One of the cooler things I got to do in Disney World was try some authentically brewed bush tea. Red bush tea is something that I have been reading about. In his No. 1 Lady's Detective Agency series, Alexander McCall Smith brings his characters alive by painting beautifully simply pictures of his characters. Simple people living honest lives in Botswana. Truth seekers trying to find answers to life's basic questions. Its a tall order that always goes down a little easier with tradition. The tradition of tea. As a fan of tea I was excited when we went to dinner at Jiko. A restaurant at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. Its a restaurant that brings together some of the traditional flavors from different parts of Africa. Bush tea was on their menu. I have be honest here. I was a little let down. Bush tea, tasted like ... well, tea. It was strong tea, there is no doubt about that, but it was tea just the same.
McCall Smith's books are a lot like that. Full stories that demand a belief that good is always worth striving for, but they are also simple. His characters are deep and exacting, but they are also just people. Just people trying to do what is right for everyone. That is one of the hardest and yet simplest things anyone could strive for.
3 comments:
I think I should start reading these books. I wonder if I can download the audio books from the library? Hmmm - off to check!
P.S. Glad you enjoyed the poem. I just want to make sure you "got" it - I'm thinking my European readers won't. Ho is whore, right? And you can have her for $20 (a Jackson), right? I'm thinking I should have an explanation!
Bug - I need simple go to books that I can read after shifting through harder subjects. For me, these books have been like coming up for air.
Yes, I read Ho as whore. I think the last sign with the cow combined with the image you painted of going out to get ice cream after is what really sent me over the edge. Classic.
This reminded me of something from Anne of Green Gables, where she is absolutely enamored by the thought of diamonds of which she's only ever read. Anne spins fanciful tales featuring "diamonds of the first water".
Then she finally sees one and is so disappointed to learn they are not purple, as she had always imagined.
Hey, maybe you had the fakeout Bush Tea. It could happen. Served to tourists, keep the Bush country from being flooded with demand for the real stuff, which is magically spicy, fruity, downright life-giving, I tell you.
And perhaps even purple :-)
Post a Comment