ALLOW me to begin my first column in 2011 with an apt and perfect quote from George Bernard Shaw: "Life is no brief candle for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."
You might find it remarkable to note that my column has been in your favourite newspaper for 12 years.
Therefore, I believe that time has been generous to me and my family and to our intractable bond through all those toiling years.
In actual fact, I still find it unbelievable that I made it through all those tough, lonely and hard years because there were times, including now, when I felt that the end was nigh.
There were times when the road seemed to be too long and winding.
But the grace of God, whatever you perceive God to be, kept my faith and my conviction and my commitment strong through those rough and uncertain periods in my life and yours.
Your continued support and unqualified love and indisputable loyalty, through all the surveys that were commissioned by Sowetan, kept my infected head high.
The great knowledge that you truly appreciated my humble effort to keep the home fires burning has made this long and deathly journey worthwhile.
When I needed acknowledgement you provided it with untold generosity and with unseen kindness and unconditional acceptance.
You allowed me into your modest homes and exquisite palaces to provide solace and comfort when your dearest siblings were hopeless and sickly and dying of Aids-related opportunistic infections.
You let me in and showed undeserved confidence and trust in a man who truly did not know what he was doing.
Business moguls invited me to their workplaces to share the space and my acquired knowledge with my fellow countrymen and women.
Captains of industry, including Rosebank College, answered my hopeless calls, opened their wallets when I raised funds for people who were making a telling difference in the empty lives of our destitute and disadvantaged young people.
You taught me how to carry myself and my cause with pride and dignity.
The government allowed me to serve my people and to carry our flag at all levels, not only in our country but throughout the world, with the stature reserved only for kings and queens and other important people.
At times we did not see eye to eye but we fought a good and clean fight.
The poor allowed me to share their meals and time and gave me unrestricted access to their orphaned children.
We cried together when HIV took our loved ones, we held hands and shared our collective sense of great loss and deprivation.
Each and every one of you continue to appreciate my simple and humble contribution to making a lasting and tangible difference in the meaningless lives of those who are sickly, homeless and hopeless.
I am truly humbled and grateful and I promise, as I did 12 years ago, to love you forever.
The past 12 years have humbled me
ALLOW me to begin my first column in 2011 with an apt and perfect quote from George Bernard Shaw: "Life is no brief candle for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."
You might find it remarkable to note that my column has been in your favourite newspaper for 12 years.
Therefore, I believe that time has been generous to me and my family and to our intractable bond through all those toiling years.
In actual fact, I still find it unbelievable that I made it through all those tough, lonely and hard years because there were times, including now, when I felt that the end was nigh.
There were times when the road seemed to be too long and winding.
But the grace of God, whatever you perceive God to be, kept my faith and my conviction and my commitment strong through those rough and uncertain periods in my life and yours.
Your continued support and unqualified love and indisputable loyalty, through all the surveys that were commissioned by Sowetan, kept my infected head high.
The great knowledge that you truly appreciated my humble effort to keep the home fires burning has made this long and deathly journey worthwhile.
When I needed acknowledgement you provided it with untold generosity and with unseen kindness and unconditional acceptance.
You allowed me into your modest homes and exquisite palaces to provide solace and comfort when your dearest siblings were hopeless and sickly and dying of Aids-related opportunistic infections.
You let me in and showed undeserved confidence and trust in a man who truly did not know what he was doing.
Business moguls invited me to their workplaces to share the space and my acquired knowledge with my fellow countrymen and women.
Captains of industry, including Rosebank College, answered my hopeless calls, opened their wallets when I raised funds for people who were making a telling difference in the empty lives of our destitute and disadvantaged young people.
You taught me how to carry myself and my cause with pride and dignity.
The government allowed me to serve my people and to carry our flag at all levels, not only in our country but throughout the world, with the stature reserved only for kings and queens and other important people.
At times we did not see eye to eye but we fought a good and clean fight.
The poor allowed me to share their meals and time and gave me unrestricted access to their orphaned children.
We cried together when HIV took our loved ones, we held hands and shared our collective sense of great loss and deprivation.
Each and every one of you continue to appreciate my simple and humble contribution to making a lasting and tangible difference in the meaningless lives of those who are sickly, homeless and hopeless.
I am truly humbled and grateful and I promise, as I did 12 years ago, to love you forever.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos