Yeah, I stole that. I do that a lot. But it fits this post so well..
When several very astute and alert people in our Group saw that brief glimpse of a
Penn State Track jacket at the Mandela Funeral in South Africa, the question went out. "Who is it?"
It wasn't long until he was identified via the email listserv. But then it ended...
I wanted to know more. And as someone who has taken it upon himself to try to "herd cats" and unite all PSU Track and Field/XC Alumni, I had to find out more.
Well, I was successful. And in the Spirit of this Season, it brings a measure of Hope with it.
Nelson Mandela is rightly seen by many around the world as South Africa's
George Washington. And that doesn't demean either one of them, it actually enhances each of them. Both were given the opportunity to become
"Kings" following long durations of suffering and
"battles" lost. But when given the opportunity, both said "no" and ruled with magnanimity, compassion and wisdom. Take a look at the trajectories of South Africa and Zimbabwe, and you know how much Mandela means to the world.
It turns out that it was
Tim Webb, Class of 1990 High Jumper, Triple Jumper and Long Jumper who was there for that brief snippet on NBC News. But I've written posts on much less than that snippet. Hence, this post.
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| Tim Webb, Class of 1990. |
I got in touch with Tim via the wonderful part of the Internet and got the opportunity to find out more about the whole thing. I'll just give you what he emailed me:
I came to visit my American Family in Johanesburg for thanksgiving.
Once I got the news on the 5th of December I was compelled to extend my
stay.
My family friend Ricardo Gressel was my host and his wife is a long term
ANC supporter. They built a Mandela garden in their front yard and
every night we lit candles and sung freedom songs. What is unique about
this is they live in a majority white neighborhood and they wanted to
let their neighbors and community know that they could celebrate Madiba
life with them as he was a man for all the people no matter what the
color. See attached picture.
On Tuesday we left at 4:40 am in the morning on the local train to
FNB stadium in Soweto where the Memorial Service for the public was
held. This was an awesome and unique experience as the family and other
comrades as they boarded the train sang and danced on the train all the
way to the Stadium gates at 6:00 am for a program that did not start
till noon. This was amazing to see the unity and togetherness and love
for Madiba. To top it off our president did an excellent Job! See
pictures of Obama on Screen and my family who attended as well.
Unfortunately the Funeral event was VIP so I did not make it to the
burial. However every night including Sunday we lit candles and song
freedom songs. We also visited Mandela home as well to lay flowers and
pay our respects.
I have made t shirts we want to sell for $20 dollars with $5.00 going
to Mandela Children's Foundation. See the picture at Nelson Mandela
house.
On a different note I have been to SA many times as a Fellow of the
Emerging Leaders Program organized by Former Ambassador to South Africa
Jim Joseph and Duke University and The University of Capetown in 2004
and several times thereafter upto 2006. This was my first time back in 7
years. I intend to come home for the holidays and return to SA to work
on housing development and other ventures.
If you can, I would appreciate it if you could get that clip for me. Also tell Rodger Williams I said HI!
