"Hey, That Reminds Me Of..."

"Wait... No, It Doesn't. Never Mind."

Thanks to all who posted such nice comments about my 1000 word Take Two tale. I'm flattered by the comparisons to Rudyard Kipling, who I count as one of my favorite authors. Though I have a copy of his collected works within arm's reach of the iMac, I have to confess that he was the furthest author from my mind when I wrote the piece.

I got bitten by the Africa bug at a very early age. I read a condensed version of a Peter Hathaway Capstick lion story in Reader's Digest when I was probably no more than 7 or 8 years old, and it set the hook for a long-term Africana addiction. From there, it was short hop to the books of Robert Ruark, Daniel Carney, Wilbur Smith, "Karamojo" Bell, Ernest Hemingway and especially P.H. Capstick. He's always been my favorite, and it was he who I was (quite blatantly!) imitating in the Take Two effort. Capstick was a Yank who spent many years in Africa as a professional hunter, or, as he called it, a 'Professional Small Boy". He wrote columns for men's sporting and adventure magazines before turning out books on hunting, African legends and his own experiences.

It pains me to report that he's issued his last book almost a decade ago, when he passed over into the Happy Hunting Grounds in 1996. It's a damned shame, as he would have made an excellent blogger.

Do your kids or husband/wife (or yourself!) a favor and buy them a copy of Capstick's Death In A Dark Continent. You won't be disappointed!