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- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Inspirational
- Subject: Biography / Autobiography
- Published: 10/18/2011
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF OPPOSITE
Born 1953, M, from Polokwane Limpopo, South Africa![ON THE OTHER SIDE OF OPPOSITE](/storage/story/3879120224040839-image(284x285-crop).jpg)
AGE RESTRICTION – 13 OR OLDER – PARENTAL GUIDENCE IS ADVISED
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF OPPOSITE
A TRUE SHORT STORY
By George Kleynhans
Copyright © George Kleynhans 2012
ISBN 978-0-9814168-9-2
George Kleynhans asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electrical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.
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CHAPTER I
MIND OVER MATTER
GEORGE was born on the 18th of March 1953 at BLOEMFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA, after his mother survived 3 days of the complications at birth with a Ceasarian. His parents, MARIA MAGDALENA and HENDRIK TERBLANS, lived on the farm LOSDORINGS in the district of WESSELSBRON, FREE STATE. The salt lake on the farm welcomes you to a moon landscape leading to the house on the hill that was built from rock and stone a previous millennium. The family, attended to Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk, in a black-and-white community at the beginning of apartheid. George was born into a believe-in-miracles family who renewed their blood-river-vow to God every year on the 16th of December, die slag van BLOEDRIVIER, when a small group of white Afrikaners overcame the Zulus.
Farmer Hendrik, the chairman at this festival, and his wife Rita (Maria), with the birth of her first child almost a miracle, were the leaders of this all-white congregation, this event being a national holiday leading up to a not-so-white Christmas every year.
George was more interested in his mother’s milk, suckling at her breasts until the age of 5 years. This healthy boy with silksoft dark brown hair, hazel eyes and good looks, was supposed to be in a city at a nursing home, not on a farm becoming a cowboy.
The old house was haunted … his mother used to hang thick pieces of pig-skin-fat over the doors on the outside … at night the old wooden window frames could suddenly rattle or the old wooden floor sounded like somebody dragging a body in the passage… The sign or an omen for things to come …. One Sunday afternoon while his parents entertained the bank manager of Volkskas, George was on the roof of an outside toilet, those with a big hole in the ground. The shit-hole was full and shit happens …. George had a great fall, diving to the ground, his forehead was cut by a stone. His parents rushed him to the hospital about 20 km away with a gaping wound bleeding profusely….
It is never a good time for brain damage, but the boy was supposed to be a genius. The ten stitches have put George’s head together again, however we will never know the extent of damages inflicted by that stone as he appeared to be somehow retarded for the next couple of years. In the farm school - 11 other pupils in the all-white farm-school with 1 pensioned old lady as a teacher - George’s mind was opposite the road at Losdorings general dealer where his mother was the shop-owner, supplying refreshments during schoolbreaks. Every day he couldn’t wait for school to close to reach his black friends at home on his bicycle. Torontier, a young bushman-like best friend, rounding up the horses in the kraal, was always ready and willing to go hunting with George … the two cowboys with airgun and .22-rifle looking for rabbit, meerkat, birds or anything that moves in the field around the salt lake. They played in the mud, skinny-dipped in the farm dam, braai any meat they got their hands on - life was uncomplicated and full of fun ….
Nature has a way to teach a farmboy about birds and the bees. The bull and cow, stallion and mare, ram and ewe … even the birds were doing it … reproduction was in his face all the time … as a matter of fact. The time the boy found a penis in his pants was not just to pass water … it’s all in the mind, was when his mother found a young black girl to babysit his small brother and there was a strange attraction. Kidebone, a long legged black beauty of about 14 yrs, was more matured and not shy at all … to make matters better for premature sex, and she had all the time in the world to seduce George … they were all alone in the big farmhouse. She sat on the carpet with her panty shining in the sun … held his hand in a way … saying, come on, George. This first experience was such a heavenly feeling the boy could not get enough. From that day George would never miss an opportunity for sex again.
George Diederick Kleynhans was named after his grand father, oupa Org, member of the provincial council and Ossewa-Brandwag. Grand mother, ouma Poppie, reminded them about the concentration camps of the anglo-boer-war. Their choice of an Afrikaans-medium high school at Bloemfontein was obvious. Our boy was a fast learner… large built and well endowered with muscle, he was a good athlete with a natural talent for football and sport. There was no time to ponder about his deep dark secret of Losdorings, too many pretty young white girls demanded his attention. There is always a first time for everything. His first date was at a cinema or movie theatre … all the standard 6 boys of Sentraal hostel were paraded to meet all the standard 6 girls. The one next to George was a little chubby, very busty with sexy soft lips … the lights went out, not much time for talking … Her breast was more than a handful and while they kissed, her hand searched for his private … and then with movements on the right places … all that remained was a wet handkerchief to prove his manhood and the fond memory of the busty sexy girl.
At Losdorings his mother Rita was pregnant with his baby sister. After the birth of Elmarie his father decided it was time to sell the farm in the Free State and follow Oupa Org, who had moved to Alldays district Zoutpansberg in the Northern province of South Africa. The Kleynhans family, with the help of oupa Org, became the proud owners of 3 game farms around ALLDAYS, Concordia, Campfornis and Riversdale. The prospects could not be better … this time George could become a real hunter of game in the bushveld, with rifles ranging from .243, 7mm to a .375 magnum, to kill from small buck to lion and elephant.
The family settled at the farm RIVERSDALE with a large, modern farmhouse in a garden like Eden, acres of lawn, flowers and fruit trees together with very large shady trees. This farm about 10 km from Alldays on the main road, was a model cattle farm in the savannah or bushveld, with rooibos trees with leaves to feed cows and sandveld with tall grass. The variety of trees from soetdoring to maroela made for rooibok and kudu country about 2,000 ha. Hendrik and Rita were in the prime of their lives. The house soon became a guesthouse to important people, so-called friends, who became hunters overnight.
George saw an Arabic stallion at the neighbours and troubled his parents to buy the horse and a black cowboy saddle for hunting. He trained the horse with a long rope fastened to his bridle not to run away when a shot was fired … for the best way to approach game on horseback, and then he even practised to shoot moving targets … a deadly combination. Whenever any hunter suffered to find game he was summoned from school to shoot a kudu or rooibok for biltong.
His namesake, uncle Org, father Hendrik’s youngest brother, wanted to shoot a kudu for his wife, so he joined George on a Willys Jeep to the farm Concordia near the Botswana. This is a wild area with lots of game. Uncle Org, hunting with his .303 with open sights, could not find a kudu all afternoon. George shot a blue wildebeest. It was already late in the afternoon when farmworkers removed the inside of wildebeest for meat and they left for home on the farm road deep in the bushveld. Uncle Org, in the passenger seat, windshields down, was still looking for his kudu. Before sunset, along the fence after they passed the massive baobab tree, George noticed movement about 200 yrds away looking like kudu. Uncle Org aimed and fired. After a few seconds the “kudu” dropped to the side of the fence …… as the jeep got closer George saw the bicycle first and then a black man lying under the fence and asked: “Did you get hurt?”
It was a disaster … the .303 steel bullet has gone through his heart and the man was gasping his last breath. While George closed his eyes and mouth, Uncle Org was walking all around the jeep shouting: “O God, tonight I’m sleeping in jail!” Uncle Org stayed with the body while George drove to Alldays on a very dark, scary, dirt road to Oupa Org, the only person who could help. The SAP regarded the shooting as a hunting accident but uncle Org was still found guilty of culpable homicide with a warning by the Court whereafter he never held a rifle again.
George was moved to Pietersburg High School at Pietersburg in standard 8. The hostel Voorwaarts koshuis in Pietersburg was home away from home. By this time George enjoyed life in a hostel with all his friends. He excelled at scool with the highest marks, the first in his class, became hostel and school prefect in 1969. He played for the first team rugby, swim and targetshooting and the fastest athlete over 100 meters.
There he met his first love … in standard 9 this kind of love could last for ever. The school organised an environmental tour to Kwa-zulu in a school bus. Teachers and everybody booked in one of the oldest hotels in Durban. It was no honeymoon, but it was time to consummate their relationship on a single bed. The problem was that the boys slept on the 1st floor, the teachers on the 2nd, and the girls on the 3rd floor. The fire-escape was the only route available, so he slept with his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees to be awake at 02h00. Condom in hand, he made it to the room on the third floor … the girl on the other bed pretended to be asleep while she witnessed passionate making of love for about 5 minutes … then it was all over.
1970 was a real milestone in his life … this year he passed matric with distinction, receiving his school colours for academic achievement of above 75% average in all subjects including mathematics, science and latin … and outstanding performance at sports. The department of water affairs awarded a bursary for the study of engineering at university.
The University of Pretoria welcomed George in 1971 at the department of engineering. Mopanie hostel his new home …… his father spoiled him with a new Opel Manta. After one month of machine drawings he was convinced that his mother was right … he was a candidate to become a minister for the kingdom of God … he changed his course to theology and studied Latin, Hebrew, new testament Greek, English and Afrikaans in his first year. At the end of his first year he realised that his calling to work for God was a mistake. Confused by all the girls at varsity, he met Vera with legs walking on eggs. She lead him further astray to the parking lot at the Union buildings … the seats in the Manta were rolled down … the lever of the handbrake was in the way to get to the other seat. After action, George, deep in thought, pushed the clutch … the car moved slowly into another car where the couple were still busy … the lover forgot to ask his address.
There was no other lawyer in the family. Study of Latin, referring to contra bonos mores, convinced him to change his studies to the law profession. Some of his courses, like Latin, Greek, English, Philosophy and Sociology, were credited to the B.Proc-degree at the University of South Africa. George started his new career in January 1973.
The second year at law, the first year at UNISA, he passed only one subject … the Introduction to Law … a humble experience and hard lesson to learn … thereafter he was jurisprudent and never failed a course again. In all matters he kept his mind firm on law. But then came a not-so-dumb, dutch and qualified nurse…. This brilliant law student was entitled to one BIG mistake and this was IT … the young lady with long golden red hair was engaged to be married to the son of Judge … on the rebound from the broken promise, she was more than willing to get married and must have been tired of living at the nurse’s home …… whatever the case may be …… George was there and with his brains in his pants, he saw his children in her blue eyes.
Oupa Org and his father warned him not to get married … the top-hat-and-tail suit was already hired, his bride-to-be together with the family on their way to Alldays to a horse-and-cart wedding. The couple wasted no time and Yoka was pregnant within first 3 months of marriage. The mother-in-law, strictly visited their flat in Pretoria when it was time for her daughter to give birth and George was more strictly prohibited from smoking in his flat.
George and Yoka moved to Springs on the east-rand of Johannesburg in 1975. Oupa Hendrik was so proud of his first grandson, Henk, he assisted them to buy a double-story house. George was still a candidate attorney contracted to attorney, Chris Venter, in Springs, but Yoka was appointed to a pharmaceutical company as a sales-representative. Yoka was the main breadwinner, driving a company car, medical aid and a good salary, she controlled the household in style. George was left to attend to the young boy while she was selling pharmaceuticals to medical doctors, sometimes sleeping away from home …. Mother Rita sent a black girl from the farm to help with housework and child while they were at work … unaware of his deep dark secret. This was another mistake, as Maria and Yoka were about the same age … she helped out with more than just work.
Attorney Venter was born blind, the best principal for the training of a candidate attorney, preparing all his court cases with George, they went to Delmas, Nigel and Springs Courts teaching him the art of cross-examination. George wrote his final exams and completed his B.Proc degree at the end of 1976, passed his admission exams and was admitted as an attorney in the High Court of South Africa in 1977.
The joy of his success was short-lived as he also received his call-up documents to report for national defence duty to the South African Airforce. After 6 weeks basic training, he was appointed as lieutenant to serve in the legal section for the next 2 years 1977-78. His parents bought a farm at Bapsfontein with a massive house, accommodation for more than 2 families. The Airforce allowed him to sleep at home but he was seldom home.
It was a great surprise when Yoka announced her pregnancy during August 1977, as George was hardly home …… but then nobody suspected her of sleeping around and nobody knew she was in love with their neighbour. Monica was born in April 1978.
He had a ominous dream during this time about the future … he was floating in the sky with a beautiful young lady … it was almost heavenly, like an angel she was holding his hand ……. Suddenly they reached a place like Eden with a warning at the gate, “no entry”. the next moment he was on the second floor of a collosseum in Rome facing a man armed with ironballs …… the first floor he overcame a man armed with spears. In the arena he was fighting a gladiator with swords …… but then he was in the dungeon, locked up with a woman. She had utmost shining beauty … then turned around with evil eyes in a horrible face … he was so scared that he shouted the name of “JESUS” …… the wall broke to the outside and he woke up.
