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Part 3: "Gumboots"
North Miami Beach, FL 2-4- 2001 Aaron H.
Schectman
THINKING ALLOWED
Essays on issues, ideas and reflections on the times. Published now and
then, Opinions pro or con are welcome.
PART 3: "GUMBOOTS"
Bringing Ruth southward to the doubtful writer's haven in Hotel Edison in
South Beach involved getting down there easily but the traffic was
terrifying going back up north. We decided not to use the I 95-traffic lot
and go up Biscayne. We got on a northbound street that turned out fine. We
saw pieces of Florida we did not know existed and were charmed by some of
the neighborhoods. Biscayne would have been booby-trapped by traffic lights
anyway.
That was two days ago. Yesterday we went to Ruach study where the
observations, opinions and pronouncements flew much to our great enjoyment.
There was merriment and, as usual, some participants were the butt of well
directed darts of shrewd plays on words.
Later that day we took our current old sellers and drove up to Fort
Lauderdale to see a show called GUMBOOTS. We got there early to get a good
parking space and learned of a better one just across the road which would
have been in the shade. But we kept the air conditioning on and read for a
bit.
"Gumboots" refers to the rubber "Wellington" boots supplied to miners in
South Africa by the owners who spent little on pumping out the water which
rose to bedevil the workers who sometimes were shackled to their stations
miles underground. They were forbidden to speak and worked out a sort of
Morse code of stamping their feet and slapping their bodies and the boots to
communicate.
The dancers of the Gumboots of today reprised the conditions on the stage in
front of us. A line of workers in blue pants with colorful belts and
bandanas around their heads stamped bare-chested and slapped away on their
bodies to rhythms of music composed of tribal chants and stories telling of
their troubles. You can't help shedding tears and standing at the end to
cheer the performers.
Since it has stopped raining and the sun is out I will get on my bike and
take a turn around North Miami Beach. I tried to go out earlier but found
liquid Florida sunshine.
Later we will probably go to see a movie we missed the first time around at
the $2.00 theater in the California Club Mall. Carol's Evaluation:10 out of
10. Carol also says: "We do keep busy"
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