During my trip to Egypt the guide said we could ride a camel but first we were to go inside Cheops Pyramid, the largest one comprising around two million three hundred thousands blocks each weighing two and a half tons. When inside all I could think of was what if two million blocks come tumbling down on me in twenty seconds?
Outside the guide told us how much to pay the camel driver and how much to tip. But the driver kept pulling at my leg asking for more money. I was too busy pretending I was Lowell Thomas the explorer on my camel and ignored him as I gazed off over the desert. He finally got mad at me “not listening” and dropped the reins and for one mad moment I thought he was going to kick the camel and send the camel and me careening across the desert. As I got off “Coca Cola” both the driver and the camel spat on me. Maybe it was just the camel. I guess he did not like Lowell Thomas. The driver when he found out I was an American had told me my camel’s name was Coca Cola. I later heard him tell a Canadian that the same camel’s name was Canadian Club. The camel’s breath was as bad as mine.
Berlin: we were told that 22 percent of Berlin’s population was over 60 years of age and have 22,221 dogs. Some are not registered (the dogs). They have to pay a tax if the dogs are registered.
At the ostrich farm in Outshorn South Africa I have learned that ostriches have small brains and big hearts. Bigger than mans. I learned that a male ostriches feet turn red when the want to mate. My nose turns red. They do everything by instinct. Ostriches are desert animals with little oil on their feathers. If taken to a wet climate their feathers rot. They have found in an ostrich’s stomach ladies high heels, spark plugs and coins, from which they die of copper poisoning. They will eat anything especially anything shiny. They have little feeling in their bodies. They have cut open an ostrich’s throat to take out an object the ostrich swallowed and the ostrich continued to eat during this process. The female sits on the eggs during the day as she is more camouflaged than the male and the male goes on duty at 4pm and sits on the egg during the night. Ostriches mate for life. I believe swans do too and some humans. They were experimenting with ostrich eyes as transplant for human eyes. I have never heard if this was a success or not.
About the author, Mac: during a century of travel (well 78 years!) both in and out of service I have travelled to over 150 countries (I count both North and South Dakota as countries) and for some reason have jotted signs and happenings that I thought funny at the time. So here is the perfect opportunity to share some of my anecdotes. I can be e-mailed on: macsan400@yahoo.com
Next month: border crossings