George had a long battle ahead of him before he could start counting 40 days to civil life and his own practise at law, He was defending defending a-wallers, deserters or thieves at Court-Martials all over the country and South West Africa.
CHAPTER II
LAWYER ON SAFARI
All members of his family were gathered around Bapsfontein. His brother Rustie was farming, his Sister Elmarie in high school at Benoni, even oupa Org and ouma Poppie moved in one of the houses on the farm. George was enjoying his freedom. Hungry for progress, the perfect law of liberty was waiting at KEMPTON PARK, away from the Code of Discipline in the Airforce. Situated at the corner of Voortrekker and Casuarina Streets, the old house was waiting for renovation into the law offices of Scoon & Kleynhans Attorneys. George and Smiley met through the estate agent selling the house. Practising for his own accounts before this partnership, Smiley was popular, social, outgoing and a perfect partner. His wife Jenny, the receptionist and typist. They were young, energetic, dynamic, and the practice was booming as they received instructions from corporate clients. Arnold Goldberg, who had a large practise of his own, joined the firm with bigger clients and they became Schoon, Goldberg & Kleynhans.
The prospects at the office were excellent. George bought a double-story house with thatch-roof and swimming pool in Glen Marais, elite area, BMW vehicle and motorbike to suit his new image as a successful attorney. He was the man about town, young, handsome, with credit at his disposal. The ladies were available more than he could handle. One client gave him the keys to his Jacuzzi, the other to his house or flat, anytime was party time with girlfriends on call.
Yoka was more than happy with her new house and car, even resigned from her position as sales-rep and was looking after the children for a change. George’s medical-aid provided the opportunity for a histerectomy, vaginal correction and booblift. This was done, she claimed, to please her husband, but then she must have developed such a guilty conscience she joined the Baptist Church, her mission to convert the whole town and to baptise her husband. At the tender age of 30, and George 27 yrs, the marriage was in serious trouble. The removal of her uteris must have affected her hormones as she became holier than thou with a bible-under-the-arm attitude, praying in tongues while George was out for lunch or party with a nutty taste for alcohol … Entertaining new clients for the law firm was a good excuse to avoid the house and party with his friends.
The women and alcohol in his life escalated to an all-time high in 1981. George became reckless in his actions, indiscreet with married women. The husband of one lady invited him to the Holiday Inn. George never saw it coming … the man caused trouble in the ladies bar, security was called and they were asked to leave …… George was still looking at himself in the mirror of the lift when this bouncer broke his jaw with his fist. It was not the last time he landed in hospital because of alcohol … he had to practise the next 6 weeks with his teeth wired together.
George made a lot of money in real estate buying from auctions or people who were in trouble and selling at a profit. Always keen for new business, he consulted an agent selling time-share at Margate … This was a new concept of marketing holidays in South Africa, appeared to be lucrative as all the peak time was in summer and school holidays. His mind was on the 3 farms at Alldays and what better time-share between hunters for the cold winter months. He could not wait to reach father Hendrik at Bapsfontein with this brilliant new scheme.
His father agreed after some persuation on capital gain, with a holiday resort at the farm Campfornis. The young attorney had never been so excited before … a father-son connection, apartheid or not, this was the partnership of his life with the opportunity to go back to the bushveld. The money in practising law was good but his dream was to have his own game farm.
ALLDAYS SAFARI (pty) Ltd, was registered as company with 50% of the shares to each director. His father being the owner of the 3 farms signed a 12 yr lease to the company with consent to erect a holiday resort on the farm Campfornis. The company signed time-share agreements with clients including the right to hunt on the 3 farms (Campfornis, Riversdale and Concordia) during the week purchased.
This was his dream come true, George worked like a man possessed. The contracts and brochures were completed, but the marketing proved the most difficult, that was to sell his dream to prospective clients. He advertised in the Sunday Times and Magnum, booking his site at each major show to exhibit his product. He had the agents to respond to each and every response on adverts … within six months they signed 300 contracts at R2,000-00 each. Alldays Safari(pty) Ltd became a reality with enough funds to commense the construction in 1983.
It was time to move to Alldays, out with suits and in with safari clothes with a pair of elephant-skin boots. The challenge was physically to build … mentally to fullfill his obligations with clients. The pressure was on. They stayed at Riversdale while the buildings at Campfornis were in construction. However, Yoka had her own agenda. It was pay-back time. Her modus operandi was flight by night with the children, leaving him on the farm with responsibilities. The marriage had irretrievably broken down … for every action there is a re-action.
Bricks and building material were transported over long distance, depending on where the best price was available. Loading door and window frames from Johannesburg, George visited an old flame at Kempton Park … Hetta was too sexy for her clothes, wild and adventurous … she immediately agreed to load her furniture and moved in with him. At CAMPFORNIS, the old farm house was renovated for their home. The new found love had many obstacles to overcome … with snakes and scorpions around the house … George with builders and plumbers around the chalets … the department constructing a new road was still camping on the farm using his water.
The day came that his oblongata headed for a break-down … the devil himself took hold of George that day … he parked the truck in front of one gate … a chain and lock on the other gate … broke the branch of a dry tree and chased the workers. He had been drinking brandy and coke since the morning. As the yellow trucks were leaving he waited at Alldays hotel with his Trooper for a yellow bakkie … the man in charge of the road workers … the SAP had just changed their vehicles from white to yellow. The bakkie stopped; he did not recognise the blue uniform, he hit the officer on the chest back into the bakkie … the police drove away to get re-inforcement … George grabbed the .308 from the Trooper and shot in the air …. There was chaos in this one-horse-town. Piet (tandjies), the owner at the hotel, grabbed the rifle with ammo and hid it in his safe. When George came to his senses … the boere commando were there armed with automatic R1’s … the officer commanding SAP, Karel, saved his life … He told George to behave himself … the boere were told that the drinks were on George that day … everybody departed peacefully.
The bank account of Alldays Safari(pty)Ltd was running out of funds, but his project was almost completed … game farm with 7 chalets, ablution block, swimming pool, lapa, coldroom, shooting range and most important the game. The scene was set for the best day of his life. Trucks were arriving with different species of animals. First the eland, then gemsbok, zebras, and finally giraffe. The greatest feeling for any game farmer, when the doors open, the animals step outside to inspect their new surroundings … all the hard work with the fence and waterholes worthwhile, the natural beauty of this farm with fountain, klipkoppies, thornbush and high trees welcomed the animals.
The lapa covered the swimming pool on the side of the bar with seats to be served on the deep-end. An elephant head with tusks hanging from the roof. In the middle of the pool a large flat rock seemed to be drifting on the water … the tropical climate inviting a swim. At sunset the hunters gathered around the fire to boast and toast about experiences …the self-service farm-bar always open and everybody sharing drinks together.
Hunters arrived, one group after the other, most of them under the influence of alcohol on arrival. After sighting their rifles at the shooting range, they were looking for that 4-legged animal. The adrenaline-rush-first-shot to draw blood. For those who were fortunate to make the kill, meat or trophy, it was party-time … all-the-time. George, the big, strong hunter-lawyer, was hunting all the time, every group of hunters a new challenge. At night with the spotlight in the fenced-area and during the day with guides on the open veld. Every morning starting with a cold beer, drinking during the day progressively towards the night with stronger drinks …… it was all a vicious circle, at least during winter and hunting season. Hetta turned into a man-eater with the hunters … she thrived on all the attention … she was the only 2-legged one.
George’s addiction to alcohol was not the only problem after the hunters left. There was not enough income to keep the farm running … he had to recover and focus on survival. Hetta was not the type for a lasting relationship … the honeymoon was over and they moved back to Bapsfontein.
Hetta was very vocal during the process of making love, he did not expect her to depart without noise, but he was in for the shock of his life … he had one too many for the road and Hetta was driving the Isuzu Trooper on the Bapsfontein road … she swerved in front of an oncoming vehicle colliding on the passenger side. It was terrible … the sound of breaking glass with the impact. The Trooper landed on its roof sliding along while George was hanging on for dear life … he was bleeding all over but miraculously survived …. Recovering from the scars of the accident he claimed a hundred thousand rand for pain and suffering.
The third-party insurance settled within 3 months and George booked at Club-Med, Mauritius, for December holiday in 1985. He preferred to go alone and fly away from his recent bad luck. On departure he exchanged rands for five thousand American dollars. On arrival at the hotel he first paid the tour guide a few hundred dollars to look after him, his jewellery and balance in the safe deposit box, his first time overseas.
His straight dark brown hair was long, face scarred in the accident, with all the colour bead-strings around his neck. Beads paid for drinks around the hotel. The climate was humid, with very hot sun; wearing his speedo and drinking rum and coke all the time … after 3 days on the beach he must have looked like a drug-dealer suffering fom sunstroke. The Mauritian police woke him in the morning, searching his room. They dressed him and escorted him out of the hotel. Fortunately the tour guide was waiting to take him to the airport … his deportation not official, but effective.
On his return, George wanted to open a new law practice. After he met Hoffie, the Sheriff of BENONI, they agreed on a partnership and practise at Benoni under name and style of Hoffmann-Kleynhans Attorneys … he was back in business … and big business it was with the next consultation ….
The client was a polish lady from Johannesburg, dressed very smart, calling herself the Madam of an escort agency. She told George that Benoni was a virgin town for such an agency and she instructed him to apply for the licence … Vina promised him half the shares of the agency as a sleeping partner. He was always a fast mover, and brought the application in record time. The problem was to convince the members of the city-council that a business like an escort-agency, with the name Pandorah’s Box, should be allowed … The 5 members on the council voted 3 against 2 in favour of opening the Box.
The previous office space of Hoffman was still available. With a few changes to the lay-out, walk-in, the ladies-bar with a one-way-mirror to ladies and then the lounge area where they relaxed waiting for the next client. Vina was a real Madam collecting payment at the reception.
The opening of PANDORAH’S BOX proved to be good for trade at Benoni. However, in George’s life it was the manifestation of the devil himself and evil things to come. His love life was in shambles. Being a sleeping partner of an escort-agency provided free sex on demand but no satisfaction. During an interview with a new girl applying to be an escort agent he was told: “I don’t do blacks … I do blow-job, wax-job, pins-and-needles-job, discipline-job ….” This girl was a mean machine, the madam’s favourite, because she satisfied customers within half-an-hour. Being the owner of an escort-agency was demoralising even if you were a criminal defense attorney.
In many ways George was the author of his own misfortune. He phoned a young lady, inviting her to come and stay with him. She was from Alldays, a farm-girl who could cope with farm life at Campfornis. Lenie and her youth was a new beginning. At the end of 1986 he sold the practice at Benoni and they moved back to the farm at Alldays.
Alcohol had a strange effect on George in those days. Having the first drink made him very sick, he lost his balance and was falling as if the earth was moving. He abstained from alcohol while they prepared for their wedding. Lenie was stupid, stubborn and mean to get her own way … but he believed she would change with maturity and he married her … big mistake.
The marriage lasted until their first disagreement. She packed her bags and left to her mother at Tzaneen. Martha, the house servant, informed George that Lenie was giving him some tablet without his knowledge. Her secret was out. He was furious to find the anti-booze tablets in the house. The disappointment became worse when he found that his mother, Rita, was supplying these tablets to his young wife. Desperate times call for desperate measures. He advertised in a major newspaper about the vacancy for a manageress at Alldays Safari, requesting applicants to forward a photo. The ladies responded from all over the country and he was getting all the contacts needed for a bachelor on a farm.
By this time George knew very well that most hunters were looking for 2-legged ones after they shot their quota of animals. Besides, he had the reputation since Pandorah’s Box as the supplier for this kind of demand. The client came from Pietersburg, he was insolvent and wanted his estate to be sequestrated. Being an old friend, previously married to his niece, George agreed to help … on condition that he, Vonnie, open and manage the new escort agency at Pietersburg.
The application for a trading licence of Pandorah’s Box caused heavy commotion in the conservative town of Pietersburg. The churches opposed it and after it was turned down by the council, the news was in the Sunday Times. George even received phone calls from The Times in London while he was a game farmer minding his own business. He was infamous. He appealed against the decision of the council and the licence was granted …………… Pandorah’s Box opened at Pietersburg.
