Achilles' heel

"When I get older I will be stronger They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag" In 1995, a nation reborn was attempting to rebuild itself. A captain inspired by Madiba's words, inspired not just his team, but 43 million others. Despite all odds, Francois led his them to glory, a victory that transcended the realm of sport. Looking back, 63 years have passed since we became a nation. In 2007, MSD lifted a cup as we became one nation, a billion united in celebration. Since then, we have been rocked by terrorism, recession and scandals. Today, we are in the midst of trying times. Let us unite and celebrate for there is not one, but two world cups in our presence. In one we look to not just 11 men, but a billion people, in the other, we look to 6 billion!

I rarely take the quizzes in Facebook, why? Probably because I don't want to see what I already know. One of these thousand odd quizzes is the 'Are you good or evil quiz'. It is our choices that make us what we are and every now and then we come across choices which will reflect back upon over time. In October 2009, I had to make one such choice. I was at the airport waiting in a long queue to check in. I had already checked in through the web, but since we still need to get a stamp on the so called "e-boarding pass", we still need to stand in line just like everybody else. While I waited in the line, sleep deprived at 4am, I saw an old couple (Will now be referred to as the OC for the rest of the note). Mr OC was fidgeting around asking people all sorts of questions all over the place. He came up to me and asked "Where do they X-Ray the luggage?". I promptly replied that they don't do that at this airport anymore. He gave me that "This kid does

"A phobia is an intense and persistent fear of certain situations, activities, things, or people." Over time you tend to realize that everybody has one or may be more of them. How often do we remember things that happened to us when we were kids. I wish I could remember more, but all I seem to remember are repressed memories. In the early nineties thousands fled the gulf in fear of one man's tyranny. Some stayed on cause they knew no other life. I was just over four years old at the time. It was a dark night, a night like none other. The lights were off and the television was on, with the only channel on air. In the corner of the living room, my dad kept those big masks ready... you never know when it would come in use. As I stared out into the horizon, from my balcony, I could see flashes of light going up and down. They looked like fire crackers. In the meantime the television would show red warnings with a blue background... the next one is coming, take cover. So am I