Nonqaba said ...

This photo represents the battle of wills between COVID-19 and us, as it slithers in and out of the world without a visa, disabling some living souls and sending some to the grave. Coronavirus is devious beyond measure and we cannot beg it to reveal its next target because its number is not listed so we can’t leave a voice mail. We cannot send a direct message (DM) either, since it is not on social media. How could it, when it is so anti-social? Photo Interpretation 1.  Pic was shot at night. We are in the dark basically. Scientists are in the lab around the clock trying to corner the Scarlet Pimpernel virus. 2.  This archway has two interpretations. It tapers off which means the virus will be contained eventually or  our countries will have fewer people because of it. 3.  The archway has, what looks like microscopic images. They are in different shapes. They represent the virus’ upper hand because some images look like dancers laughing at us.   4.  The archway is made o

Of course we miss Toronto Raptors. We live in Canada. We even miss their hair. I like Rondae Hollis Jefferson’s hairstyle this NBA game, we mused. Who plaits his hair? Chris Boucher part of the Toronto Raptors famous benchmark. online photo: flipboard Chris Boucher, who does his hair? I was upset one game when the master blocker gave his hair a break. It stood  tall, all regal, challenging the sky, like all black hair. If they had lived in another era, in some part of Africa they would have sat on the floor, their heads on their mother’s, sister’s or aunt’s lap, having their hair plaited, remotely listening to stories. Before we paid for water, air and love, hair braiding was an unconscious history lesson. We sat on the floor, our heads between our mother's legs while she did our hair and talked to someone in the room or under a tree. We imbibed stories about how she lived in the servants’ quarters while she worked for the Nash family, why we moved from Point A to

‘How are you?’ ‘Not good. I don’t have a life anymore because of this COVID-19.’ The state of your health is the greetings’ foundation in isi-Zulu, a language spoken mainly in South Africa . “Injani impilo?”  How is your health? “Nisaphila ekhaya?”  Is everybody healthy at home? Phi-la  the verb. You say the first part like peace the second like last. Impi-lo  the noun. You say the first like imp licate, and the second like lost. We view life differently. Poor people want the basics, shelter, food, work and kids. That is why traditional societies worshiped things that gave them a healthy life. It could be a river, a mountain, corn, fish, the buffalo, cattle or The Rain Goddess. Rich people want more than that and it revolves around continually adding to the bank balance. That is why history books tell us about men who took their lives between 1929-1932, because of the Wall Street Crash. Pic: Nonqaba waka Msimang. COVID-19 challenges assumptions about being alive and

Social distancing or not, there are many Canadians that need help with applying for Employment Insurance (EI) online , after losing their jobs. I prefer plain English, unemployment income. Labour, religious, cultural, sports, special interest groups and all groups must set up support cells for the  online  process, which is very frustrating, even for computer nerds. All those politicians that knocked on our doors during local and federal elections must pitch in, somehow, by any means necessary. It happened. You lost your job, two days after your sister lost hers. The employer closed the business because of coronavirus. Some employers wrote ‘closed temporarily’  to prevent us from having heart attacks or committing suicide. The government takes a cut from your wages/salary every paycheck so it’s payback time. You qualify for Employment Insurance (EI) or unemployment income. I prefer what people called it in the U.K: the dole. I found the term fascinating when I first heard it.

How bored are you? Not my words. I attribute them to Serge Ibaka of the Toronto Raptors fame, reigning basketball (NBA) champions. Thanks very much. If you are suicidal bored, then you better learn isi-Zulu , a language with roots down in Africa, as in South Africa. It’s very easy actually, with some unique nuances. ZULU ENGLISH ingqikithi Real cause. We don’t know the COVID-19 root cause, since we don’t know what happened to 1-18. ingqondo The brain. ngqubuza Butting of foreheads, conflicting opinion. gqugquzela Encourage, encourage kids to get an education, encourage people to stay home during this health problem. gqoma Hit with a sharp object, like men with picks during road construction. umgqomo Big container, a big garbage bin, a big tub of ice cream. ingqathu Jump rope, little girls in Durban or Chicago playing jump rope. gqishazela Move about the house with purpose like a new bride in a Zulu home. gqiba Bury, where is your umbilical cord buried? Where were you born

Virus or no virus, respect among friends should be on the stove as usual, bubbling nicely filling home with soup aroma. Take testing for COVID-19 for example. It is for your friend to tell the world that he tested positive. There is no shame in that since the virus knows no class nor color but it should be his decision. In fact, he should be applauded for taking the initiative since roughly 90% of any given city is not. Many factors cripple friendship. Pilot-ship is the main reason because one friend assumes the role of pilot, deciding when and how things should be done, including clothes and cars. Social media aggravates matters because it is self serving. Social media is selfish media. We post things for our benefit or hidden agendas. Therefore, sending a tweet or using any other platform about your friend’s status spikes your views or followers. You are the caring one. Not necessarily. It is a breach of trust. He told you in confidence. Pilots use the friendship as an ext

This phone booth closed shop mid-March when most of  the major retail stores had already shut down. Developers that specialize in building shopping malls and securing anchor tenants (Woolworths, Pick n’ Pay, The Bay, major banks and prestige hotels) before renting them out, are losing a fortune obviously, but COVID-19 is not the only culprit. Online shopping preceded the virus and forced some stores to go out of business. You saw a few CLOSING DOWN signs at your local mall in 2019, before and after Christmas. An anchor store is a store that has guaranteed business, like a grocery chain. People buy food everyday. Need a cellphone? They buy it at the mall. Back to school clothes for the kids? They buy them at the mall, but they made the trip primarily to buy food. The shopping mall is a commercial space period. It exists to make money for tenants and social gratification for shoppers. We feel better after buying something. The fact that the new shoes and jewellery will n

1.  To tell a long story is la-nda  in Zulu. 2.  A long, long story like the one in a history book is  um-la-ndo . 3.  Fetching something is la-nda . Your mother will ask you to fetch your brother from school. La-nda . You say the first part like Lamont, a surname, and the second like Linda. Um-la-ndo . You say the first part like oomph! The second like lasso and the third like Indonesia. Some people tend to talk for a long time without giving others a chance to put in a word e.g. u-Linda u-ya-landa  (Linda talks too much). Some men like to say their wives nag, when they fail to provide what wives need for the home. All schools teach kids their own history: German history, Egyptian, Lesotho, Mexican etc. The Queen of England wrote the history of all the countries she conquered from her point of view.   COVID-19 is making history and publishing companies are busy approaching medical experts to write books about the devastation.   You can also write your own histor