Nelson Mandela Dead at 95
A brief (significant) moment outside the world of travel:
I got off a plane earlier this evening to the news that Nelson Mandela had died. Certainly not specifically travel related, but this is a piece of news that crosses all walks of life. South Africa is certainly a different place because of him. I’ve known who Nelson Mandela is for most of my life, and I would assume that most folks my age or older know who he is. But, that lead me to a question.
My daughter is 7 years old. I remember reading her a book about Nelson Mandela, but I’m not sure she’s old enough to understand the effect he had on the world. And, I wonder….
Will there be someone in my children’s lifetime that has that sort of impact on the world? Our society has certainly seen a sea change in regards to issues like apartheid. Who will our children remember the names of decades from now? Have we “grown up” enough that dramatic cultural change is a thing of the past?
We now return you to your regularly scheduled travel news and notes, just as soon as I get around to writing something else. Thanks for indulging me some brief thoughts outside the world of travel I enjoy so much.
Thank you for this post. Complaints about booking an award ticket take on another meaning when you think of Mandela on Robbens Island
Nice way to frame it up, Adam. Makes some of our problems seem quite small in light of today’s news.
Thank you for this well-deserved remembrance and good questions to ponder when not chasing after miles & points. In addition to the current film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, which is in theaters now, the 2009 film Invictus directed by Clint Eastwood and starred Morgan Freeman as Mandela – two great films to remember him by and keep his memory alive for generations to come.
so funny …I was just thinking the same thing….They know Miley Cyrus is weird but nothing on Mandela….maybe today all schools should take an hour to talk about him or next week… truly left a legacy.
Invictus
By William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.