... third man missing?
Trip Start
May 16, 2007
1
8
25
Trip End
Jul 28, 2007
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Friday, June 1, 2007
Seems empty - we're lacking One around here.
Kebour noticed right away.
He drove Jon to the airport, then visited his office - returned and found us both on the couch
"You both look depressed."
Oy! The boy is gone. Where did the soldier go? work.. grr.
It started raining the other day. Approaching Addis. Gorgeous big bolts of lightning.
Its just started thundering again this afternoon. It grumbles ominously powerfully, like a lion.
Which reminds me. Yesterday we were at the lion zoo here in Addis.
The lions are all descendents of Hale Selassie's pet lions. They're big. And you can get really really close to them. Like a couple inches away, seperated by a cage. We took pictures with Jon's awesome camera, so when I get'em, I'll post them.
Lions are so cool.
If things work out with the land up in the north - it looks like we'd make an internet cafe, that is also really a cafe. We'd make a garden, and a mini zoo like park.
And guess what we just may have?
A lion.
And a lioness, cuz the lion couldn't be alone.
Unbelievable - that we all agreed so easily on all of the ideas.
Anyway, I used to study wild cats - thought I was gunna go into zoology back in the day. Before I realized how much I disliked biology. Let alone zoology.
Still like cats though. I studied a bit about animal behavior. Have had some first hand experience handling big cats.
We'd have to acquire'em under the right circumstances - ethically, humanely, and I'd want a young guy to start out with. But it could definitely be done.
The idea would be market the whole property/park/cafe in the themes and myths surrounding the family history.
We'd have a lion because of a family story (myth, I'd say) involving a lion.
We'd have snakes ( oy!) b/c of family connections to them.
We'd name drinks served, the cafe etc after different kings etc
It would be cool.
A lot of work.
But would be cool.
Anyway. That is not what I was going to write about. What was I going to write about?
I want to write about Kebour. He's the generous host who has let us stay in his home here in Addis.
Kebour is a childhood friend of dad's. Its remarkable to me - the eclectic group of people who emerged from this one school here is Addis - and the things they're all up to now. How many of them still keep in some sort of contact.
Kebour, my Dad, and a guy named Danny were apparently like the three musketeers. Best of friends.
In the past, what I'd known of Kebour were these tiny delicious details. I'd met him once at my Aunt Yasmina's house in Washington DC, and I remember being told he worked for some company that seemed rather respectable. He'd been in politics. And almost like a dream - I remember this detail being told me - that somehow in the habesha community - he was rather famous. So famous - that the story I remember being told to me was of him stepping into some elevator in DC, and a woman either actually fainting, or nearly fainting. And something about people crowding him, blessing him about this or that or the other. So he was someone who garnered a lot of attention.
Then when I was 19, and first travelled to Ethiopia, I recall visiting his house with Yasmina. And we went somewhere to hang out for a while, eat some pasta.
I think I may have seen him once since then. When in DC.
So Sunday the 20th I'm sitting in my hotel eating breakfast, deciding what to do with my last day before Jon and Dad arrive. Who walks in? Kebour.
Picture a tall man, the color of a cafe mocha, shaved head, always either semi formally, or rather formally dressed, middle aged. Soft spoken, but extraordinarily confident, who is very very kind, and hospitable.
I've adopted him. I haven't told him yet. But he's a new uncle.
I like talking to him. He's politically inclined, intelligent, well travelled and currently working for the Red Cross ( amongst other things) in the realm of supplies.
Right away he's at my side, eating breakfast. And off we went to see his place - to guess whether there was room for us all to stay in his home.
Which there was, and it's been home base ever since.
I had totally forgotten about the stories - that he was famous amongst ethiopians etc. So, Sunday night I'm waiting for my car to arrive to take me to the airport to pick up my family, and the guys who work at the hotel downstairs - ask me if its true that Kebour and I had breakfast that morning. They were so excited, so impressed, so intrigued.
Anyway. He is an enigmatic person.
I feel like I'm learning, just by being in his presence.
