Chanell Lupberger is feeling emotional.
The words “we have to sell the farm, it’s no longer safe” cut through my heart so deeply. With the words that follow, “the farm was sold”
Today was the last day of Aug 3, 2019, the last time I opened the farm gate. The last time the goats kissed on their foreheads. The last time the dust ran across the bakkie, the dirt road blew. The last time we could feed the animals. The last time we lit the bushveld TV. The last time we heard my wife cry through the trees. The last time I walked through the fields. The last time that tranquillity and silence ran through your body. The last time I checked to see if the corn trays were full. The last time I heard the tractor start. The last time I dusted off my dirty boats. The last time we went looking for the goats. The last eyes on the dust blowing across the fields. The last day ON US.
It’s dead in the bakkie, (small truck) no one says a word. The tears roll down my cheeks.
How does one greet it? How do you greet so much of your life? All the memories, the laughter, the blood and sweat from my grandfather and his men who built this farm from the ground up. How do you greet something you love so much?
My kids will never know what it feels like to chase chickens. Swim in the farm pond. Take fresh greetings from the ground, rinse under the tap and eat fresh. They will never know how good it is to sit barefoot in the ground and bake mud cookies. The excitement of picking eggs and chasing cattle on the 4 wheelers does not. The smell of the farm. They will never draw their growth marks on the wall. (Our marks are still there, it’s probably going to be painted). How do I explain to them about The dust over the horizon, then you know exactly where you will find the cattle. The sounds of the field.
The feeling of the bush cracking under your feet.
There will forever be a piece of my heart on that piece of land. A part of us is gone. Just like that. A part of who we are.
Our country is one big mess.
My heart is broken.
Community needs death penalty back. Bt why lawmakers and famous ppl like business ones dont like it?