It is a very long time since I started a Cape Crawl with a musical reference. So, indulge me. And before you run for the mountains, expecting another snatch of Meatloaf philosophy, no, there is more to life than that. Today, it will be a country song. Yes. I do like country music as well, you know.

Country music is a music genre originating in the Southern and Southwestern United States. First produced in the 1920’s, country music primarily focuses on working class Americans and blue-collar American Life. It may have started out that way, but then our own legends – Lance James, Bobby Angel, Barbara Ray to name a few, got hold of it, and now (although few will ever admit to it), South Africans have developed a soft spot for it. Right there, along with our love for Koeksisters and Malva Pudding and Cinnamon Pancakes on rainy days.

BJ Thomas made famous Hey Won’t You Play Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song. The song in 1976 won the Grammy for the Best Country Song. At ten words long, it became the longest title of any single top 100 song – a record it would keep for 6 years. I have always preferred the Kenny Rogers and Dotty West version. For good measure, Alvin and the Chipmunks got their teeny tiny little teeth into it. Well, I suppose there is always one that will ruin things for the rest of us. Or rather three of them, in the case of the Chipmunks.

So, what brought me to this? I had a phone call last night from one of those people I will always love talking to. We met some years ago, when we worked together, and somehow, I just know that I will always like her, and a phone call from her will make any gloomy day better. Not that my day was gloomy. On the contrary, it was a particularly good day, made better by her call. Whenever her name comes up, I always must relay her stories. We were at a wedding of a mutual colleague once, and here she told the story of how she resembles a concertina when she sits down – imagine the vision of a concertina being placed on a table, and how the whole thing sort of folds in on itself. For that reason, she did not sit for the photo, like the rest of us. She chose to stand. Anyway, back to her phone call. Invariably, our conversation turned to work and some of the characters and events that still fill her corporate life. As I was listening to her, my mind (which has a mind of its own) started humming: Hey! Won’t you play another somebody done somebody wrong song! Because you see, looking at all that intriguing company politics, that I was so in the thick of, I now just see it as somebody doing somebody wrong, and no good can come of it. Yet, we do it to ourselves, and others. Yup, easy for me to say. I know. Not all of us are brave or fortunate enough to take that first bold step and walk away.

Then I came across this quote by Antonio Machado. I have no idea who he is or was. I was actually stalking Johnny Walker online, when Mr. Machado Google bombed my scroll. But what he said was this: “Paths are made by walking. Keep Walking.” And it is amazing what one can find when you step off the beaten path. I had one such experience recently.

Our son was visiting, and as we pootled through Hermanus, we thought it a clever idea to take him to an outlook called Roman Rock. It is one of those spots that are just so unexpected, where one has the most picturesque view of the sea, rock and very often yachts hiding in the small cove. Having been there often before, I got sidetracked with picking “Bunny Tail” grass for a vase. The thing about picking Bunny Tails is, you need quite a bunch of them. Before you know it, you get pulled deeper and deeper away from where you started. So focused was I on finding the next grass stem, that I all but stepped on a tortoise. There he was right there, munching on a few Bunny Tails. Well. That was the end of my grass picking! My bouquet in the making got dropped right there so I could run off and try and shout above the sea noises for Colin and Son to come immediately! They rushed over in a panic, because surely something dreadful must have happened for me to be in such a tizz. Well, it worked, as they both rushed over to where I proudly pointed to my accidental discovery, who by now was feasting on my Bunny Tail Bouquet. Some things are worth it.

Ancient Chinese used tortoise shells as oracle bones to make predictions. To the ancient Greeks, a tortoise was a symbol of the god, Hermes. The Russians took it one step (it must have been a terribly slow step) further and in 1968, two Russian tortoises became the first animals to fly to and circle the moon, before returning to earth safely. I have no grandeur. To me, it was just a lucky find. Wikipedia tells me that they move at a speed of 2km per hour, but dare to look away for a moment, and you will spend the next hour looking for that slow space traveler. But fortunately, Colin and his camera was there to capture the moment. I do wonder, are there any photos of Mudface Nikolayev and Squirt Bykovsky?

But here I am. Doing the Cape Crawl at 2km per hour. Paths are made by walking. And that’s just what I’ll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk right over you! (Guess the song. Answers in the comment box, please.)