The real me is a latent glamour girl who went to university to study agriculture – a farmer in high heels.
I’m a 6th generation South African who immigrated to Canada alone at 26 and made a great life for myself.
I have never wanted children – I live in abject terror of the suburbs, bake sales and carpools.
I like to be the center of attention. I like entertaining people and making them laugh.
I love spending time alone.
I befriend others who also dance to the beat of their own drum.
I love horse-riding, dressing up, dinner parties, chocolate, Scotch and storytelling.
Animals make my heart melt.
At 45, I am learning to fly airplanes. Why? - Because it challenges me and scares me.
I say NO to fur and factory farming.
I do not require a spouse to make me happy. The ideal relationship for me is one in which the man’s bathroom habits forever remain a mystery.
Because I have good taste and I want to share it with you.
Because I have great stories and I want to entertain you.
Because I have courage and guts and I want to motivate and inspire you.
I love to tell stories around the dinner table – my real life stories. I can’t even count how many times someone has responded with “You should write a book!”
At a cocktail party at our development in Mexico in the winter of 2008, I was having a conversation with a Canadian woman and a young Mexican man, Oswaldo, who worked for the Homeowners Association. The woman asked me how I went from being a 6th Generation South African to a proud Canadian. I gave a brief version of the story of my immigration. When I was done, I looked at Oswaldo and he had tears in his eyes. “You should write a book”, he said.
I was blown away by the fact that I had moved a young man from a totally different culture to tears with just one of my many stories. I thought “Wow, I guess I really can tell a story – who cares if I can write well or not, I’ll just try to write as I talk”. That night, I sat down at my desk under the pallapa of our bedroom in beautiful Punta Mita, looked out at the magnificent Pacific Ocean, felt the breeze and started to write.