In retrospect, George had a better chance of survival during apartheid on his farm. Most of his real friends and clients were black people. Land was set aside for black development in a trust area at Taaibosch Groet, about 20 km away from Campfornis … the kgoshi or captain of the Mamadi tribe allowed him to hunt in this area, sharing the meat with each hunt.
Another friend, Solly, offered George a corner stand to erect a store. They applied for a liquor licence in this large community. With the licence granted, his drinking habit was set for life, helping Solly to open the bottlestore. The farm manager, Frans, was available to send to Taaibosch Groet with the land cruiser to get a refill of alcohol supplies to his private store on the farm. Young northern-sotho ladies were available for entertainment at night, without too much conversation required.
Nature has a way to temper farmers. Nothing can be more disturbing for a game farmer than a long drought of ground in a fenced-in area that leaves the animals to starve over time. The kudu’s feed are the leaves on trees … these are the first animals that fall to a slow death … a hopeless feeling that drove George to apply for a position as legal adviser at Pretoria.
The two major problems, alcohol and Lenie, followed him to Pretoria. At first he was trying to keep both in check, but these weaknesses would cost him dearly later in life.
CHAPTER III
HUNTING MEMOS
Alldays, a one-horse town, has one stop sign in the centre of town, two churches, a post-office, policestation, fillingstation, a general dealer and hotel. The town is about 50 kilometres behind the Soutpansberg in the Limpopo Province, South Africa.
The town was given its name, according to a local report, by a hunter who was a heavy drinker - van der Merwe arrived on this place during the day. He was on ox-wagon loaded with crates of brandy, consumed too much on his arrival and he fell asleep. The hot sun woke him the next day and he started drinking brandy again until he was unconscious only to be woken by the hot sun again the next morning. He called the place ALLDAYS.
Hunters around the fire at night tell their believe-it-or-not stories. The days when the bushveld was wild, without camps or roads and big game roaming this area – big John with the red beard was leading a hunting party setting up camp before dark near Alldays. John decided to shoot something for the pot, walking with his .303 mauser, he saw an impala ram. When he took the shot the ram moved forward taking the bullet through the lungs. He followed the blood spoor, much to his surprise there were lions around the impala – no time to find another before sunset, he shot the first and second lioness but the male was charging – his last bullet wounded the lion and John ran for the marula tree. The lion was waiting under the tree and John saw a black mamba staring at him from another branch – fortunately he had his pistol and shot at the mamba, but unfortunately he wounded the mamba, but fortunately the mamba fell out of the tree on top of the lion. The mamba struck the lion and after a while both were dead. Big John picked up the impala ram and carried it back to camp.
In those days hunters feared the black mamba the most. Once bitten by this snake you have to greet the dear ones around you very quickly otherwise they remain ungreeted – big John and his friend Paul were out hunting the one day when they were charged by a black mamba – they were running and big John managed to take a few shots at the mamba during the chase but the mamba kept coming and struck Paul from behind at the back of his neck. The two exhausted hunters sat down under a big boab tree and Paul was giving big John his last will and wishes before he died … Paul was explaining to John what to tell his wife and children, how to distribute his goods, where he wants to be buried, and so on… after about half an hour Paul was still talking and big John decided to take a good look at his neck … the poison of the mamba marked the skin of Paul’s neck but to his amazement their were no bite marks – big John and Paul searched for the mamba and found that the upper jaw where the fangs were supposed to be, was removed by a bullet.
George hunted mostly on the farms at Riversdale, Campfornis and Concordia around Alldays, his experiences were not so far-fetched and very true.
The prime trophy for a hunter is a kudu bull with those curled horns as long as possible. The length of Roland Ward's trophy was measured at 56 inches, any hunter would be very fortunate to find a kudu bull with horns close to 50 inches. The berg-kudu with narrow horns and thick neck was found at Campfornis near the mountains, the sandveld-kudu with wide horns and longer hooves at Riversrsdale. The older the kudu bull, the wiser it gets to avoid hunters, the big ears are sensitive and they run at the first smell of a hunter – a hunting trip successful when you shoot one of these animals.
The opportunity of a lifetime came to George one day on the farm Riversdale during 1987. Freddy, the farm manager, woke him at 04h300 in the morning. They drove with an open land-cruizer at sunrise. From the tar road Freddy spotted a kudu cow. They were hunting for game meat, selling as much as possible to Kovisco who paid by kilogram including skin, horn and legs, only the inside to be removed. The first kudu was on the cruiser at sunrise.
Freddy has been taught by George to drive and shoot since his youth as a black boy on the farm. He knew the farm well, aware of the dangers of big holes dug by warthogs, the rooibos veld easy to drive as the trees have no haak-en-steek thorns. Freddy had the skill to know when it was time to stop and shoot and when to chase after the kudu – for some reason when kudu are chased they tend to stop and look at what is behind them.
They entered the first camp from the tar road driving through the bush with one kudu loaded – the next moment kudu bulls (about 8of them) were standing around – George shot the first one through the heart with the .308 winchester. The bull jumped backwards landing on his horns. The next one George shot in the run through the lungs and the Freddie chased after them … the third bull stopped to look back … the third shot hit his neck and he dropped. George and Freddy loaded this one first and went back for the other two. The first bull still lying on his horns and the other bull they found about 100 metres away. The four kudu loaded they arrived at the coldroom at the farm house - while the other workers take out the inside of these four kudu, George and Freddie rushed back to the next camp, the direction of which the remaining kudu were jumping.
The next camp was observed along the fence, when they took the turn at the corner a kudu bull was standing 300 metres away, when George took the shot some other kudu jumped into our camp. Freddy chased after them … hitting brakes when they stop … George shot four more cows as they proceeded and after loading them, they went back to the spot where the kudu bull was standing … they found blood and followed the spoor … the bull could not go far with so much bleeding … this was the old bull and heavy to load on top of the other kudu. George and Freddy shot 9 kudu before breakfast and they were very hungry. In these years it was the alltime record for shooting kudu in such a short time on the open field - Lukas Steyn of Kovisco wrote a fat cheque to George for a few hours of fun.
CHAPTER IV
NO LAW WITHOUT JUSTICE
George held the record for shooting 9 kudu before breakfast on the open field behind the Soutpansberg, however his obsession with hunters on safari died during the long drought at Alldays when he had to buy feed to keep the animals alive. During 1988 he registered a new company, Alldays Escape (pty) Ltd, with 300 shares on his name. The company took transfer of the farm Campfornis from his father against payment of R400,000-00. The only way to save the farm was to sell some shares and he published an advert in the Sunday papers. Alex, from Pretoria, came to his rescue, trading a mansion of a house at Magalieskruin for two-thirds of the shares at Campfornis. His father, Hendrik, was so impressed with this triple-story house in Pretoria, George decided to give the house to his parents.
The bank manager at Pietersburg helped him to purchase a house in Bendor, suburb of Pietersburg. His ex-wife Yoka and the children were living there. It was nearer to the farm, but somebody should have warned him about the snakes and reptiles still around Pandorah’s Box. At first the change was good, he could spend time with his children, Yoka was visiting all the time and they even dicussed the possibility of living together. That was until Lenie arrived with all her clothes in the car. She was 8 months pregnant …… she had left him when she was 3 months pregnant, he was not even sure if this was his child and completely taken by surprise. With mixed emotions he agreed to look after her until the child was born.
George was confused. He was still married to Lenie with divorce pending, but his children were priority with his ex-wife. The pastor at the church could not solve this problem. Shortly after the birth of her child, Lenie and her family were caught in the act of loading furniture from the house on a truck while George was not there … a final betrayal.
The day came that would change his life forever. It was June 1989. By this time he was praying for a soulmate. There was a knock on the front door …… when he opened an Indian friend, Alli, told him he brought an applicant for the position of secretary in the law firm. In walked Ayesha, with curriculum vitae in her hand. George looked at her, told her she got the position, but that he was going to marry her. She was shocked, embarrassed, and walked out. The meeting was short and sweet. Lasting in his mind was her picture... a coke-bottle figure with an inner-kind beauty that he never experienced before.
The controversial immorality act has been uplifted, however Pietersburg was a place where apartheid was still ruled by book … besides he was still defending the claim of half million rand by Lenie with divorce proceedings pending. Ouma Poppie, at the age of 90 yrs, was visiting with him and he managed to persuade Ayesha to come and cook dinner for them. The ice was broken. Ouma Poppie loved this girl, who was 10 shades darker than her grand-son. She even chased George with her stick when he was getting too forward. Ayesha was living with her mother, Nellie, who insisted that George marry her daughter before she moved to his house. No problem was insurmountable for these lovers … she was muslim and the book of marriages was not available in the register of the South African law. The Nikkaa-marriage arranged with her family, he could prepare for the big day …. George arrived early on 30th of June 1989, at Nellie’s house in Nirvana. He was not allowed to see his bride ... when they see each other again, they will be married by proxy signed … Alli took him to the bathroom and handed him a packet of hair-removal … arm-pits and private parts to be removed. Dressed with his best suit they waited for the Mulana … the “priest” arrived dressed in a white curta … told George to choose a muslim name … the closest to the Bible he could think of was Sulliman … he was then asked to repeat some arabic phrases after the Mulana … he signed the book ……. “Sulliman” was married to Ayesha.
The ceremony was hush-hush, only witnesses and a few family members to congratulate them. George took his new “wife” to his house in Bendor. He could not wait to reach home … he was allergic to the product of hair-remover and his scrotum was on fire … the pharmacy sent him deepheat by mistake and he had to wait for other cream with a fan blowing on his private parts.
This living-together arrangement sparked the white community at Bendor on fire, his family… and even the other wives. The house phone was a hotline of complaints. Lenie phoned and demanded to speak to her husband. He told her that he was married and the phone went quiet … then came the loud voice: “I will charge you for bigamy!” Yoka was more quiet and dangerous … she got married to a Willie and refused George to see the children. He complained about maintenance and suggested to the magistrate that he was ready to sign if and when Willie wanted to adopt them.
George opened his law practice at Pietersburg in August 1989 practising for own account under name and style of George Kleynhans Attorney. He had not experienced any discrimination, prosecution, persecution or other consequences of apartheid before …. The real meaning of these terms were on the other side of opposite …… and he had just arrived.
Alex was in default with his payment on the farm, in breach of the terms of his agreement with George to hold 200 shares in Alldays Escape (pty)Ltd …. He issued summons against Alex for the recovery of these shares.
His father, Hendrik, living in the house at Pretoria, being available to collect the settlement and court order from his correspondents, went to the auditors and registered these 200 shares … not on George’s name as he should have done but on Hendrik Terblans. George was astounded to learn from his father on the phone that he, George, was a traitor and would be dis-inherited from the last testament and will. On the contrary this was a case of fraud, as he had been unlawfully dis-owned from his property, being the farm Campfornis. He issued summons against his father for the delivery of his shares.
Lenie claimed a half million rand in her divorce proceedings against him. George was not in a hurry to collect these shares from his father …… at home Ayesha was expecting their first child in May 1990. It stands to reason that if you live by the gun you die by the gun, however George was living as a criminal defense lawyer. Despite of all the death threats on the phone, he was in court every day with a case … in so many cases that he was nicknamed by his black clients as … “kill the prosecutor, kill the case.”
A para-legal organisation of the ANC was supporting him. He registered this close corpration as Legal Defence Assurance, giving Ayesha all the share-holder interest thereof. Clients raised to a thousand members within a few months … these offices were next to his law office in the main street of Pietersburg.
The all-white judicial assault on George and his character came in Pietersburg since the early 1990’s. This well orchestrated attack started with arrests by the police … then charges on alleged crimes committed … long expensive trials at court … and finally the publication thereof in the local newspaper about the controversial attorney ……. The charges ranged from traffic offences to murder … 9 times in all … most of these charges witdrawn. In fact, he was not found guilty on any charge at court … but the damage to his reputation was done, the most effective way being to attack his bread and butter … in his case … criminal defense attorney supposed to defend clients was charged himself.
The battles at Pietersburg continued but George lost the war on the day his father stole his shares in Alldays Escape (pty) Ltd. Losing his farm Campfornis left him without security to obtain any loan from the bank while he remained with debt on his name for game purchased for the farm … his personal estate was sequestrated. George was left with his Alldays-escape in the alcohol of his bottle, while the battle of his profession continued with the all-white Law Society of the Transvaal. He was not willing to surrender without opposal. The fight was not over until the fat lady sings….
