September 8

Bulawayo is full of interesting people.  I know you could say that about any city, but I feel Bulawayo has more than its fair share.  I am always surprised how many experts there are here.  You think Bulawayo is this rather dull place that no one particularly exciting lives in and then you discover that the world expert on butterflies or mushrooms or Renaissance art lives just down the road, or that the little old lady you sometimes see buying bananas at PicknPay is related to the Crown Prince of Monrovia or is a retired Russian spy.  That's Bulawayo for you.   

There is a elderly man who we often see out walking in Burnside whom we call The Explorer.  He is always clad from head to toe in khaki, has a large moustache and walks with a big, strong stick that he swings out in front of him.  Whenever we see him, we wonder if he has found some new land yet.

Today we see The Explorer walking through the industrial site in town.  It is quite a shock to see him out of his usual environment.  He looks like a chameleon walking slowly through the English countryside or a kangeroo bounding through the Antarctic might - completely out of place.  We wonder if he hasn't lost his map or perhaps his compass has gone haywire.  I feel like picking him up by the scruff of his neck and placing safely back on the Burnside road. 

I feel sorry for the explorer.  I imagine he lives in a grass hut and spends his mornings and evenings studying maps and writing in a large log book, all the time totally unaware that everything he is looking for has been discovered and is now considered commonplace and mundane. Or maybe he does know, but he hasn't quite given up on one day finding what he is looking for.