Forget the cold, warm your heart on Youth Month vibes

IT IS ironic that the month of the youth in South Africa is in winter. It would have been nicer if June was not so cold. But enduring as I am, I just concentrate on the positives of youth.

My friends keep on reminding me that I am, technically, not youth, but that does not go down well with me. I want to be known as youth. I like the idea. I also think many of us do. Because it is a cool idea!

My concern, if any, is that the current youth does not have that deep idea of youth that we had. Look, I am not saying they are incapable of laughter. On the contrary, I think they laugh too easily. And too long. And too often. And too unnecessarily. You get what I mean.

On June 16 1976, I was lying under the bed in our home in the location reading Trompie en die Boksom Bende. A great narration, I must say. When I emerged, I was eager to narrate Trompie’s adventures to my mummy, but hell no, my mum was too teary to listen.

Seeing that, I also became serious, and enquired what had happened that day to make her so tearful.

And then she told me that children at schools all over the country were being shot at by the South African police. They were protesting against the dogmatic government laws about Afrikaans.

Being from Victoria West, I no doubt asked mummy why the issue was on Afrikaans, because we can speak lekker Afrikaans.

She explained that the rest of the black children all over the country did not really think so.

Between you and me, I was glad that I was not part of the children in the rest of the country, because I could not see how I could live without Trompie en die Boksom Bende. I could not see how a proper human species could live without that book. Magtig. So I thought that maybe it is not that wise to tell her what I was reading under the bed earlier.

She was really worried about my brother and sister at high school in the Ciskei in King William’s Town, because she said that the police were shooting the rioting students there. I was glad that I was not in the Ciskei. I also vowed that I would never go there in my life.

But I went, because in the 1970s and 1980s when you grew up in the Karoo, your high school was in the Ciskei or Transkei, strue! And when my time came, I went to Kuyasa High School in the Ciskei in Dimbaza.

Self-praise is not a recommendation, but I was truly an Afrikaans super star there in the 1980s. I later also fell in love with the writings of Antje Krog, Andre Brink, Uys Krige, Karel Schoeman, Ingrid de Kok and the likes. In other words I have tried to make sense of this beautiful land from all the various corners and veld realities of my charming country.

It is true that some of the memories contained by this majestic land bring tears to the eye, but we shall strive to approach the memories of pain with a bright smile in the heart. That is what the social soul of this existence whispers to me and you.

Hey, it is a cold month, but we have the challenge to warm it up with youthful vibes. I also know that the future of the smiles on our youthful faces are made possible by the charms in the cruel beauties of this month.

I initially thought that the recent dramatic sport victories by Bafana Bafana were a silent message narrating a youthful future for this land. But, eish, the cricket guys were not there; they lost badly. Call me a narrow patriot, but I did not like losing in our youth month.

I am still proud of the many youthful moments that we manage to conjure in this awesome month. It is a graceful time for our great moments in life to be celebrated with a deep consciousness that goes deeper than the shallow moments of popular culture.

It is also very important that we learn to remind the world that our humble achievements are there to be enjoyed by the rest of the world. It is vital that we remind each other of the many beauties that this month asks us to celebrate.

I don’t know about you, but I am really ready to celebrate the charms of this youthful month.