The fat lady was a recently appointed magistrate for the district of Pietersburg, without a handbag … George was defending a client at regional court … she has been visiting Ayesha at his office, discussing handbags. On this day Ayesha remained home while George, on his way to regional court, handed her the handbag … crocodile-skinned. The fat lady felt it was her duty to report this as undue crocodilic influence of herself to adjucate on another matter. The Council of the Law Society of the Transvaal had various options … send him to a rehabilitation centre while he was suspended. Being sequestrated he could not practise for his own account. They elected the “death sentence” … 1994. There is life after attorney. There his infamous tragedy lives on in the South African law reports: Die Prokureursorde van Transvaal v Kleynhans 1995 (1) SA 893 (T)
CHAPTER V
MAFIA AT WORK
In 1995 George found himself in the “NEW” South Africa, dis-advantaged times two, suffering from post-apartheid-syndrome, being classified as a member of the white-regime, his wife previously dis-advantaged by himself and apartheid. It was stock-taking-time. He was left with his mother-in-law … farmless, jobless and hopeless. He called his mother-in-law “Mafia”. Ma Nellie, a wise old lady of 77 yrs, was the mother of Nirvana. George and his family … his wife Ayesha, daughter Dhiana, and another baby-girl, Shaazaa, were living with her. “Mafia” had all the connections for business and influence to care for this family.
George became Mr. LAWISE himself in all his dealings … at least he had reached a settlement in his divorce-case with Lenie … he settled for thousand-five-hundred-rand on condition that he signed at the magistrate for the child to be adopted. He married Ayesha shortly after the divorce … this time lawfull at the department of home affairs … despite his father’s threat to dis-own him. Besides, he was still the owner of 200 shares in the farm Campfornis.
Over the years all the other farms in the Kleynhans-family were sold, only Campfornis was left … 100 shares of Alldays Escape (pty) Ltd were legally transferred by George to his father for monies received … 200 shares claimed by George from Alex, unlawfully transferred by his father to the joint estate of Hendik and Rita, married in community of property.
The real “Mafia” was much closer to him, his mother, Rita, had her own apartheid-agenda about the shares in her family. Her daughter, Elmarie, had moved to the mansion at Magalies Kruin during her divorce. His father bought a pharmacy at Benoni when she qualified as a pharmacist. Elmarie was Rita’s favourite … the baby in the house … Rita has can-do-no-wrong kind of love … even when she fell in love with a man twice her age, Rita approved of this new man in her life, altogether with his baggage of child-support of eight thousand rand per month. Andre, hunched-back from previous marriages, caught Elmarie hook, line and sinker to marry him. Rita, Elmarie and Andre bonded at the house in Pretoria as a trinity, who would stop at nothing to take from other people.
George was surprised to hear that his sister had purchased the house that he signed to his parents … knowing how much his father disliked Andre. However his parents and ouma Poppie were moving back to the farm Campfornis … this was his opportunity to visit his father. George, with nothing to lose, had a devil-may-care attitude going to the farm with his wife and children. Much to his surprise his father welcomed them with open arms … the share-issue no more an obstacle he agreed to withdraw the action against his father … the old man born in 1927, had a stroke and needed all the love he could get. Over time he grew fonder of Ayesha and accepted her as his daughter … Ayesha visiting mostly at ouma Poppie staying in her own chalet.
His father was sober for a couple of years at Pretoria. Back at the farm he became more addicted to alcohol than ever before, having his first drink when he wakes … non-stop brandy and water until the following day … Rita, happy to supply while in control of all the business … Mafia Rita was in charge of Campfornis.
Tragic was the day when Andre set foot at Alldays and darker the days would become for the Kleynhans-family. His wife, Elmarie, received a mandate from Mafia Rita to purchase prime property at the centre of town, the land, buildings, house and general-dealer business … the buildings allowed space for a pharmacy and filling station.
The reasonable man should think that this would satisfy their greed, after the house at Magalies Kruin, but the wicked-trio has just started … their eyes were sighted on the farm. George was still the holder of 200 shares in Alldays Escape (pty) Ltd … his mother Rita advised him that the 200 shares in his father’s name, unlawfully or not, would be shared between him and his brother Rustie.
George was tired of hunting, however he was all-nights in alldays-escape-mode of alcohol in his bottle … never missed an opportunity to reach the farm with a second-hand car loaded with booze … his father waiting …… most of the time getting non-compos-mentis after a few drinks … Mafia Rita feeding them both with scheduled drugs from the pharmacy at Alldays.
One night George arrived with a new video camera, having fun with his parents on camera, Andre and Elmarie banged the door open … aggressively they grabbed the camera, his sister accusing him of gathering evidence on the ownership of shares. They were watching from the chalet … into the lapa they stood cocky in front of George … one right fist cracked between the eyes of Andre … he dropped like a bag of mealies … the fight was over. But the war on the farm continued the next week-end. On his arrival, George asked his mother for a rifle on his drive with the spotlight … she handed him a loaded Ruger .375, but insisted that he visited Andre and Elmarie in their chalet before leaving. He was sitting at the table with the rifle pointing up … “bang”, the shot went through the roof … shocked, but nobody hurt, he went for his drive.
On his return the blue lights of SAP waited for him … he was arrested for trespassing, assault and attempted murder. Ayesha, pregnant with their third child, had to rush from Pietersburg to Louis Trichardt. The magistrate agreed to hear the application for bail. At 02h00 in the morning … George was released on bail … this matter was later withdrawn by the wicked-trio … but the damage was done. From hereon George would come and go as he pleased, hitting them with an ignore.
Mafia Rita never took interest in the birth of Aquila, so George took his wife and three girls to the farm to visit ouma Poppie … at 95 yrs her skin was smooth, her mind clear … it was a day to remember.
Andre and Elmarie were flying high in the blazing sun of Alldays … however the community of Alldays noticed that stock in their shop had run-out, there was no fuel in their tanks at the pumps and the Sheriff was attaching goods for child-support … they even arranged for game to be captured and sold from farm Campfornis.
More pressure came when Mafia Rita moved Hendrik and ouma Poppie from Campfornis to the house at Alldays … they were not well and the farm not safe … Andre and Elmarie had no children of their own, these pharmacists, the perfect couple to look after the old people.
George and Rustie were not informed when Mafia Rita and Elmarie called the estate-services of the bank to revise the last will and testament of Hendrik and Rita … the insurance policies of Hendrik amounted to a large sum of monies payable at his death … Rita and Elmarie became the heirs and beneficiaries of his estate.
On the 29th day of May 1998, his mother phoned George from the private hospital at Pietersburg to tell him that his father was in hospital … he rushed to him, found his father in a stable condition on oxygen … Elmarie explaining to the doctor about his bleeding … the next day George arrived at the hospital at about 10h00, only to find that his father was already discharged.
The following day, on 31st of May, George phoned the house at Alldays at about 09h00 to inform them about his intended visit … Andre answered the phone: “Your father died this morning.” It was total shock and unbelief … ouma Poppie passed away two weeks before, but there was something mysterious about this death … they were just waiting for the funeral undertakers to remove the body … no friend or member of the family were notified.
George arrived at the house at about 11h00 … the stand deserted, not a soul around … he entered the house from the kitchen … no servants around … down the passage he found his mother sitting on the bed in the corner of the room. Mafia Rita was too scared to come out of the room … he went to the main bedroom on other side of the house where his father’s body was covered with a white sheet on the bed ……. The shock came when he removed the sheet ……… The face of his father was screaming for help !!! The mouth wide-open, wider than a cat-fish out of water … rigor mortis set in a long time ago, with his right leg to the side of the bed …. It was a no-brainer that this man died alone during the early hours of the morning without any oxygen !!! George should have called the police immediately but he was overwhelmed by shock and the tragedy of his family. He just helped the undertaker to load the body.
The day after the funeral at Alldays, George was assisting a client at the bank in Pietersburg … when low and behold … Andre and Elmarie were there … the greedy people were filling the claim forms on his father’s insurance policies. His oblongata was heading for a breakdown … he could no longer protect his family … he filed charges at SAP Alldays and a formal complaint at the Master of the High Court … all too late … the evidence buried.
Andre and Elmarie lost the farm Campfornis to the bank on an overdraft of two million rand … not even Mafia Rita could help them. Significantly a puff-adder snake bit Andre on his leg when he was packing up the farm Campfornis. The wickdt-trio left Alldays in December 2000 for Struisbaai in the Cape, taking the company of Alldays Escape with them.
CHAPTER VI
PEACE OF MIND
George took 8 long-suffering years to convince the Law Society of the Northern Provinces that he was a fit and proper person to be re-admitted on the roll of attorneys … more proof was needed to persuade the Judges that his rehabilitation was complete, his reform of his character permanent. In 2002 George was duly re-admitted as an attorney in the High Court of South Africa.
He was “born again” into the legal profession. Significantly his re-admission was not so widely reported as his removal, although the issues in argument were more grievious in the first mentioned than the latter. 1990 was a long time ago when his trouble started with the loss of his 200 shares to his father. During the same year there was an incident at the Alldays hotel ...... George stopped with his Mercedes 280se to buy a bottle of J&B whiskey … he was bare feet without a shirt, wearing the long trousers of his suit from the previous day … his black garment was at the back seat … he put the gown on and entered the bar as the new “dominee” in town preaching to the guests about their drinking habits. This thought came to mind when he passed the hotel on his visit to the grave-yard at Alldays where oupa Org, ouma Poppie and his father Hendrik were buried … their tomb-stones reminded him of good old days … it was time for closure.
During October 2008 his eldest daughter, Dhiana, was admitted at the Academic hospital at Pretoria … she had built-in ventrical shunts in her head as result of pre-natal meningitis … these shunts were blocked … her condition rare in that she needed an endoscopic operation between the brain and the skull to create a passage. She was booked in the neuro-surgeon section of the hospital for 3 months. Pastor Solly of the Beersheba Church arranged accommodation for George and Ayesha at their home next to the hospital.
The black Pastor went every day to pray for Dhiana … her head swollen with water draining into a plastic holder. Ayesha refused to leave her child at the hospital, so George had to drive home … take care of the other 2 girls and his business at Polokwane … then return to the hospital over week-ends. Buckets of water drained from Dhiana’s head before Prof. van Rensburg and Doctor Shapiro succeeded with the operation. Against all odds she recovered completely.
George was praying all the time during this ordeal … the ultimate test of faith. The day Dhiana was discharged they were all full of joy, praising God all the way home for this miraculous recovery.
Few people are privileged to discover the religion, tradition and culture of other groups first hand. Since the early 90’s George was living at Nirvana, Polokwane, amongst the Indian population, mostly muslim. He remembered a Prof. van Selms at Pretoria university in 1971, in his Hebrew class, who used to teach the students about the two similar stories regarding Adam and Eve, the one in Hebrew and the other in Arabic. When he was introduced to The Holy Quran, George searched the scriptures about the life of JESUS … he was pleasantly surprised:
S. III. 46 “He shall speak to the people In childhood and in maturity …”
48 “And Allah will teach him The Book and Wisdom, The Law and the Gospel”
59 "The similitude of Jesus Before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, Then said to him: ‘Be' : And he was."
S. IV. 158 "Nay, Allah raised him up Unto Himself; and Allah Is Exalted in Power, Wise."
159 "And there is none Of the People of the Book But must believe in him Before his death; And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness Against them."
His study of this Book, similar to his Bible, has revealed the unknown … the confirmation of his belief … the manifestation of his faith … the other side of the coin … his best friend …. Yeshua Elohim is alive, raised from the dead … there was a time when he doubted himself and every teaching in his life … this Book acknowledges the birth of Jesus as a miracle.
His understanding of Faith of Abraham in the Old Testament improved … God’s covenant with Abraham … the zam-zam-water that Muslim retrieves on his pilgrim to Mecca made sense … Hagar and Ishmael in the desert … the Muslim believes that Abraham was not a Jew and that he had to sacrifice Ismail … the Jew does not believe in Jesus Christ and they crucified him … a better understanding of the war between Jews and Palestinians.
In fact, a miracle has happened in George’s life. The power of the Holy Spirit removed his craving for alcohol, he was healed from rejection by his family, from all the hurt and pain, and he turned his life around.
The amazing truth of the matter is that the requirements of the law regarding his re-instatement as an attorney had improved the standard of life, however it was his personal inter-action with his Creator that caused this major fundamental change in his life.
George had time to stop and smell the roses … to look around and count his blessings … to find that place in his heart to forgive and forget and to pray with his best friend:
Father: May your holy name be honoured; may your Kingdom come.
