The Long and Winding Road




The long and winding road……………….. (Beatles 1970). I remember this song from quite a few years back when I think I was about 15 or 16 and I always thought to myself what a boring and unlively song it was and never bothered to listen to the full song. Little did I know then about the road of life. I guess when I think of it now boy does it make sense, funny isn’t it how life changes?? Back then I thought the road of life was like the autobahn 10 lanes all leading in the same direction and going at one heck of a speed, but guess what I was wrong not even close. It seems like the road starts off wide and fast but soon narrows down to a little two lane country road, some people moving in your direction and some in the opposite, the problem is when life was on the autobahn the road was pretty much flat, straight and in good condition. Come to think of it pretty much predictable, however as it narrows down certain aspects of it changes, gradual hills become steeper and steeper and with that goes the dips, they become lower and lower, the potholes are sometimes small and if you lucky you can skim over them without much damage to the car but then some are a little deeper and wider. When you hit these you can feel the impact on the car, what do you do when this happens ??? Do you slow down? Common sense tells me this would be the best thing to do, but I don’t I just keep the petrol down (I guess I think I am still on the autobahn) and yep you guessed it a few km’s up the road you hit a bigger pothole. This time with more severe consequences, this time you not only feel the impact on the car but there is some serious damage to it as well. Oh Cr…….p you say to your self why did I just not slow down??? Each time this happens there is always a recovery period. The pace flag comes out and all on the road have to keep to a certain speed limit and no overtaking, funny though when the flags out you all of a sudden see a little more clearly!!! After a while you think Hey all is well the car seems to be handling well!! Great lets see if we can go a little faster ……… yep all is feeling good a little faster…….. and yes you guessed it, no not a pothole, but a sharp 90 degree bend pops out of nowhere and bam you’re off the road “farming” ……….Cr…….p I did it again. Yep that little voice inside your head is now saying I told you so.
As you guys all know the past few Km’s of road have had their fare share of potholes, 90 degree bends and hey some times there was even No tar!! As for the cars, I think it has taken it’s toll on them, there are quite a few on the road you know little ones, medium ones and big ones. I guess (I guess a lot in this letter) the road has a sort of ripple effect you hit the pothole and the passengers feel it as well, everybody on the N2 feels it. I know I have felt it and maybe the passengers pretend not to feel but they do. Then you get to thinking, who are the ones keeping the cars on the road?? Somehow we always tend to forget them, aren’t they the real hero’s?? Well who are they you might ask …. Well in my opinion they are the mechanics, always there to see where they can fix a shock here and change the oil filter there. What would you do without theses guys and girls?? That’s right you would be sitting on the side of the road stuck, more than likely with a cell phone that has no signal, Cr……p. Why did I not pay more attention to the car and getting it serviced, and maybe chat to the mechanic once in a while. I am sure he would have valuable information to tell you, but hey the lanes are getting narrower and more cars are joining the onramp, sorry, got to get on the two lane road before it gets to busy.

I guess (yes I know I use that word a lot) if I would choose to be a car I think I would like to be a M3 BMW; sleek and fast looking with all the bells and whistles, like traction control ABS brakes and so on, but I would also like to have the brut raw appeal of a 427 cobra. So which one would be the better to be BMW or Cobra and that’s where the mind comes into play. What is more important good handling, nice leather interior or brut raw V8 sound with a even scarier ride no traction control, no ABS brakes?? Well I would have to say for me it would be the cobra why you ask?? Well let’s have a look at the long and winding road. If you have an M3, yep it will make your drive safer and more enjoyable but the problem is you fall into that groove, you become used to the bells and whistles, and you know what, when you have to drive the Cobra and you will have too sometime or another you are going to battle. Why? Because this car relies on you as a person and not on the bells and whistles of the car, you have to hold onto that steering wheel, you have to hold onto the gear shift and boy oh boy you better know what gear you need to be in or else …………….yep Baaammm you’re into that pothole or the 90 degree bend farming with that little old voice laughing at you once again .

Well I am sure you have guessed it already, the cars on the road are us and the passengers are our family, wives, husbands, sisters and brothers and of cause our precious children and they are all part of the support structure, when you think of it ,it is great to have them but in the above little story we do take advantage of them and sometimes don’t give credit where credit is due. Well I can’t speak for you guys, but for me I know I don’t give my awesome wife enough credit in fact I am rather rude and abrupt to her at times especially these last couple of months. We are only human I hear you say, and we have these emotions I suppose this is true but we can make that effort to be a little more thankful a little more accommodating and a little more loving ,well that’s my perspective at least ,so I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thanks to all of you for enduring the last few Km’s with me and as a family we have all played our part ,yes maybe we could have done it better or differently but we pulled through and that’s what counts in the end .To Mel and Debs …Wow what do you say to you guys??? I am so pleased in my heart that you could look after Mom , I think she would have been so proud of you both ,I sure am and just say thank you for what you did I can’t say I know how it feels but I think I have a little of that feeling ,Debs you sitting up at night with Mom wondering about her and I am sure about where your life is going Mel for all the long hours you put in at your work and then still helping Debs ,I say words are not enough to explain how dedicated you were and how great it was for Mom to pass away with you with here ,Wayne you stay just to far to pop through and come to visit on a regular basis but you made the effort and that is what counts, things may not be great for you and your family at this stage but I am a firm believer that you are where you are now in life for a reason ,it is trying to find out why you are there that is the hard part Mom would have appreciated all the effort you put in as Mel and Debs have said on numerous occasions family was the most important thing to Mom and seeing her grand kids which she got to see a lot of at the end of her life was great ,for me I would like to say thanks to my wife she has lost out with regards to the new little one as my mind has been pre occupied with work and all the other things that have been happening, and I have not been the most understanding person, but she has stood by me and she is just totally awesome to me thanks Niks ,well I kind of feel like a young lion that has been kicked out of the pride as he needs to challenge a full grown male Lion to have a pride of his own ,when Dad died I still felt I had a connection to him through Mom ,now that she is not with us I find myself out in the middle of the bushveld,wondering????????????????????????? Just like that male lion, I am however standing not in fear but in faith as I know I have a good service team behind me it may not be visible but it is out there and that is reassuring ,thanks to all of you ,you all have a special place in my heart from this day forward I wish you all the best life has to offer and lets look back at Mom and Dad and take joy in the good times we had with them and learn from the mistakes they made I know I have learnt a lot from them and am grateful for that.



PS!! Don’t give that little voice a chance to laugh at you, be sensible and when your body and mind tell you to slow down you are going to fast …slow down


Thanks for everything

paranoid 22