Dreaming of JZ

I put it down to being sick, finishing "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami and running a mild temperature, but I was dreaming about JZ the other day.

He was pretty much the thread running through a very long and lucid dream. For those not in the know, JZ refers to our new president - Jacob Zuma. Judging by the howls of protest I gave rise to a while ago when I intimated that I might not be too worried about him becoming president, I imagine that many of the people who read my online mumblings are not too pleased with South Africa's new president. I know I tread on thin ice when I talk about him.

But back to my dream - the recurring theme in it was me teaching JZ to shake hands like anybody cool and vaguely African does in Cape Town, particularly in the townships. He wasn't too good at this, so I really had to give him some training (you be pleased to know that by the end of the dream he was getting the hang of it). What struck me was the size of his hands - they were really big, something I've always admired (I'm not sure this is the right word, but "been attracted to" also didn't seem right!). In exchange for my spending the time teaching him to shake hands, he was introducing me to a variety of wonderful people.

He was not introducing them to me personally, but rather giving me clues and hints as to where I might find them. I can only remember one group that I met (although I know there were more). They were a family group (but with no father - in fact I only remember the mother and one of the girls) all sleeping in an old hospital which looked like what I imagine one of the original wings of Groote Schuur (a hospital in Cape Town) must have looked like. Although I didn't have any meaningful conversation with them or any of the people I met in the dream through JZ, I received an amazing feeling of warmth from them, and hugging them hello felt like being welcomed back to a warm holiday hut from a cold and rainy night.

I still believe we could have done far worse than Jacob Zuma for president, yes, he has done and said some really crazy and stupid things, but he seems to be interested in the people of South Africa and getting them a better deal. I don't have an interest in defending him, and I'm sure many of his decisions that will be made will need some defending to some extent or another. I do think South Africa will be in a better shape after the next five years than it is now, and that interests me.

I was very privileged to meet Nelson Mandela once, on the Main Road in Rondebosch, late at night, and I remember the formal handshake that I gave (or was offered by) him. It was a lot different to the practising of local handshake used by ordinary everyday South Africans in dusty taxi ranks and fitful dreams.