The Crystal Cave, Death and the Power of One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyyhB6-W_lg - This song is great for an inspirational post such as this. Doc is accepting Death with an outlook not many people have. The upbeat drums and music of this track show this off to the reader, and the words of the song symbolize what life really is.

Monday, 1947

              I am old and sick. Peekay has been away at school and I miss him terribly. I know I am going to pass on soon, I can feel it in my bones. The kloofs and cacti will miss me, ja. Peekay will miss me and dear Mrs. Boxall will miss me, as I will miss them. The afterlife beckons, the crystal cave of Africa calls and life begins to leave me. Will Peekay know where I have gone? Will he continue to be the boy I met on the rock that day? I must let him know in some way that I will always love him and care about him. I will write him a letter! Absolodoole! Ah, this is a goot idea. I feel a lot better now.


              I must move on, I am in a time when great strength is needed. The strength of this country that I love so much must come to me. The strength of Africa must flow through me once again, ja. I must have the strength I had at the concert of the prison, the prisoners sang with passion and power. I need this passion and I need this power now more than ever. I will use it to make my way to the crystal cave of Africa. I will show death that he is no match for Professor von Volensteen! Absolodoodle! I will ride majestic through the mists of Avalon, shooting flaming arrows of musical property across the land! Give me the power, the power of one. This, I beg of you.

             Peekay will know where to find me and he will also know that I will not have left him without one more word. A letter is in order, to be put at the mouth of the cave for that schmarty pants to find. Ja, he will know. Absolodoodle. Peekay always knows what to do. There is no one on this Earth I could trust more than my dear friend Peekay. He has gone off to discover the life and become the Welterweight Champion of the World, following his dreams as I once did. My life is coming to a close, a new chapter beginning. Strength will be needed, love will stay behind and Africa will take me as I took her. This is how it should be, ja, this is goot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLvCYx6uGrc - This scene from the film "Blood Diamond" really connects to Doc's love for Africa. Danny Archer, the main character in the film, is shot and dying at the top of a mountain somewhere in South Africa. As he puts it at 2:38, "It's alright, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be." This is just like Doc, he is exactly where he's supposed to be when he dies; Africa.

Passion, Love and Boxing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z66wVo7uNw - This song, Move On Up by Curtis Mayfield, is perfect for this moment that Doc speaks of. Peekay's determination to move forward helps him persevere through some very tough fights to win the final.

"Remember the dream in your own scheme so keep on pushin'" - Curtis  Mayfield.

Thursday, 1942

                  I cannot even begin to talk about how proud I am of Peekay. Yes, fighting is for the barbarians, ja, but it is goot when Peekay does it. Such skill is in the boy and Geel Piet’s help only makes him better and better. Absolodoodle! As I told him “You must box like a Mozart piano concerto.” he did this well, ja. The big Boers were no match for the teachings of Captain Smit and Geel Piet. Even when the boy was outmatched in the final fight, this Killer Kroon was big, ja, he did not give up. He fought and fought and fought! He used the strategies of Geel Piet and listened to his heart. This is how men should be, ja. They should listen to their heart and never give up.

              This is one of the things I love about Peekay; he never gives up. He is a very determined boy. Determined? Ja. Absolodoodle! Peekay perseveres through everything that is thrown at him. His training has taken over two years and finally he has gotten here. Hard work pays off, especially when you are someone with the passion and determination of Peekay. I have never met anyone like him, I am not even this way. Ever since the Beethoven fiasco... No.. I do not want to talk about it. Let it be said that Peekay is the embodiment of the cactus ideology for me. The cactus stands majestic, watered or not. Day or night. Hot or cold. Nothing gets the cactus down until he is cut down by the natural way of the world. This is Peekay. No matter what, nothing gets him down. He is always ready to act, and never ready to fall. There is much resilience in his soul. He has been through a lot in his life; though he has not told me, I suspect many things about his early childhood. If people like Peekay did not exist the world would be a darker place and men like Hitler would rule. Absolodoodle!

                Of course this chance to leave the prison came with a price. I now had to play a concert for the Brigadier who was coming to visit the prison. Of course there was to be no Beethoven, I would play Chopin, ja. I will make Peekay a part of it to calm my nerves, he will turn my music pages. If I did not have Peekay by my side it would not be right, I would be anxious. Maybe this concert would be another Beethoven fiasco, ja. This I cannot bear. I am only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.

Boy On A Rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfdAJxUXgYI - A song about Africa that really embodies this post.

Saturday, 1940
             

               Such an exquisite sight lay before me. Among the kloofs and plants a rock sat facing the sunrise, and what a beautiful sunrise it was. A true African sunrise, bathing the land in gold, yellow and orange light. Encompassing all, warming all and giving life to the dark world. A young boy sat upon the rock sitting so still he almost looked like a statue. Absolodoodle! A statue! I had my camera hanging around my neck, and I knew I had to take this picture. I slowly pulled it up and focused the lens to capture the perfect image after asking the young boys permission. It was a goot shot, this I cannot deny. It captured the very soul of Africa; the beauty, the mystery and the intrigue. It captured the sadness and the overall melancholy one has when they think of the past. This was something that would be remembered for a long time. Boy on a Rock.

               He was wondering what an old man like me was doing in the hills at this time of day and he soon discovered my love for the cactus! This was goot, ja. Euphorbia grandicornis... a very shy cactus; the cactus is very goot, very beautiful and he understood this. He noticed it in my bag and did not understand how it was not pricking me. After showing him that my bag was made of leather he said that he could have figured that out for himself. Schmarty pants I called him! Absolodoodle! But, my goodness! Peekay was my goodluck charm. I found a rare aloe where he sat. Wunderbar! Still, he wondered what a professor was. I told him; “A professor is a person who drinks too much whiskey and once played goot Beethoven.” This was to be the beginning of a great friendship, ja.

              Not long after our first meeting I went to Peekay’s home and met with his mother to discuss teaching him piano. This would be goot for him I told her, the only payment would be that Peekay helps me find more cacti – after all, he was my lucky charm that day. His mother agreed, realizing that having her son trained in music would be a social advantage. I was overjoyed; I could now pass on my knowledge to a worthy learner. Not just my knowledge of the piano, but my knowledge of the world! Absolodoodle! Peekay was a quick learner and did not give up, not at piano, not at anything. As my new partner, I taught him the ways of observation during our outings into the kloofs, at the library and during piano lessons. From a young age I could see the makings of a great man in Peekay.

              A resilient, hard-working child that never gives up is a great companion in the world.