Jo Jo's Unlucky Line- Snapping Incident

“It’s going to be a stuff up! Shame upon South Africa! That’s what this monstrosity will cause, I can feel it!” bellowed Andrew Jenkinson. He was ranting about the soccer world cup as usual. Jenkinson loved to shout about social and political things.

“No boet, it’ll be amazing. It’s going to be an African world cup. Tourists have been coming here for donkeys ears. They love the place like it is. We can’t have a fancy Euro style tournament, because that’s not how things work around here. It’ll be perfect, you’ll see,” answered Ripley Amazondotcom.

They sat chatting in their flat, watching a fishing documentary: Rock Cod Diaries, the journey of Jo Jo La Patience.

“Don’t ‘no boet’ me. What about the taxi violence now? That’s just the beginning. You think this is going to stop any time soon? Those cretins need a bloody good hiding for tearing up the city! How could they burn clinics down? What will they do when the World Cup starts? Burn a stadium down?” Jenkison glared at his friend, expecting a decent response.

“It’s not that simple. The matter will be resolved before then. It has to be for everyone’s sake. Burning clinics down is outrageous…” said Ripley, gathering his thoughts.

“What for? It’s a no brainer. The taxis can mess off. What business do they have with the world cup?” asked Jenkinson.

Jo Jo La Patience was drifting over giant sea swells on the Pacific, sitting calmly in his speed boat with two rods dangling over the side and a pipe in his mouth.

“You’re not looking at the big picture. It’s like this,” said Ripley, “the BRT will exclude taxis during and after the 2010 Soccer bonanza. Who wouldn’t be hosed off about that? People across our country rely on taxis every day, and to exclude them from something this big is wrong. PE (and every other major city in SA) gears down from 5th to 1st gear without taxis. Failure to represent them during the World Cup shows an incomplete picture of our urban transport culture. The strike is completely understandable, but the violence is unacceptable. That much I agree with you on.” Less prone to ranting, Ripley based many of views on personal feelings.

“Don’t start your hippie none sense with me! They called off the strike after the army was deployed yesterday. They don’t have the courage of their convictions. If you’re going to make a point, make it and stand by your actions. This business of raising hell and then running away is cowardice,” said Jenkinson, going red in the face.

“That’s helluva swak. Again, I’m not saying I agree with the violence, but there has to be a way of making our country see that the BRT system excludes taxis. If they take the matter lying down, they’ll be left out,” said Amazondotcom.

Jo Jo La Patience watches his rod dipping. Suddenly he strikes! He’s got a beast on the end of his line, and starts reeling it in.

“No no no no. that’s horse kak. How can the taxi operators say they want to be a part of the world cup when they don’t form part of any system?” said Jenkinson.

“What do you mean?”

Suddenly Jo Jo other rod is dipping. He’s got two fish on the go is starting to look flustered.

“They don’t participate in anything orderly. How can they represent us on the global stage when taxis are a law unto themselves? They’re overloaded regularly, go through red lights, drive faster than the limit and sommer stop anywhere in the road so they can overload some more. How many drivers do you think have real licences, too?” Andrew Jenkinson took a deep breath, thinking he’d won the debate.

“That’s generalizing a bit,” answered Ripley Aamazondotcom, after a beat. "Besides, your parents bought you a car when you were seventeen and you drove it without a licence the whole year."

“That's completely different! Are you blind? That’s not generalization, boet! I just summed the whole lot up with a reporter’s accuracy!” exploded Jenkinson.

"Weren't you fined R800 last year for doing 170 down Cape Road?" asked Amazondotcom.


Jo Jo La Patience ’s lines snap. He’s lost both fish and is cursing the heavens. He sits back down and baits up again.

"Shut up, man. You're such a bunny hugger." said Jenkinson.

“That was close, ey? Jo Jo almost bagged two in one,” said Ripley.

“Ja, lank close. It’s almost impossible to do though. You can only fight one big fish at a time,” said Andrew.

“True story. Ching to see who drives to the shop?" answered Ripley Amazondotcom, turning the volume up to hear Jo Jo’s post line-snapping analysis.