On the first trip I ever took to South Africa back in 2004 for a wine press junket to Cape Town, I booked a separate personal trip to Jo’burg to visit a dear friend who made sure I saw the Mandela House in Soweto (where Mandela lived from 1946–1962). Equally importantly, they made sure I took the long-ish, splishy-splashy, bumpy boat ride out to Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of his total 27 years of imprisonment and subjugation—confined in a 2 X 2 meter cell whenever he (and other prisoners) weren’t being forced to work tirelessly and tediously in the island’s lime quarries. Which means that a man of his 6ft + stature could barely stretch out without his head and feet hitting the concrete walls. For 18 years.
It was disturbing to stand outside of his cell, peering in, trying to imagine how such a tall man endured “living” in a “room” not long enough for him to ever stretch out in when he slept. Yes, for 18 years. It was even more disheartening to learn details on Madiba’s food rations that the prison parceled out to him which were tied to a tiered hierarchy of quality and quantity based on RACE…Yes, with his classification as ‘Black’ falling on the very bottom of that tier. CONTINUE READING HERE IF YOU WANT ‘THE TEA’ on the meager sub par food rations Nelson Mandela received while held captive on Robben Island between 1964 and 1982…
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✨🎂✨ BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE BIRTHDAY LOVE TODAY! ✨🎂✨
Speaking of food and its intrinsic connection to our health and well being— Mr. Mandela isn’t the only spectacular sou we’re celebrating on this July 18th! I absolutely must send a mega-magnificent Happy Birthday shout-out to one of my fave fab foodies, culinary cronies, and fellow Cancerian Culinarian, the incomparable Karen Josephs, MPH! 🦀👩🏿🍳
Karen truly is "The Voice of Health & Wellness"—a phenomenal Plant-Positive Culinary Nutrition Educator, voiceover artist, and resilient co-author of You Can Overcome Anything!. But what I deeply admire and appreciate most about Karen is her beautiful, bounty-filled brain and heart. As the Founder of The Beautifully Fed Collective and its wonderful daily companion Zoom + Bloom, she has crafted the ultimate, uplifting online co-working space that brings creative-minded change-makers together to spark new opportunities and get things done. 🌺✨
Raising a glass to you today, Karen: Thank you for bringing so much boundless joy, harmony, and happiness to the communities you’ve created and to everyone blessed to know you. Wishing you the happiest of birthdays —Cheers to you and how you continue to make the world a more beautiful, beautifully-fed place! 🥂🎈
This very large wall mural painting of Mandela stopped me in my tracks on a stroll in Williamsburg, Brooklyn some moons ago. I have no context whatsoever for the image (when or where it was taken) but he looks so happy. And the quote is fab too…
