One Man's Meat, Another Man's Poison

There is nothing bizarre about it. Anything is possible within the limits of the law. It's only a question of how much freedom one can exercise and how much money can one spend on it. Thanks to the assimilation of Dutch courage in five months, I can still reminisce, turn inside out the shocking and often amusing lifestyle in the Netherlands as compared to the laid back and somewhat conservative cultures in Zimbabwe.

Caught in between the choking fumes of a homemade cigar, in a run-down pub of Amaveni, in the small mining town of Kwekwe, I try to convince two old time school friends that, I saw what they would only need to see to believe. They think that I am lying but they urge me on with desperate looks.

The Dutch are a proud nation. They have their own unique way of life. One has to take it or leave it. They enjoy life with total abundance. They take the issues of human rights to upright excesses.

Everything is managed to precision. Buses run on time. Trains run on time. Taxis are as good as new. In fact Zimbabwean cabinet ministers prized Mercedes Benzes are their taxis. Trams, like planes run on time. Pardon my observation a technical delay of 10-15 minutes does not count here because in Zimbabwe some buses never run, there is no fuel. Some trains never arrive on time because of intermittent electric power shortages. The planes are usually diverted on their normal routes to ferry the President and his entourage on State business leaving passengers stranded. Never talk about trams they have become
an occasional sing-song for the past 15 years. But, one can hear the Dutch complaining bitterly if their publics transport delays by five minutes.