Give us day by day the food we need.
Forgive our sins, for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.
And do not bring us hard testing.
Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF OPPOSITE(George Kleynhans)
AGE RESTRICTION – 13 OR OLDER – PARENTAL GUIDENCE IS ADVISED
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF OPPOSITE
A TRUE SHORT STORY
By George Kleynhans
Copyright © George Kleynhans 2012
ISBN 978-0-9814168-9-2
George Kleynhans asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
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CHAPTER I
MIND OVER MATTER
GEORGE was born on the 18th of March 1953 at BLOEMFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA, after his mother survived 3 days of the complications at birth with a Ceasarian. His parents, MARIA MAGDALENA and HENDRIK TERBLANS, lived on the farm LOSDORINGS in the district of WESSELSBRON, FREE STATE. The salt lake on the farm welcomes you to a moon landscape leading to the house on the hill that was built from rock and stone a previous millennium. The family, attended to Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk, in a black-and-white community at the beginning of apartheid. George was born into a believe-in-miracles family who renewed their blood-river-vow to God every year on the 16th of December, die slag van BLOEDRIVIER, when a small group of white Afrikaners overcame the Zulus.
Farmer Hendrik, the chairman at this festival, and his wife Rita (Maria), with the birth of her first child almost a miracle, were the leaders of this all-white congregation, this event being a national holiday leading up to a not-so-white Christmas every year.
George was more interested in his mother’s milk, suckling at her breasts until the age of 5 years. This healthy boy with silksoft dark brown hair, hazel eyes and good looks, was supposed to be in a city at a nursing home, not on a farm becoming a cowboy.
The old house was haunted … his mother used to hang thick pieces of pig-skin-fat over the doors on the outside … at night the old wooden window frames could suddenly rattle or the old wooden floor sounded like somebody dragging a body in the passage… The sign or an omen for things to come …. One Sunday afternoon while his parents entertained the bank manager of Volkskas, George was on the roof of an outside toilet, those with a big hole in the ground. The shit-hole was full and shit happens …. George had a great fall, diving to the ground, his forehead was cut by a stone. His parents rushed him to the hospital about 20 km away with a gaping wound bleeding profusely….
It is never a good time for brain damage, but the boy was supposed to be a genius. The ten stitches have put George’s head together again, however we will never know the extent of damages inflicted by that stone as he appeared to be somehow retarded for the next couple of years. In the farm school - 11 other pupils in the all-white farm-school with 1 pensioned old lady as a teacher - George’s mind was opposite the road at Losdorings general dealer where his mother was the shop-owner, supplying refreshments during schoolbreaks. Every day he couldn’t wait for school to close to reach his black friends at home on his bicycle. Torontier, a young bushman-like best friend, rounding up the horses in the kraal, was always ready and willing to go hunting with George … the two cowboys with airgun and .22-rifle looking for rabbit, meerkat, birds or anything that moves in the field around the salt lake. They played in the mud, skinny-dipped in the farm dam, braai any meat they got their hands on - life was uncomplicated and full of fun ….
Nature has a way to teach a farmboy about birds and the bees. The bull and cow, stallion and mare, ram and ewe … even the birds were doing it … reproduction was in his face all the time … as a matter of fact. The time the boy found a penis in his pants was not just to pass water … it’s all in the mind, was when his mother found a young black girl to babysit his small brother and there was a strange attraction. Kidebone, a long legged black beauty of about 14 yrs, was more matured and not shy at all … to make matters better for premature sex, and she had all the time in the world to seduce George … they were all alone in the big farmhouse. She sat on the carpet with her panty shining in the sun … held his hand in a way … saying, come on, George. This first experience was such a heavenly feeling the boy could not get enough. From that day George would never miss an opportunity for sex again.
George Diederick Kleynhans was named after his grand father, oupa Org, member of the provincial council and Ossewa-Brandwag. Grand mother, ouma Poppie, reminded them about the concentration camps of the anglo-boer-war. Their choice of an Afrikaans-medium high school at Bloemfontein was obvious. Our boy was a fast learner… large built and well endowered with muscle, he was a good athlete with a natural talent for football and sport. There was no time to ponder about his deep dark secret of Losdorings, too many pretty young white girls demanded his attention. There is always a first time for everything. His first date was at a cinema or movie theatre … all the standard 6 boys of Sentraal hostel were paraded to meet all the standard 6 girls. The one next to George was a little chubby, very busty with sexy soft lips … the lights went out, not much time for talking … Her breast was more than a handful and while they kissed, her hand searched for his private … and then with movements on the right places … all that remained was a wet handkerchief to prove his manhood and the fond memory of the busty sexy girl.
At Losdorings his mother Rita was pregnant with his baby sister. After the birth of Elmarie his father decided it was time to sell the farm in the Free State and follow Oupa Org, who had moved to Alldays district Zoutpansberg in the Northern province of South Africa. The Kleynhans family, with the help of oupa Org, became the proud owners of 3 game farms around ALLDAYS, Concordia, Campfornis and Riversdale. The prospects could not be better … this time George could become a real hunter of game in the bushveld, with rifles ranging from .243, 7mm to a .375 magnum, to kill from small buck to lion and elephant.
The family settled at the farm RIVERSDALE with a large, modern farmhouse in a garden like Eden, acres of lawn, flowers and fruit trees together with very large shady trees. This farm about 10 km from Alldays on the main road, was a model cattle farm in the savannah or bushveld, with rooibos trees with leaves to feed cows and sandveld with tall grass. The variety of trees from soetdoring to maroela made for rooibok and kudu country about 2,000 ha. Hendrik and Rita were in the prime of their lives. The house soon became a guesthouse to important people, so-called friends, who became hunters overnight.
George saw an Arabic stallion at the neighbours and troubled his parents to buy the horse and a black cowboy saddle for hunting. He trained the horse with a long rope fastened to his bridle not to run away when a shot was fired … for the best way to approach game on horseback, and then he even practised to shoot moving targets … a deadly combination. Whenever any hunter suffered to find game he was summoned from school to shoot a kudu or rooibok for biltong.
His namesake, uncle Org, father Hendrik’s youngest brother, wanted to shoot a kudu for his wife, so he joined George on a Willys Jeep to the farm Concordia near the Botswana. This is a wild area with lots of game. Uncle Org, hunting with his .303 with open sights, could not find a kudu all afternoon. George shot a blue wildebeest. It was already late in the afternoon when farmworkers removed the inside of wildebeest for meat and they left for home on the farm road deep in the bushveld. Uncle Org, in the passenger seat, windshields down, was still looking for his kudu. Before sunset, along the fence after they passed the massive baobab tree, George noticed movement about 200 yrds away looking like kudu. Uncle Org aimed and fired. After a few seconds the “kudu” dropped to the side of the fence …… as the jeep got closer George saw the bicycle first and then a black man lying under the fence and asked: “Did you get hurt?”
It was a disaster … the .303 steel bullet has gone through his heart and the man was gasping his last breath. While George closed his eyes and mouth, Uncle Org was walking all around the jeep shouting: “O God, tonight I’m sleeping in jail!” Uncle Org stayed with the body while George drove to Alldays on a very dark, scary, dirt road to Oupa Org, the only person who could help. The SAP regarded the shooting as a hunting accident but uncle Org was still found guilty of culpable homicide with a warning by the Court whereafter he never held a rifle again.
George was moved to Pietersburg High School at Pietersburg in standard 8. The hostel Voorwaarts koshuis in Pietersburg was home away from home. By this time George enjoyed life in a hostel with all his friends. He excelled at scool with the highest marks, the first in his class, became hostel and school prefect in 1969. He played for the first team rugby, swim and targetshooting and the fastest athlete over 100 meters.
There he met his first love … in standard 9 this kind of love could last for ever. The school organised an environmental tour to Kwa-zulu in a school bus. Teachers and everybody booked in one of the oldest hotels in Durban. It was no honeymoon, but it was time to consummate their relationship on a single bed. The problem was that the boys slept on the 1st floor, the teachers on the 2nd, and the girls on the 3rd floor. The fire-escape was the only route available, so he slept with his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees to be awake at 02h00. Condom in hand, he made it to the room on the third floor … the girl on the other bed pretended to be asleep while she witnessed passionate making of love for about 5 minutes … then it was all over.
1970 was a real milestone in his life … this year he passed matric with distinction, receiving his school colours for academic achievement of above 75% average in all subjects including mathematics, science and latin … and outstanding performance at sports. The department of water affairs awarded a bursary for the study of engineering at university.
The University of Pretoria welcomed George in 1971 at the department of engineering. Mopanie hostel his new home …… his father spoiled him with a new Opel Manta. After one month of machine drawings he was convinced that his mother was right … he was a candidate to become a minister for the kingdom of God … he changed his course to theology and studied Latin, Hebrew, new testament Greek, English and Afrikaans in his first year. At the end of his first year he realised that his calling to work for God was a mistake. Confused by all the girls at varsity, he met Vera with legs walking on eggs. She lead him further astray to the parking lot at the Union buildings … the seats in the Manta were rolled down … the lever of the handbrake was in the way to get to the other seat. After action, George, deep in thought, pushed the clutch … the car moved slowly into another car where the couple were still busy … the lover forgot to ask his address.
There was no other lawyer in the family. Study of Latin, referring to contra bonos mores, convinced him to change his studies to the law profession. Some of his courses, like Latin, Greek, English, Philosophy and Sociology, were credited to the B.Proc-degree at the University of South Africa. George started his new career in January 1973.
The second year at law, the first year at UNISA, he passed only one subject … the Introduction to Law … a humble experience and hard lesson to learn … thereafter he was jurisprudent and never failed a course again. In all matters he kept his mind firm on law. But then came a not-so-dumb, dutch and qualified nurse…. This brilliant law student was entitled to one BIG mistake and this was IT … the young lady with long golden red hair was engaged to be married to the son of Judge … on the rebound from the broken promise, she was more than willing to get married and must have been tired of living at the nurse’s home …… whatever the case may be …… George was there and with his brains in his pants, he saw his children in her blue eyes.
Oupa Org and his father warned him not to get married … the top-hat-and-tail suit was already hired, his bride-to-be together with the family on their way to Alldays to a horse-and-cart wedding. The couple wasted no time and Yoka was pregnant within first 3 months of marriage. The mother-in-law, strictly visited their flat in Pretoria when it was time for her daughter to give birth and George was more strictly prohibited from smoking in his flat.
George and Yoka moved to Springs on the east-rand of Johannesburg in 1975. Oupa Hendrik was so proud of his first grandson, Henk, he assisted them to buy a double-story house. George was still a candidate attorney contracted to attorney, Chris Venter, in Springs, but Yoka was appointed to a pharmaceutical company as a sales-representative. Yoka was the main breadwinner, driving a company car, medical aid and a good salary, she controlled the household in style. George was left to attend to the young boy while she was selling pharmaceuticals to medical doctors, sometimes sleeping away from home …. Mother Rita sent a black girl from the farm to help with housework and child while they were at work … unaware of his deep dark secret. This was another mistake, as Maria and Yoka were about the same age … she helped out with more than just work.
Attorney Venter was born blind, the best principal for the training of a candidate attorney, preparing all his court cases with George, they went to Delmas, Nigel and Springs Courts teaching him the art of cross-examination. George wrote his final exams and completed his B.Proc degree at the end of 1976, passed his admission exams and was admitted as an attorney in the High Court of South Africa in 1977.
The joy of his success was short-lived as he also received his call-up documents to report for national defence duty to the South African Airforce. After 6 weeks basic training, he was appointed as lieutenant to serve in the legal section for the next 2 years 1977-78. His parents bought a farm at Bapsfontein with a massive house, accommodation for more than 2 families. The Airforce allowed him to sleep at home but he was seldom home.
It was a great surprise when Yoka announced her pregnancy during August 1977, as George was hardly home …… but then nobody suspected her of sleeping around and nobody knew she was in love with their neighbour. Monica was born in April 1978.
He had a ominous dream during this time about the future … he was floating in the sky with a beautiful young lady … it was almost heavenly, like an angel she was holding his hand ……. Suddenly they reached a place like Eden with a warning at the gate, “no entry”. the next moment he was on the second floor of a collosseum in Rome facing a man armed with ironballs …… the first floor he overcame a man armed with spears. In the arena he was fighting a gladiator with swords …… but then he was in the dungeon, locked up with a woman. She had utmost shining beauty … then turned around with evil eyes in a horrible face … he was so scared that he shouted the name of “JESUS” …… the wall broke to the outside and he woke up.
