Having picnic in public place no longer a picnic

AFRIEND in Gauteng travelled by road to Plettenberg Bay and sent me an interesting comment on the trip. Until quite recently, he said, there were picnic spots at intervals along the country’s main highways. He and his family always used to pack a basket of and break the long journey by picking a shady roadside spot to have a picnic.

It gave the driver a welcome break and allowed the kids and their mother to get out and stretch their legs.

I know of one dad who used to get his kids to run races alongside the road when the family stopped for a picnic break, just to help them release some of their pent-up energy.

Few of those picnic spots remain on the roads he used and he wonders why they have been removed.

Could it be because every petrol station along the route now has a café or convenience store attached, so nobody bothers to pack a picnic any more?

I suspect it might be because we have all become so wary of our fellow humans that nobody feels safe picnicking in a public place. There seems to be a huge increase in crimes of senseless destruction in our country.

Here in Cape Town, firemen attending a fire in Philippi were intimidated by residents and had to call for police protection. Why? Did the residents want the place to be burnt down?

There are areas in greater Cape Town where ambulances dare not go because the paramedics are attacked by the residents when they go there. Why attack somebody who is coming to help you? There have been armed attacks on teenagers on Fish Hoek and Muizenberg beaches.

One line of the Cape’s suburban rail service has been closed because of ongoing vandalism. This means hundreds of workers cannot travel easily to and from work.

No wonder nobody feels safe setting out a picnic on a public highway.

Obviously, there are not enough policemen to keep watch over every part of the country, so it’s up to every one to keep our eyes open and report crime wherever we see it.

I would not suggest anybody rush in and confront an armed mugger, but almost all of us carry cameras these days. We could help the police to identify criminals by taking photos and giving them to the police.

Every time we turn our backs on a crime, or ignore one, we are making it easier for the next criminal to strike.

If we want to lead peaceful and safe lives we have to work at making our city safer. Every one of us, not only the police.

Maybe we will picnic again one day.

Last Laugh

A junior reporter was sent to interview the town’s oldest inhabitant, who was celebrating his 100th birthday.

“So tell me Mr Kromhout,” said the newsman, “to what do you attribute your being able to celebrate your century?”

“Well,” said the old man, “it probably has something to do with the fact that I was born in 1917.”