Ernie van Biljon wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I got to go to America as a Rotary exchange student back in 1973.

 

What a lovely man. He should have lived to a hundred.

Rotary held their interview and selection sessions at Greystones outside Estcourt (where I had attended a Veld & Vlei leadership course earlier that year):

Which three countries would you like to go to, they asked?
America, America, and America I replied – and I want to go to a small town, not a big city.

Well, they selected me anyway, but decided, “OK, smartass,” and dispatched me to Apache, Oklahoma, population 1500.

“There are two strict rules” they told us sternly: “No Falling In Love; and Strictly No Driving while you’re there.”

Of course not . . .

Well, I got none out of two right but it was just infatuation; and the owner of the Chev Camaro covered for me in Apache; and the owner of the VW Beetle covered for me in Canada. Turned out I double-failed at both the Two Commandments. I broke them and I was useless at them.

Thank you, Ernie!

~~~oo0oo~~~

For Apache Adventures, see here