George had a long battle ahead of him before he could start counting 40 days to civil life and his own practise at law, He was defending defending a-wallers, deserters or thieves at Court-Martials all over the country and South West Africa.
CHAPTER II
LAWYER ON SAFARI
All members of his family were gathered around Bapsfontein. His brother Rustie was farming, his Sister Elmarie in high school at Benoni, even oupa Org and ouma Poppie moved in one of the houses on the farm. George was enjoying his freedom. Hungry for progress, the perfect law of liberty was waiting at KEMPTON PARK, away from the Code of Discipline in the Airforce. Situated at the corner of Voortrekker and Casuarina Streets, the old house was waiting for renovation into the law offices of Scoon & Kleynhans Attorneys. George and Smiley met through the estate agent selling the house. Practising for his own accounts before this partnership, Smiley was popular, social, outgoing and a perfect partner. His wife Jenny, the receptionist and typist. They were young, energetic, dynamic, and the practice was booming as they received instructions from corporate clients. Arnold Goldberg, who had a large practise of his own, joined the firm with bigger clients and they became Schoon, Goldberg & Kleynhans.
The prospects at the office were excellent. George bought a double-story house with thatch-roof and swimming pool in Glen Marais, elite area, BMW vehicle and motorbike to suit his new image as a successful attorney. He was the man about town, young, handsome, with credit at his disposal. The ladies were available more than he could handle. One client gave him the keys to his Jacuzzi, the other to his house or flat, anytime was party time with girlfriends on call.
Yoka was more than happy with her new house and car, even resigned from her position as sales-rep and was looking after the children for a change. George’s medical-aid provided the opportunity for a histerectomy, vaginal correction and booblift. This was done, she claimed, to please her husband, but then she must have developed such a guilty conscience she joined the Baptist Church, her mission to convert the whole town and to baptise her husband. At the tender age of 30, and George 27 yrs, the marriage was in serious trouble. The removal of her uteris must have affected her hormones as she became holier than thou with a bible-under-the-arm attitude, praying in tongues while George was out for lunch or party with a nutty taste for alcohol … Entertaining new clients for the law firm was a good excuse to avoid the house and party with his friends.
The women and alcohol in his life escalated to an all-time high in 1981. George became reckless in his actions, indiscreet with married women. The husband of one lady invited him to the Holiday Inn. George never saw it coming … the man caused trouble in the ladies bar, security was called and they were asked to leave …… George was still looking at himself in the mirror of the lift when this bouncer broke his jaw with his fist. It was not the last time he landed in hospital because of alcohol … he had to practise the next 6 weeks with his teeth wired together.
George made a lot of money in real estate buying from auctions or people who were in trouble and selling at a profit. Always keen for new business, he consulted an agent selling time-share at Margate … This was a new concept of marketing holidays in South Africa, appeared to be lucrative as all the peak time was in summer and school holidays. His mind was on the 3 farms at Alldays and what better time-share between hunters for the cold winter months. He could not wait to reach father Hendrik at Bapsfontein with this brilliant new scheme.
His father agreed after some persuation on capital gain, with a holiday resort at the farm Campfornis. The young attorney had never been so excited before … a father-son connection, apartheid or not, this was the partnership of his life with the opportunity to go back to the bushveld. The money in practising law was good but his dream was to have his own game farm.
ALLDAYS SAFARI (pty) Ltd, was registered as company with 50% of the shares to each director. His father being the owner of the 3 farms signed a 12 yr lease to the company with consent to erect a holiday resort on the farm Campfornis. The company signed time-share agreements with clients including the right to hunt on the 3 farms (Campfornis, Riversdale and Concordia) during the week purchased.
This was his dream come true, George worked like a man possessed. The contracts and brochures were completed, but the marketing proved the most difficult, that was to sell his dream to prospective clients. He advertised in the Sunday Times and Magnum, booking his site at each major show to exhibit his product. He had the agents to respond to each and every response on adverts … within six months they signed 300 contracts at R2,000-00 each. Alldays Safari(pty) Ltd became a reality with enough funds to commense the construction in 1983.
It was time to move to Alldays, out with suits and in with safari clothes with a pair of elephant-skin boots. The challenge was physically to build … mentally to fullfill his obligations with clients. The pressure was on. They stayed at Riversdale while the buildings at Campfornis were in construction. However, Yoka had her own agenda. It was pay-back time. Her modus operandi was flight by night with the children, leaving him on the farm with responsibilities. The marriage had irretrievably broken down … for every action there is a re-action.
Bricks and building material were transported over long distance, depending on where the best price was available. Loading door and window frames from Johannesburg, George visited an old flame at Kempton Park … Hetta was too sexy for her clothes, wild and adventurous … she immediately agreed to load her furniture and moved in with him. At CAMPFORNIS, the old farm house was renovated for their home. The new found love had many obstacles to overcome … with snakes and scorpions around the house … George with builders and plumbers around the chalets … the department constructing a new road was still camping on the farm using his water.
The day came that his oblongata headed for a break-down … the devil himself took hold of George that day … he parked the truck in front of one gate … a chain and lock on the other gate … broke the branch of a dry tree and chased the workers. He had been drinking brandy and coke since the morning. As the yellow trucks were leaving he waited at Alldays hotel with his Trooper for a yellow bakkie … the man in charge of the road workers … the SAP had just changed their vehicles from white to yellow. The bakkie stopped; he did not recognise the blue uniform, he hit the officer on the chest back into the bakkie … the police drove away to get re-inforcement … George grabbed the .308 from the Trooper and shot in the air …. There was chaos in this one-horse-town. Piet (tandjies), the owner at the hotel, grabbed the rifle with ammo and hid it in his safe. When George came to his senses … the boere commando were there armed with automatic R1’s … the officer commanding SAP, Karel, saved his life … He told George to behave himself … the boere were told that the drinks were on George that day … everybody departed peacefully.
The bank account of Alldays Safari(pty)Ltd was running out of funds, but his project was almost completed … game farm with 7 chalets, ablution block, swimming pool, lapa, coldroom, shooting range and most important the game. The scene was set for the best day of his life. Trucks were arriving with different species of animals. First the eland, then gemsbok, zebras, and finally giraffe. The greatest feeling for any game farmer, when the doors open, the animals step outside to inspect their new surroundings … all the hard work with the fence and waterholes worthwhile, the natural beauty of this farm with fountain, klipkoppies, thornbush and high trees welcomed the animals.
The lapa covered the swimming pool on the side of the bar with seats to be served on the deep-end. An elephant head with tusks hanging from the roof. In the middle of the pool a large flat rock seemed to be drifting on the water … the tropical climate inviting a swim. At sunset the hunters gathered around the fire to boast and toast about experiences …the self-service farm-bar always open and everybody sharing drinks together.
Hunters arrived, one group after the other, most of them under the influence of alcohol on arrival. After sighting their rifles at the shooting range, they were looking for that 4-legged animal. The adrenaline-rush-first-shot to draw blood. For those who were fortunate to make the kill, meat or trophy, it was party-time … all-the-time. George, the big, strong hunter-lawyer, was hunting all the time, every group of hunters a new challenge. At night with the spotlight in the fenced-area and during the day with guides on the open veld. Every morning starting with a cold beer, drinking during the day progressively towards the night with stronger drinks …… it was all a vicious circle, at least during winter and hunting season. Hetta turned into a man-eater with the hunters … she thrived on all the attention … she was the only 2-legged one.
George’s addiction to alcohol was not the only problem after the hunters left. There was not enough income to keep the farm running … he had to recover and focus on survival. Hetta was not the type for a lasting relationship … the honeymoon was over and they moved back to Bapsfontein.
Hetta was very vocal during the process of making love, he did not expect her to depart without noise, but he was in for the shock of his life … he had one too many for the road and Hetta was driving the Isuzu Trooper on the Bapsfontein road … she swerved in front of an oncoming vehicle colliding on the passenger side. It was terrible … the sound of breaking glass with the impact. The Trooper landed on its roof sliding along while George was hanging on for dear life … he was bleeding all over but miraculously survived …. Recovering from the scars of the accident he claimed a hundred thousand rand for pain and suffering.
The third-party insurance settled within 3 months and George booked at Club-Med, Mauritius, for December holiday in 1985. He preferred to go alone and fly away from his recent bad luck. On departure he exchanged rands for five thousand American dollars. On arrival at the hotel he first paid the tour guide a few hundred dollars to look after him, his jewellery and balance in the safe deposit box, his first time overseas.
His straight dark brown hair was long, face scarred in the accident, with all the colour bead-strings around his neck. Beads paid for drinks around the hotel. The climate was humid, with very hot sun; wearing his speedo and drinking rum and coke all the time … after 3 days on the beach he must have looked like a drug-dealer suffering fom sunstroke. The Mauritian police woke him in the morning, searching his room. They dressed him and escorted him out of the hotel. Fortunately the tour guide was waiting to take him to the airport … his deportation not official, but effective.
On his return, George wanted to open a new law practice. After he met Hoffie, the Sheriff of BENONI, they agreed on a partnership and practise at Benoni under name and style of Hoffmann-Kleynhans Attorneys … he was back in business … and big business it was with the next consultation ….
The client was a polish lady from Johannesburg, dressed very smart, calling herself the Madam of an escort agency. She told George that Benoni was a virgin town for such an agency and she instructed him to apply for the licence … Vina promised him half the shares of the agency as a sleeping partner. He was always a fast mover, and brought the application in record time. The problem was to convince the members of the city-council that a business like an escort-agency, with the name Pandorah’s Box, should be allowed … The 5 members on the council voted 3 against 2 in favour of opening the Box.
The previous office space of Hoffman was still available. With a few changes to the lay-out, walk-in, the ladies-bar with a one-way-mirror to ladies and then the lounge area where they relaxed waiting for the next client. Vina was a real Madam collecting payment at the reception.
The opening of PANDORAH’S BOX proved to be good for trade at Benoni. However, in George’s life it was the manifestation of the devil himself and evil things to come. His love life was in shambles. Being a sleeping partner of an escort-agency provided free sex on demand but no satisfaction. During an interview with a new girl applying to be an escort agent he was told: “I don’t do blacks … I do blow-job, wax-job, pins-and-needles-job, discipline-job ….” This girl was a mean machine, the madam’s favourite, because she satisfied customers within half-an-hour. Being the owner of an escort-agency was demoralising even if you were a criminal defense attorney.
In many ways George was the author of his own misfortune. He phoned a young lady, inviting her to come and stay with him. She was from Alldays, a farm-girl who could cope with farm life at Campfornis. Lenie and her youth was a new beginning. At the end of 1986 he sold the practice at Benoni and they moved back to the farm at Alldays.
Alcohol had a strange effect on George in those days. Having the first drink made him very sick, he lost his balance and was falling as if the earth was moving. He abstained from alcohol while they prepared for their wedding. Lenie was stupid, stubborn and mean to get her own way … but he believed she would change with maturity and he married her … big mistake.
The marriage lasted until their first disagreement. She packed her bags and left to her mother at Tzaneen. Martha, the house servant, informed George that Lenie was giving him some tablet without his knowledge. Her secret was out. He was furious to find the anti-booze tablets in the house. The disappointment became worse when he found that his mother, Rita, was supplying these tablets to his young wife. Desperate times call for desperate measures. He advertised in a major newspaper about the vacancy for a manageress at Alldays Safari, requesting applicants to forward a photo. The ladies responded from all over the country and he was getting all the contacts needed for a bachelor on a farm.
By this time George knew very well that most hunters were looking for 2-legged ones after they shot their quota of animals. Besides, he had the reputation since Pandorah’s Box as the supplier for this kind of demand. The client came from Pietersburg, he was insolvent and wanted his estate to be sequestrated. Being an old friend, previously married to his niece, George agreed to help … on condition that he, Vonnie, open and manage the new escort agency at Pietersburg.
The application for a trading licence of Pandorah’s Box caused heavy commotion in the conservative town of Pietersburg. The churches opposed it and after it was turned down by the council, the news was in the Sunday Times. George even received phone calls from The Times in London while he was a game farmer minding his own business. He was infamous. He appealed against the decision of the council and the licence was granted …………… Pandorah’s Box opened at Pietersburg.
In retrospect, George had a better chance of survival during apartheid on his farm. Most of his real friends and clients were black people. Land was set aside for black development in a trust area at Taaibosch Groet, about 20 km away from Campfornis … the kgoshi or captain of the Mamadi tribe allowed him to hunt in this area, sharing the meat with each hunt.
