Setting The Record Straight

A very interesting article was written by some very clever people all about perception, comprehension and fake news. We are bombarded by news and most of it is fake.

"Humans can transform fake information into fake memories, especially when the fabricated details align with our system of values and political beliefs." From Daily Maverick 17th November 2019.

Elections, it seems, are run on targeting unsuspecting citizens who are then influenced by fake news flooding social media platforms. In the olden days it was called propaganda. Anyway targets are reached, elections and referendums are decided by these unsuspecting citizens who’ve been duped.

Like the Trump presidency and Brexit.  The crux of the article was that our brains remember and store fake information. I have also experienced that many of us pick up stompies (when one half listens and often pick up the tail end (butt) of a story) and we reach suppositions that are often not true. 

E.g. a boyfriend I once had fervently believed, because he’d been told by his father, a Second World War veteran, that women with tattoos on their ankles were ladies of the night. God forbid any woman wore a chain on said anklet, that was a dead giveaway too. Not even a traditional African beaded anklet was permissable.  If any woman’s favourite tipple was a Ginger Square (it was mine) that too was a sign of a wildness, totally unbecoming.  Wild horses could not change his mind.  And I believe he’d still believe that in 2019.  What he didn’t believe was the instruction booklet in his motor car or evidence produced by the traffic department that he’d speeded or that his parking meter had expired.  His Garmin?  Never.  As you can imagine, he was kicked into touch.

My least endearing characteristic is that I read something selectively. Which means that I don’t always read exactly what has been said.  I am not alone in this.  Since my blog titled “Changing Lanes” I have been inundated by calls, messages and conversations with friends and acquaintances who’ve wished us well and cheerio as we embark on a new chapter in our lives. 

Our “new lives” will only begin during the second quarter of 2020, we’re going nowhere until at least April next year!  Butch will continue working as usual going off to the office bright and breezy, only now on his E.Bike when his knees don't act up and the weather is good!  A 40 year old life in a community does not come to an abrupt end overnight. You’ve got to pop your clogs for that.  It takes quite a while to tie up all the loose ends.

So.  No. Our home is not available. Yet. I will still deliver my laundry for ironing on a Tuesday. My G.P and dentist will see me again in 2020 and I will endeavor to get my heavy duty license in Worcester before my learner’s license expires in 12 month’s time. I shall shop at Woolies in the Mall and spend weekends camping and visiting Onrus. On a Wednesday I’ll play a hand of cards with the same school, if they’ll still have me? Same old, same old. 

Once we’ve moved to Hermanus, during the winter of 2020 we’ll settle, welcome a grandchild into the world and then only will we plan our getaway into the wild and wondrous wilderness called Africa and beyond.

Right now I'm like a brood hen very excited about our children visiting us for the holidays and we can’t wait to see The Family, we’re gearing up to celebrate a very important birthday.  Today we will draw lots for our Secret Santa and I'm planning a Christmas menu. I am stocking up on baby formula, disposable nappies and Baby Johnson’s products.  The tumble dryer is working 24/7 freshening up linens and napery for all the celebrations. 

Our Grandbaby is on her way and we can’t wait to introduce her and her Dad to South Africa.  All this excitement is quite enough for now.  We’re going to enjoy every moment before changing lanes.

“Happiness is achieved when you stop waiting for your life to begin and start making the most of the moment you are in.”