Nilla, Tazil’s mother, had a hearty laugh and an outgoing
disposition. She said to Mekkar, “When you get here give us a ring and we will
come to see you.” Her education was relayed into work as a civil servant in a
national government building there. The brutal dictator killed her husband for
some unknown reason and no one has ever given any explanation. She seemed to
have a joyful disposition despite the outward circumstances that easily could
have left her extremely bitter.
The Selects players, staff, and their transportation crew
were booked into the swankiest hotel in Kampala .
However, on the second night Mekkar, Alf, and Lasse went and stayed overnight
at Tazil’s more humble residence instead. The youngsters played diverse games
while they were there with the family. Others in the neighborhood dropped by to
take part in the activities. Mekkar even teased Tazil about wearing a coat when
it was so warm (about 90 degrees Fahrenheit). Next, the three arctic boys retrieved
their hockey sticks and pucks among the gear and taught the kids there about
the game in a number of aspects like how to properly hold a stick and shoot.
Some of the children had never seen anything that resembled ice hockey in any
form. Mekkar wished they had more time to spend there and additional items to
give away there. The three Selects players even autographed a few of the
goodies also. Mekkar figured that they could acquire a few extra sticks and
related items from equipment managers to replace what he gave to the kids
there. He knew it was up to them to customize the fresh gear to their liking
for future contests.
What the Native from the North remembers best is the animal
chasing contest during the festivities. Tazil was very quick and extremely
proficient at this enterprise. He told Mekkar why and how he became so
exceptional at it, “The reason is you become good at this to prevent from going
hungry.” Tazil also mentioned that this was the case before his mother got that
good government job to feed the family especially after his father had died.
Tazil went on to say, “Now catching the food is just a hobby to keep his skills
sharp and improved my futbol (soccer) goalie reactions.”
Team staff and their vehicles then arrived to entreat Mekkar,
Alf, and Lasse to get ready quickly so they could depart the city. The powers
that be wanted them to join the rest of the team to forge ahead on the journey.
Both sides waved their goodbyes and the Selects headed off to explore around
one of the largest freshwater lakes on the global map. The assembly took them
through the Masai Mara wildlife area in Kenya
to reach the well-known Serengeti National Park in Tanzania . Mekkar wished Tazil could
have been with him on this part of the trip because he knew the region so well.
Yet, Mekkar thought it was probably no big deal to the Ugandan since he lived
so close by and has seen these different animals in person many times over.
As the vehicles were in the northern part of the park and
not far from the border and the lake they stopped to take a break. The idea was
let all of them just enjoy the scenery. Soon afterward a herd of elephants went
strolling by. Mekkar was glad it wasn’t too close because he didn’t know the
temperament of pachyderms in relation to people. “Hopefully, those big beasts
don’t see us,” stated Mekkar. It was still close enough to make the ground
tremble as they rolled past. Mekkar commented that it felt like an earthquake
on the Richter scale. The vehicle was rocking and swaying from side to side
while also stirring up everyone’s meal from earlier. The tusked creatures were
not quite stampeding, but at the same time they were not walking slowly either.
Mekkar came prepared, as always, with a few sets of binoculars
for those in the transport to use. Some of the others had their own as well. After
the distance widened between them and the animals, the vehicle Mekkar was in
headed off in pursuit. He had an overwhelming feeling to pursue the adventure
even while doubting the wisdom of tracking the beasts. They followed the chase
due to the strong urging and pestering of the driver by the majority of the
passengers. Still the truck kept a wide gap between them and the moving herd.
Mekkar and his buddies next saw something that he didn’t believe at first. A
male lion had gotten way too close for comfort. Mekkar felt it might have been
hungry and possibly desperate but also asked the question, “Don’t the female
lions usually conduct the chase and hunt the prey instead?” The rest told
Mekkar to keep quiet as to not attract any attention to them.
Well, one of larger pachyderms, Mekkar was unsure if it was
a male or female elephant, kicked that displaced lion in the air like a field
goal in American football. It seemed as though the big cat was dead before
landing back to earth with a distinctive thud. Yet, they were too far away to
feel the lion’s punishment but could see it with a sense of empathy on behalf
of the clawed cat. Mekkar right then stated out loud, “Whoever said that the
lion is the King of the Jungle doesn’t know what he is talking about! Oh, man!”
He continued on to anyone there that was listening, “Did you see that lion get
kicked like a field goal or a soccer ball? That was so cool!” They were all
cracking up at that statement, but also told him to keep his voice down since
Mekkar gets louder when he gets excited.
Soon after this they left to be out of range of the mammoth
animals. A notification came over the sound box in the truck. When they came
upon another location instructions were passed along that it was now time to go
and resume the tour. The backtrack via a different route began. Mekkar pointed
out a sight to the east. It was the highest mountain on the continent,
Kilimanjaro. Mekkar was not a mountain climber and had no desire to he would
only observe the peak’s majesty from a reasonable distance. He would let the
handheld field glasses amplify and focus the view of the famous mountain.
No comments:
Post a Comment