Here is the 1st page of "The Dream From Africa" to give you a feel for this book. I will have it uploaded on Amazon this coming week.
1
No one remembered the last time the
old man had made his way through the dusty streets of the village. He would
disappear as mysteriously as he would appear. Sometimes years would pass before
he materialized again. For this
reason, his presence always attracted immediate attention. Within minutes of
walking into the market, people would begin gathering around the big Baobab
tree on the outskirts of town, sure that he would have something important to
share.
Several years ago he had warned the people of the upcoming
drought in his normal indirect way.
Then there had been the time that the whole area seemed on the verge of
war with a neighboring village.
Cows had gone missing as accusations flared between the two groups. Just
hours before the elders called for an armed response the old man had
arrived. Many innocent lives had
been spared.
No one knew his name, or his place
of origin, or his age, or if he had any family—things very important in the
African tradition. In the village, they called him Mzee Hadithi, the Swahili title for a respected storyteller. And telling stories seemed to be his
passion in life. His tales of animals, kings, and valiant exploits had become
legend. He had a gift for holding people spellbound—sometimes for hours,
sometimes for days. The stories in
and of themselves were quite remarkable, but the lessons and truths he
communicated through them left people with a thirst for truth. He never really told anyone what
to do, but by the time he was finished sharing, everyone knew what must be
done. Through his wisdom and
insight the villagers had learned to negotiate even the most turbulent of
situations.
So on this hot, dry African day, he
sat down under the Baobab tree in his customary spot. As usual, he waited several more minutes for the
villagers to assemble. Once
everyone had gathered in the shade he quietly announced: “This story is called
the Dream.” He, then, placed his
gigantic hands on his knees, took a deep breath, and began to share in the
local tribal dialect saying, “All was quiet, well, almost all.” No sooner had
the first words left his lips then he paused in deep thought for several
moments before remarking: “This story could very well change your life, young
people.” With that he continued.
As he slowly began to weave his tale everyone could tell that this would be one
of his best stories ever.
It should be noted that for the
purposes of this book, we have tried to translate Mzee Hadithi’s story as accurately as possible from the original
dialect, making no guarantees whatsoever to the veracity of events mentioned.
We can, however, attest to the impact that it had that day on the community.
The story has now been repeated in varying forms throughout the entire region.
The old man continued his story.
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