to view the falls and other tourist facilities here, I focused on the human condition and wartime challenges.  This visit is purely touristic -- I won't discuss politics or even think of critical journalism -- so I paid the $30US fee and visited the falls.

This is truly a magnificent wonder of the world; intense, powerful nature at its most dramatic and intense level.  I shot a video of the falls, walking for a few minutes with a 25-year-old Zimbabwean electrician, on leave from his job; himself enjoying the tourist site.  (Ironically, I was 25 years old when I last lived in Zimbabwe).

Obviously, very few blog readers will have reason to travel to central Africa to view waterfalls.  And I doubt many of you would even visualize yourself driving for three hours in a rented car (British driving side) to Bulawayo.  Hardly much to do with construction marketing.

But we are shaped by our choices, experiences and decisions when we are young, and undoubtedly my experiences in Africa have defined my life.  Accordingly, I'm celebrating the results, and remembering the amazing adventures that brought me here in the first place.