B-Balling it with the boys

I had a GREAT weekend. Went with a group of boys to watch them play in a basketball tournament on Saturday. These guys love the game and it is such a good way for them to spend their time, rather than wandering the local compounds drinking Chibuku Shake Shake (beer made from maze-meal served in the equivalent of a carboard milk carton) and messing around with girls. They are excellent players and love “Coach” Scott.

Instead of oranges at half-time they shared maze in plastic bags and drank water from a busted pipe.

The Kaunda era (president at Independence) is referred to as “the good old days” when the government and private companies sponsored sports leagues of all kinds. Now it is rare to find courts and sturdy hoops (let alone basketballs) in the area. A bunch of men got together to create this basketball league and this weekend was their first tournament. The basketball court was located on an old concrete slab next to the Mopani Mine. There were about 50 of us, all coughing and spluttering as plumes of noxious gasses curled their way into our breathing space. I got to talk to a bunch of miners and security guards who were loitering outside the main gate. As we spoke we watched the slow dismantling of an "Acid Purifying Plant" as brown, decaying debris filled the air. What a strange world we live in. We ravage the earth with machines to extricate copper predominately used in the war effort. Peace would devastate the Copper industry. Strange, indeed.

I’m collecting material for a couple of different documentary ideas I have, so here I am with the cam. I’ll give you more details as they formulate. I already stand out like a sore thumb simply being white, so why not throw a camera into the mix?