Another friend, Solly, offered George a corner stand to erect a store. They applied for a liquor licence in this large community. With the licence granted, his drinking habit was set for life, helping Solly to open the bottlestore. The farm manager, Frans, was available to send to Taaibosch Groet with the land cruiser to get a refill of alcohol supplies to his private store on the farm. Young northern-sotho ladies were available for entertainment at night, without too much conversation required.
Nature has a way to temper farmers. Nothing can be more disturbing for a game farmer than a long drought of ground in a fenced-in area that leaves the animals to starve over time. The kudu’s feed are the leaves on trees … these are the first animals that fall to a slow death … a hopeless feeling that drove George to apply for a position as legal adviser at Pretoria.
The two major problems, alcohol and Lenie, followed him to Pretoria. At first he was trying to keep both in check, but these weaknesses would cost him dearly later in life.
CHAPTER III
HUNTING MEMOS
Alldays, a one-horse town, has one stop sign in the centre of town, two churches, a post-office, policestation, fillingstation, a general dealer and hotel. The town is about 50 kilometres behind the Soutpansberg in the Limpopo Province, South Africa.
The town was given its name, according to a local report, by a hunter who was a heavy drinker - van der Merwe arrived on this place during the day. He was on ox-wagon loaded with crates of brandy, consumed too much on his arrival and he fell asleep. The hot sun woke him the next day and he started drinking brandy again until he was unconscious only to be woken by the hot sun again the next morning. He called the place ALLDAYS.
Hunters around the fire at night tell their believe-it-or-not stories. The days when the bushveld was wild, without camps or roads and big game roaming this area – big John with the red beard was leading a hunting party setting up camp before dark near Alldays. John decided to shoot something for the pot, walking with his .303 mauser, he saw an impala ram. When he took the shot the ram moved forward taking the bullet through the lungs. He followed the blood spoor, much to his surprise there were lions around the impala – no time to find another before sunset, he shot the first and second lioness but the male was charging – his last bullet wounded the lion and John ran for the marula tree. The lion was waiting under the tree and John saw a black mamba staring at him from another branch – fortunately he had his pistol and shot at the mamba, but unfortunately he wounded the mamba, but fortunately the mamba fell out of the tree on top of the lion. The mamba struck the lion and after a while both were dead. Big John picked up the impala ram and carried it back to camp.
In those days hunters feared the black mamba the most. Once bitten by this snake you have to greet the dear ones around you very quickly otherwise they remain ungreeted – big John and his friend Paul were out hunting the one day when they were charged by a black mamba – they were running and big John managed to take a few shots at the mamba during the chase but the mamba kept coming and struck Paul from behind at the back of his neck. The two exhausted hunters sat down under a big boab tree and Paul was giving big John his last will and wishes before he died … Paul was explaining to John what to tell his wife and children, how to distribute his goods, where he wants to be buried, and so on… after about half an hour Paul was still talking and big John decided to take a good look at his neck … the poison of the mamba marked the skin of Paul’s neck but to his amazement their were no bite marks – big John and Paul searched for the mamba and found that the upper jaw where the fangs were supposed to be, was removed by a bullet.
George hunted mostly on the farms at Riversdale, Campfornis and Concordia around Alldays, his experiences were not so far-fetched and very true.
The prime trophy for a hunter is a kudu bull with those curled horns as long as possible. The length of Roland Ward's trophy was measured at 56 inches, any hunter would be very fortunate to find a kudu bull with horns close to 50 inches. The berg-kudu with narrow horns and thick neck was found at Campfornis near the mountains, the sandveld-kudu with wide horns and longer hooves at Riversrsdale. The older the kudu bull, the wiser it gets to avoid hunters, the big ears are sensitive and they run at the first smell of a hunter – a hunting trip successful when you shoot one of these animals.
The opportunity of a lifetime came to George one day on the farm Riversdale during 1987. Freddy, the farm manager, woke him at 04h300 in the morning. They drove with an open land-cruizer at sunrise. From the tar road Freddy spotted a kudu cow. They were hunting for game meat, selling as much as possible to Kovisco who paid by kilogram including skin, horn and legs, only the inside to be removed. The first kudu was on the cruiser at sunrise.
Freddy has been taught by George to drive and shoot since his youth as a black boy on the farm. He knew the farm well, aware of the dangers of big holes dug by warthogs, the rooibos veld easy to drive as the trees have no haak-en-steek thorns. Freddy had the skill to know when it was time to stop and shoot and when to chase after the kudu – for some reason when kudu are chased they tend to stop and look at what is behind them.
They entered the first camp from the tar road driving through the bush with one kudu loaded – the next moment kudu bulls (about 8of them) were standing around – George shot the first one through the heart with the .308 winchester. The bull jumped backwards landing on his horns. The next one George shot in the run through the lungs and the Freddie chased after them … the third bull stopped to look back … the third shot hit his neck and he dropped. George and Freddy loaded this one first and went back for the other two. The first bull still lying on his horns and the other bull they found about 100 metres away. The four kudu loaded they arrived at the coldroom at the farm house - while the other workers take out the inside of these four kudu, George and Freddie rushed back to the next camp, the direction of which the remaining kudu were jumping.
The next camp was observed along the fence, when they took the turn at the corner a kudu bull was standing 300 metres away, when George took the shot some other kudu jumped into our camp. Freddy chased after them … hitting brakes when they stop … George shot four more cows as they proceeded and after loading them, they went back to the spot where the kudu bull was standing … they found blood and followed the spoor … the bull could not go far with so much bleeding … this was the old bull and heavy to load on top of the other kudu. George and Freddy shot 9 kudu before breakfast and they were very hungry. In these years it was the alltime record for shooting kudu in such a short time on the open field - Lukas Steyn of Kovisco wrote a fat cheque to George for a few hours of fun.
CHAPTER IV
NO LAW WITHOUT JUSTICE
George held the record for shooting 9 kudu before breakfast on the open field behind the Soutpansberg, however his obsession with hunters on safari died during the long drought at Alldays when he had to buy feed to keep the animals alive. During 1988 he registered a new company, Alldays Escape (pty) Ltd, with 300 shares on his name. The company took transfer of the farm Campfornis from his father against payment of R400,000-00. The only way to save the farm was to sell some shares and he published an advert in the Sunday papers. Alex, from Pretoria, came to his rescue, trading a mansion of a house at Magalieskruin for two-thirds of the shares at Campfornis. His father, Hendrik, was so impressed with this triple-story house in Pretoria, George decided to give the house to his parents.
The bank manager at Pietersburg helped him to purchase a house in Bendor, suburb of Pietersburg. His ex-wife Yoka and the children were living there. It was nearer to the farm, but somebody should have warned him about the snakes and reptiles still around Pandorah’s Box. At first the change was good, he could spend time with his children, Yoka was visiting all the time and they even dicussed the possibility of living together. That was until Lenie arrived with all her clothes in the car. She was 8 months pregnant …… she had left him when she was 3 months pregnant, he was not even sure if this was his child and completely taken by surprise. With mixed emotions he agreed to look after her until the child was born.
George was confused. He was still married to Lenie with divorce pending, but his children were priority with his ex-wife. The pastor at the church could not solve this problem. Shortly after the birth of her child, Lenie and her family were caught in the act of loading furniture from the house on a truck while George was not there … a final betrayal.
The day came that would change his life forever. It was June 1989. By this time he was praying for a soulmate. There was a knock on the front door …… when he opened an Indian friend, Alli, told him he brought an applicant for the position of secretary in the law firm. In walked Ayesha, with curriculum vitae in her hand. George looked at her, told her she got the position, but that he was going to marry her. She was shocked, embarrassed, and walked out. The meeting was short and sweet. Lasting in his mind was her picture... a coke-bottle figure with an inner-kind beauty that he never experienced before.
The controversial immorality act has been uplifted, however Pietersburg was a place where apartheid was still ruled by book … besides he was still defending the claim of half million rand by Lenie with divorce proceedings pending. Ouma Poppie, at the age of 90 yrs, was visiting with him and he managed to persuade Ayesha to come and cook dinner for them. The ice was broken. Ouma Poppie loved this girl, who was 10 shades darker than her grand-son. She even chased George with her stick when he was getting too forward. Ayesha was living with her mother, Nellie, who insisted that George marry her daughter before she moved to his house. No problem was insurmountable for these lovers … she was muslim and the book of marriages was not available in the register of the South African law. The Nikkaa-marriage arranged with her family, he could prepare for the big day …. George arrived early on 30th of June 1989, at Nellie’s house in Nirvana. He was not allowed to see his bride ... when they see each other again, they will be married by proxy signed … Alli took him to the bathroom and handed him a packet of hair-removal … arm-pits and private parts to be removed. Dressed with his best suit they waited for the Mulana … the “priest” arrived dressed in a white curta … told George to choose a muslim name … the closest to the Bible he could think of was Sulliman … he was then asked to repeat some arabic phrases after the Mulana … he signed the book ……. “Sulliman” was married to Ayesha.
The ceremony was hush-hush, only witnesses and a few family members to congratulate them. George took his new “wife” to his house in Bendor. He could not wait to reach home … he was allergic to the product of hair-remover and his scrotum was on fire … the pharmacy sent him deepheat by mistake and he had to wait for other cream with a fan blowing on his private parts.
This living-together arrangement sparked the white community at Bendor on fire, his family… and even the other wives. The house phone was a hotline of complaints. Lenie phoned and demanded to speak to her husband. He told her that he was married and the phone went quiet … then came the loud voice: “I will charge you for bigamy!” Yoka was more quiet and dangerous … she got married to a Willie and refused George to see the children. He complained about maintenance and suggested to the magistrate that he was ready to sign if and when Willie wanted to adopt them.
George opened his law practice at Pietersburg in August 1989 practising for own account under name and style of George Kleynhans Attorney. He had not experienced any discrimination, prosecution, persecution or other consequences of apartheid before …. The real meaning of these terms were on the other side of opposite …… and he had just arrived.
Alex was in default with his payment on the farm, in breach of the terms of his agreement with George to hold 200 shares in Alldays Escape (pty)Ltd …. He issued summons against Alex for the recovery of these shares.
His father, Hendrik, living in the house at Pretoria, being available to collect the settlement and court order from his correspondents, went to the auditors and registered these 200 shares … not on George’s name as he should have done but on Hendrik Terblans. George was astounded to learn from his father on the phone that he, George, was a traitor and would be dis-inherited from the last testament and will. On the contrary this was a case of fraud, as he had been unlawfully dis-owned from his property, being the farm Campfornis. He issued summons against his father for the delivery of his shares.
Lenie claimed a half million rand in her divorce proceedings against him. George was not in a hurry to collect these shares from his father …… at home Ayesha was expecting their first child in May 1990. It stands to reason that if you live by the gun you die by the gun, however George was living as a criminal defense lawyer. Despite of all the death threats on the phone, he was in court every day with a case … in so many cases that he was nicknamed by his black clients as … “kill the prosecutor, kill the case.”
A para-legal organisation of the ANC was supporting him. He registered this close corpration as Legal Defence Assurance, giving Ayesha all the share-holder interest thereof. Clients raised to a thousand members within a few months … these offices were next to his law office in the main street of Pietersburg.
The all-white judicial assault on George and his character came in Pietersburg since the early 1990’s. This well orchestrated attack started with arrests by the police … then charges on alleged crimes committed … long expensive trials at court … and finally the publication thereof in the local newspaper about the controversial attorney ……. The charges ranged from traffic offences to murder … 9 times in all … most of these charges witdrawn. In fact, he was not found guilty on any charge at court … but the damage to his reputation was done, the most effective way being to attack his bread and butter … in his case … criminal defense attorney supposed to defend clients was charged himself.
The battles at Pietersburg continued but George lost the war on the day his father stole his shares in Alldays Escape (pty) Ltd. Losing his farm Campfornis left him without security to obtain any loan from the bank while he remained with debt on his name for game purchased for the farm … his personal estate was sequestrated. George was left with his Alldays-escape in the alcohol of his bottle, while the battle of his profession continued with the all-white Law Society of the Transvaal. He was not willing to surrender without opposal. The fight was not over until the fat lady sings….
