The Blind Man Society

Good morning everyone, this is the latest excerpt from my writing. It takes place at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. As always, any and all feedback is welcome regarding the story or writing. Thanks, and have a great day everyone!

Our truck was hauling ass down the deserted sunny road, and we drove by several villages. Brownish gray huts with thatched roofs sat elevated on stilts, with ladders leading up to the entrances (the local way of staying safe from lions). They flew by in a blur. Speakers set up in the cab blasted music, and from the way that people were gathered to see us as we drove by, it reminded me of the Ride of the Valkyries helicopter scene in Apocalypse Now.

As we drove we could see a white churning mist rising over a thousand feet into the sky…and we were still 15 miles away from Victoria Falls National Park in Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls was nicknamed the smoke that thunders and is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Thirty minutes later we arrived at the town and pulled into a campground.

The campground was a glorified parking lot, and immediately the Brits with us wanted to make “Eggy Bread” (French toast). So, we parked and took out the table and cooking supplies. People pigged out. There were monkeys all over the place and we gave them some food that had fallen on the ground. One grabbed some and sat to enjoy his snack, while another one snuck up and tried to steal it. The first monkey casually held his food while burying his fangs into the shoulder of the second. It shrieked, then ran away.

After eating, we walked over to the trail that led to the Falls. The mist was in the air and I could feel the vibrations. A friend and I emerged at the mouth of the trail where the ground fell away in a cliff, with the Falls dropping and smoky mist swirling through the air. The mouth of the largest waterfall in the world was a mile wide and almost four hundred feet tall. The air was thick with moisture and there were rainbows in the trees and on the ground from the constant mist and spray. It’s the only time in my life that I had one start and finish in the palm of my hand. I nicknamed it the land of rainbows.

Victoria Falls is also home to one of the most scenic bungee jumps in the world. Jumpers freefall 111 meters from the Victoria Falls bridge that separates Zambia from Zimbabwe into Batoka Gorge with the Falls in the background and the Zambezi river directly underneath. My friend and I were soaked to the bone from watching the Falls and made our way over to the bridge while our companion Ali flipped the mental quarter about jumping.

Ali was British. And proper. And conservative. So when she sat at the top of the bridge with her feet wrapped up and connected to the bungee, we were in shock. As the operators put her on to the dropping frame she took one look down and said No-wait-I change my mind!!! But it was too late. We heard a shriek and her screaming as she plummeted down. It was like turning the volume on her continuous screaming down to zero as she dropped out of earshot, then slowly turning it back up as the cord retracted. She never stopped. I took one look over the side and the Zambezi river beneath the bridge was the size of a string on a table. I got shivers and we looked over to see Alison hanging upside down and freaking out as they winched her back up.

We left the budding extremist and walked back to the campground. I headed for the internet café down the street. I sent my messages and then the two of us walked to the casino. I made my way to the blackjack tables. I cashed in US dollars and wound up with a couple 500 chips. Then I sat down and played a couple hands while a friend watched. I don’t know why, but I kept winning. Almost every hand. I quit when I was ahead and we headed to the bar to drink. Gin and tonics flowed freely and the air-conditioning was heaven.

We ended up leaving to go get some food. All the old blind street beggars who had little children leading them by the hand were in Wimpy’s hamburger joint on their lunch break. The men could all see and everyone was wolfing down food from the proceeds of the morning begging. They laughed as they talked. Then they all rose, the beggars put back on their dark sunglasses, became blind again and the children took their hands to lead them back out into the bright sunlit day.

We returned to the campsite to journal, sleep and then talked with other travelers that had arrived at the Falls. We ate dinner, and then walked over to a bar called Explorers. All the African river rafting guides were in there with their shirts off and flexing while the women looked on. One of the girls in our group fell for it and went over to talk with one of them.

We ended up drinking and dancing with the new group of overlanders and it was a great night. I met an Aussie and British girl and just had fun talking and dancing the night away. Finally we left the bar and wound up back at the casino, out on the dance floor. You would never guess you were in the middle of Zimbabwe from the interior of the casino. I felt like I was back in Wisconsin. Then we came home and crashed in our tents.

The next day we were free to wander and wound up back at the casino to fuel up on money again that morning. I won a couple hands of blackjack (which paid for about four more days) drank my gin and tonics and then we were out and back at the Falls. I stopped at a small stand and ate fried crocodile and French fries. A doctor in our group met a new girl and was busy day drinking scotch with her, my friend and I were busy talking about a girl he was head over heels with at the time and then we wound up at a small café. Some very beautiful Aussie girls were there and word had spread that I was a blackjack ace. So, they asked if they could come back to the casino with me the following day to get pointers and drink. I said sure.

That afternoon most of our companions went on a booze cruise on the Zambezi river. I just slept and journaled and when they returned, they were hammered. Ali was in the drunk “I love you man” stage and she told me that I was the first American that she’d met that she liked. I was happy because she was a tough nut to crack. Shortly, we wound up over at Explorers bar again. We were dancing, and when the song Land Down Under came on, Travis jumped up, said “Dee mind my pants,” and got up on the bar in his boxers to dance…it was pretty damn funny. We got drunk as monkeys that night and then crashed.