Le Weekly #13 – Leopard Picture 🐆
One quote, one word, one story, one neigh from Philosophical Horse and one question.
Greetings everyone. Happy Monday!
Take a moment to reflect on each snippet. Comment your thoughts below.
Le Quote 🗣
“The best glass is the one in front of you” – Elvis Sigidi (of Culture Wine Bar)
Le Word 💬
best (adjective). of the most excellent or desirable type or quality.
Le Shoutout 🧣
When you walk through Keurboom Park, there is so much to take in: dogs being walked, sports being played, paths being stepped, trees being climbed, prams being pushed, skies being flown, fields being mown, and so on.
Sandwiched between the park’s “wild grass area” and the Rondebosch Boys High School sports fields, Arise & Grind Coffee Co. slings expresso shots from out the back of a VW Caddy into the hands of suspecting customers.
While their coffee is great, the team behind the van is even better. It’s one of my favourite places in the world right now.
Shoutout Seth, Zak and Tau.
Le Story ✍️
It was a normal weekday.
A half-naked man was sitting on my left.
A half-naked man was sitting on my right.
There I was, stuck in the middle, trying to avoid the view.
As always, we were all enjoying the sauna.
Between the three of us, an array of murmurs, grunts and sighs could be heard as we wrestled with the hot air trapped inside the small wooden room.
Blood was pumping through our foreheads. The clock was moving slowly. The world outside was two metres away, and escape was possible, but, sometimes, you only achieve the benefits if you stay.
The man on my right said something. I asked him to repeat himself because I hadn’t heard him due to the heartbeat beating in my ears. So he repeated himself.
“I was just mentioning that I’m feeling stiff from playing Padel earlier, but apparently the sauna is the best thing for recovery.”
“Indeed”, I said. “Where did you play Padel?”
“The one on Palmboom Road.”
“Ah, that’s a nice one.”
And then we spoke about Padel for a while. We spoke about the shoes you need. We spoke about the game itself. I mentioned I was surprised by my ability to play semi-decently after just two games. He said it was because I was a sportsman and have youth in my bones. I told him he still has youth in his bones.
“The thing is,” he continued, “I get so excited and try and go for every ball. But I know that if I stretch too far, I will injure myself. And then, if I injure myself, I won’t be able to play for a long time. So sometimes I won’t go for a ball if I know it’s too far away, preventing injury.”
“So, you’d prefer to—”
“—I’d prefer to sacrifice one point if it means I can play a hundred more.”
Le Submission 📧 *BONUS*
by Cher Petersen
The other day, Mike told me a story from Limpopo. Topic? A tactic used to keep monkeys at bay.
The story starts at an outside table. A group of local Limpoponian farm workers were sitting, drinking, and chatting on Christmas day. Next to the table, about two metres away, a troop of monkeys sat together, chatting, too.
After observing the troop for a while, Mike looked across the table and asked the Limpoponians if the monkeys ever got annoying.
“So annoying,” was the response. Yet, although annoying, no one chased them away. The monkey business was simply accepted as part of life. Living in the middle of the bush will do that to a person.
Then, someone at the other table stood up and disappeared into his house.
“Watch this,” his friend said.
After a minute or two, the person reappeared with a massive framed picture of a leopard. He smiled, chuckled and then leant the frame against a tree.
Immediately, all of the monkeys said “No”, retreating to the trees nearby.
This got me thinking—what a ridiculous reaction by our little primate relatives. Frightened by a mere photograph of a leopard? I can’t relate. But then it dawned on me that maybe they’ve got the right idea. Maybe it is safer to be cautious when any form of visual threat appears. Why not?
I can look a red flag in the eye and still manage to ignore it. These little monkeys, however, have such an attuned sense of their surroundings that a fake leopard picture is enough to make them act accordingly.
I once ignored my intuition after finding a string of suspicious texts on my partner’s phone. I ignored those texts for a couple of years when, instead, I should have taken the monkey’s cue and ran! If I had channelled enough leopard-picture energy, it would have saved me a tonne of heartache and kept my dignity and pride intact. But, alas.
So, now I wonder, why do we always judge the decision-making of others so quickly but never listen to ourselves?
Should we be inspired by the monkey’s heightened sense of danger, should we tap into monkeymode more often, or should we be happy that we can differentiate real danger from danger that gets printed out and leant against a tree?
Le Neigh from Philosophical Horse 🐴
“Neigh” – Philosophical Horse.
Le Question 🤔
What are your favourite places in the world at the moment?
Have a great Monday, everyone!
Previous Newsletters:
(Remember to send this to someone who you think would enjoy Le Weekly)
#12 – Clare's Exhalations 🌸
#11 – Boiled Potatoes 🥔
#10 – Back Shampoo 🧼
#09 – Muscular Swallows 🐦
#08 – Long Wood 🪵
#07 – Impactful Leaf 🍃
#06 – Vulnerable Ankles 🦵
#05 – Sea Sea TV 📸
#04 – Treadmill Queue 💦
#03 – Lemonade 🍋
#02 – Meat Factory 🥩
#01 – Woolworths Maternitywear 👚
Your stories make me notice / appreciate mundane interactions :)
Le Weekly has really become a reminder to me of the importance of active listening. The glass in front of you seems always half full of rich stories - thank you for sharing what’s inside!