The fat lady was a recently appointed magistrate for the district of Pietersburg, without a handbag … George was defending a client at regional court … she has been visiting Ayesha at his office, discussing handbags. On this day Ayesha remained home while George, on his way to regional court, handed her the handbag … crocodile-skinned. The fat lady felt it was her duty to report this as undue crocodilic influence of herself to adjucate on another matter. The Council of the Law Society of the Transvaal had various options … send him to a rehabilitation centre while he was suspended. Being sequestrated he could not practise for his own account. They elected the “death sentence” … 1994. There is life after attorney. There his infamous tragedy lives on in the South African law reports: Die Prokureursorde van Transvaal v Kleynhans 1995 (1) SA 893 (T)
CHAPTER V
MAFIA AT WORK
In 1995 George found himself in the “NEW” South Africa, dis-advantaged times two, suffering from post-apartheid-syndrome, being classified as a member of the white-regime, his wife previously dis-advantaged by himself and apartheid. It was stock-taking-time. He was left with his mother-in-law … farmless, jobless and hopeless. He called his mother-in-law “Mafia”. Ma Nellie, a wise old lady of 77 yrs, was the mother of Nirvana. George and his family … his wife Ayesha, daughter Dhiana, and another baby-girl, Shaazaa, were living with her. “Mafia” had all the connections for business and influence to care for this family.
George became Mr. LAWISE himself in all his dealings … at least he had reached a settlement in his divorce-case with Lenie … he settled for thousand-five-hundred-rand on condition that he signed at the magistrate for the child to be adopted. He married Ayesha shortly after the divorce … this time lawfull at the department of home affairs … despite his father’s threat to dis-own him. Besides, he was still the owner of 200 shares in the farm Campfornis.
Over the years all the other farms in the Kleynhans-family were sold, only Campfornis was left … 100 shares of Alldays Escape (pty) Ltd were legally transferred by George to his father for monies received … 200 shares claimed by George from Alex, unlawfully transferred by his father to the joint estate of Hendik and Rita, married in community of property.
The real “Mafia” was much closer to him, his mother, Rita, had her own apartheid-agenda about the shares in her family. Her daughter, Elmarie, had moved to the mansion at Magalies Kruin during her divorce. His father bought a pharmacy at Benoni when she qualified as a pharmacist. Elmarie was Rita’s favourite … the baby in the house … Rita has can-do-no-wrong kind of love … even when she fell in love with a man twice her age, Rita approved of this new man in her life, altogether with his baggage of child-support of eight thousand rand per month. Andre, hunched-back from previous marriages, caught Elmarie hook, line and sinker to marry him. Rita, Elmarie and Andre bonded at the house in Pretoria as a trinity, who would stop at nothing to take from other people.
George was surprised to hear that his sister had purchased the house that he signed to his parents … knowing how much his father disliked Andre. However his parents and ouma Poppie were moving back to the farm Campfornis … this was his opportunity to visit his father. George, with nothing to lose, had a devil-may-care attitude going to the farm with his wife and children. Much to his surprise his father welcomed them with open arms … the share-issue no more an obstacle he agreed to withdraw the action against his father … the old man born in 1927, had a stroke and needed all the love he could get. Over time he grew fonder of Ayesha and accepted her as his daughter … Ayesha visiting mostly at ouma Poppie staying in her own chalet.
His father was sober for a couple of years at Pretoria. Back at the farm he became more addicted to alcohol than ever before, having his first drink when he wakes … non-stop brandy and water until the following day … Rita, happy to supply while in control of all the business … Mafia Rita was in charge of Campfornis.
Tragic was the day when Andre set foot at Alldays and darker the days would become for the Kleynhans-family. His wife, Elmarie, received a mandate from Mafia Rita to purchase prime property at the centre of town, the land, buildings, house and general-dealer business … the buildings allowed space for a pharmacy and filling station.
The reasonable man should think that this would satisfy their greed, after the house at Magalies Kruin, but the wicked-trio has just started … their eyes were sighted on the farm. George was still the holder of 200 shares in Alldays Escape (pty) Ltd … his mother Rita advised him that the 200 shares in his father’s name, unlawfully or not, would be shared between him and his brother Rustie.
George was tired of hunting, however he was all-nights in alldays-escape-mode of alcohol in his bottle … never missed an opportunity to reach the farm with a second-hand car loaded with booze … his father waiting …… most of the time getting non-compos-mentis after a few drinks … Mafia Rita feeding them both with scheduled drugs from the pharmacy at Alldays.
One night George arrived with a new video camera, having fun with his parents on camera, Andre and Elmarie banged the door open … aggressively they grabbed the camera, his sister accusing him of gathering evidence on the ownership of shares. They were watching from the chalet … into the lapa they stood cocky in front of George … one right fist cracked between the eyes of Andre … he dropped like a bag of mealies … the fight was over. But the war on the farm continued the next week-end. On his arrival, George asked his mother for a rifle on his drive with the spotlight … she handed him a loaded Ruger .375, but insisted that he visited Andre and Elmarie in their chalet before leaving. He was sitting at the table with the rifle pointing up … “bang”, the shot went through the roof … shocked, but nobody hurt, he went for his drive.
On his return the blue lights of SAP waited for him … he was arrested for trespassing, assault and attempted murder. Ayesha, pregnant with their third child, had to rush from Pietersburg to Louis Trichardt. The magistrate agreed to hear the application for bail. At 02h00 in the morning … George was released on bail … this matter was later withdrawn by the wicked-trio … but the damage was done. From hereon George would come and go as he pleased, hitting them with an ignore.
Mafia Rita never took interest in the birth of Aquila, so George took his wife and three girls to the farm to visit ouma Poppie … at 95 yrs her skin was smooth, her mind clear … it was a day to remember.
Andre and Elmarie were flying high in the blazing sun of Alldays … however the community of Alldays noticed that stock in their shop had run-out, there was no fuel in their tanks at the pumps and the Sheriff was attaching goods for child-support … they even arranged for game to be captured and sold from farm Campfornis.
More pressure came when Mafia Rita moved Hendrik and ouma Poppie from Campfornis to the house at Alldays … they were not well and the farm not safe … Andre and Elmarie had no children of their own, these pharmacists, the perfect couple to look after the old people.
George and Rustie were not informed when Mafia Rita and Elmarie called the estate-services of the bank to revise the last will and testament of Hendrik and Rita … the insurance policies of Hendrik amounted to a large sum of monies payable at his death … Rita and Elmarie became the heirs and beneficiaries of his estate.
On the 29th day of May 1998, his mother phoned George from the private hospital at Pietersburg to tell him that his father was in hospital … he rushed to him, found his father in a stable condition on oxygen … Elmarie explaining to the doctor about his bleeding … the next day George arrived at the hospital at about 10h00, only to find that his father was already discharged.
The following day, on 31st of May, George phoned the house at Alldays at about 09h00 to inform them about his intended visit … Andre answered the phone: “Your father died this morning.” It was total shock and unbelief … ouma Poppie passed away two weeks before, but there was something mysterious about this death … they were just waiting for the funeral undertakers to remove the body … no friend or member of the family were notified.
George arrived at the house at about 11h00 … the stand deserted, not a soul around … he entered the house from the kitchen … no servants around … down the passage he found his mother sitting on the bed in the corner of the room. Mafia Rita was too scared to come out of the room … he went to the main bedroom on other side of the house where his father’s body was covered with a white sheet on the bed ……. The shock came when he removed the sheet ……… The face of his father was screaming for help !!! The mouth wide-open, wider than a cat-fish out of water … rigor mortis set in a long time ago, with his right leg to the side of the bed …. It was a no-brainer that this man died alone during the early hours of the morning without any oxygen !!! George should have called the police immediately but he was overwhelmed by shock and the tragedy of his family. He just helped the undertaker to load the body.
The day after the funeral at Alldays, George was assisting a client at the bank in Pietersburg … when low and behold … Andre and Elmarie were there … the greedy people were filling the claim forms on his father’s insurance policies. His oblongata was heading for a breakdown … he could no longer protect his family … he filed charges at SAP Alldays and a formal complaint at the Master of the High Court … all too late … the evidence buried.
Andre and Elmarie lost the farm Campfornis to the bank on an overdraft of two million rand … not even Mafia Rita could help them. Significantly a puff-adder snake bit Andre on his leg when he was packing up the farm Campfornis. The wickdt-trio left Alldays in December 2000 for Struisbaai in the Cape, taking the company of Alldays Escape with them.
CHAPTER VI
PEACE OF MIND
George took 8 long-suffering years to convince the Law Society of the Northern Provinces that he was a fit and proper person to be re-admitted on the roll of attorneys … more proof was needed to persuade the Judges that his rehabilitation was complete, his reform of his character permanent. In 2002 George was duly re-admitted as an attorney in the High Court of South Africa.
He was “born again” into the legal profession. Significantly his re-admission was not so widely reported as his removal, although the issues in argument were more grievious in the first mentioned than the latter. 1990 was a long time ago when his trouble started with the loss of his 200 shares to his father. During the same year there was an incident at the Alldays hotel ...... George stopped with his Mercedes 280se to buy a bottle of J&B whiskey … he was bare feet without a shirt, wearing the long trousers of his suit from the previous day … his black garment was at the back seat … he put the gown on and entered the bar as the new “dominee” in town preaching to the guests about their drinking habits. This thought came to mind when he passed the hotel on his visit to the grave-yard at Alldays where oupa Org, ouma Poppie and his father Hendrik were buried … their tomb-stones reminded him of good old days … it was time for closure.
During October 2008 his eldest daughter, Dhiana, was admitted at the Academic hospital at Pretoria … she had built-in ventrical shunts in her head as result of pre-natal meningitis … these shunts were blocked … her condition rare in that she needed an endoscopic operation between the brain and the skull to create a passage. She was booked in the neuro-surgeon section of the hospital for 3 months. Pastor Solly of the Beersheba Church arranged accommodation for George and Ayesha at their home next to the hospital.
The black Pastor went every day to pray for Dhiana … her head swollen with water draining into a plastic holder. Ayesha refused to leave her child at the hospital, so George had to drive home … take care of the other 2 girls and his business at Polokwane … then return to the hospital over week-ends. Buckets of water drained from Dhiana’s head before Prof. van Rensburg and Doctor Shapiro succeeded with the operation. Against all odds she recovered completely.
George was praying all the time during this ordeal … the ultimate test of faith. The day Dhiana was discharged they were all full of joy, praising God all the way home for this miraculous recovery.
Few people are privileged to discover the religion, tradition and culture of other groups first hand. Since the early 90’s George was living at Nirvana, Polokwane, amongst the Indian population, mostly muslim. He remembered a Prof. van Selms at Pretoria university in 1971, in his Hebrew class, who used to teach the students about the two similar stories regarding Adam and Eve, the one in Hebrew and the other in Arabic. When he was introduced to The Holy Quran, George searched the scriptures about the life of JESUS … he was pleasantly surprised:
S. III. 46 “He shall speak to the people In childhood and in maturity …”
48 “And Allah will teach him The Book and Wisdom, The Law and the Gospel”
59 "The similitude of Jesus Before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, Then said to him: ‘Be' : And he was."
S. IV. 158 "Nay, Allah raised him up Unto Himself; and Allah Is Exalted in Power, Wise."
159 "And there is none Of the People of the Book But must believe in him Before his death; And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness Against them."
His study of this Book, similar to his Bible, has revealed the unknown … the confirmation of his belief … the manifestation of his faith … the other side of the coin … his best friend …. Yeshua Elohim is alive, raised from the dead … there was a time when he doubted himself and every teaching in his life … this Book acknowledges the birth of Jesus as a miracle.
His understanding of Faith of Abraham in the Old Testament improved … God’s covenant with Abraham … the zam-zam-water that Muslim retrieves on his pilgrim to Mecca made sense … Hagar and Ishmael in the desert … the Muslim believes that Abraham was not a Jew and that he had to sacrifice Ismail … the Jew does not believe in Jesus Christ and they crucified him … a better understanding of the war between Jews and Palestinians.
In fact, a miracle has happened in George’s life. The power of the Holy Spirit removed his craving for alcohol, he was healed from rejection by his family, from all the hurt and pain, and he turned his life around.
The amazing truth of the matter is that the requirements of the law regarding his re-instatement as an attorney had improved the standard of life, however it was his personal inter-action with his Creator that caused this major fundamental change in his life.
George had time to stop and smell the roses … to look around and count his blessings … to find that place in his heart to forgive and forget and to pray with his best friend:
Father: May your holy name be honoured; may your Kingdom come.
Give us day by day the food we need.
Forgive our sins, for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.
And do not bring us hard testing.
Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of
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