Meet my brother, Jerry as he continues his travels in Africa. This photo was taken in Zambia. My brother is on the left.
Jerry travels to Africa frequently because of his work with SHAREAFRICA, an organization helping AIDS orphans. SHARE builds schools and feeds, houses and provides clothing for over 200 orphans in Kenya. (For more information, see the website: shareafrica.org.)
After a recent trip to Kenya he and his companion, Usha, took a side trip : a safari in Zambia. One afternoon while sitting on a restaurant’s verandah eating lunch, a monkey suddenly swooped out of a tree, landed on their table and grabbed a piece of pizza out of Usha’s hand. The restaurant manager observed this interaction and came to their table with his apology.
“I’m sorry about that monkey disturbing you, he said. “I am going to assign a special guard to you so you will not be bothered by animals any more. He will stand by your table until you finish your meal.”
And he did. The fierce looking guard in the photo did an admirable job and they were no longer interrupted by animals during that meal. The animals seemed to know this guard, and stayed clear of him. At the end of the pleasant, peaceful lunch Jerry said to the Zulu, “I would like to thank you. You have done a wonderful job protecting us. I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Jerry.”
“What?” said the Zulu. “That cannot be true. MY name is Jerry.” And then he asked in all sincerity,”Why did your parents give you an African name?”
MorristownMemos 
Comments on: "THAT CAN’T BE YOUR NAME" (39)
I could feel all the superficial differences between the two men dissolve in that last paragraph. Instant connection. Very sweet.
I hope Jerry wasn’t eating or drinking anything the moment Man 2 spoke. It would have caused a need for performing an immediate Heimlich maneuver.
I laughed out loud at the Zulu asking your bro why his parents gave him an African name! Thanks for the story!
We did too! The funniest moments come from true stories~
Wonderful story, the was so interesting.
Thank you, Indira, for your comment and for stopping by my blog.
What a great story 🙂 I love it and the work your brother does is admirable!
Thank you, Mimo; he started this work after he retired from his regular job.
Ronnie: I was so hoping you were going to say that your brother was the guy on the right :)! Now that would have been an intriguing story, although the one you told was fun and very cool. A monkey snatching the pizza from one’s hand is a story that lives on and on and a Zulu guide with the same name is a perfect punchline. Great story.
Eleanor, I wish I were clever enough to invent that story. But facts are stranger than fiction, as the saying goes!
I agree with you–maybe they did love your brother more! 🙂
Maybe your parents traveled to Zambia before your brother was born! LOL…loved this story!
Thanks for the problem solving possibilities about why my parents didn’t give me an African name!
Place of my birth! Beautiful country!
Is it true that Jerry is an African name?
That is brilliant, what a great line, the guy had class.. thank you for telling me to pop over..,, you were right i loved this. Now about that monkey, it would like my barn ,, c
You could take your pick of any of the hundreds of monkeys that roam around town…
HAHAHA! THat was a wonderful story. And what a wonderful brother you have! Thanks for making me smile today!
He does make everyone smile; check out his response to the story several comments down!
Fun story 🙂 Thanks for the smile.
The funniest stories are often the true ones.
If your brother, Jerry, has your sense of humor, I’d love to have heard his response. Funny story.
He must have been too bowled over to think of one.
Great story. What are the odds?!
Maybe google would know the answer to that!
LOL! Such a wonderful story on so many levels!
Thanks, Lisa; we all had a good laugh when he told us about it.
What a wonderful story. Lucky you for having such a special brother. There must be a million stories in his heart. Thanks for sharing.
He does enrich my life with his stories.
Haha, loved it and you described it so well, Ronnie! Having lived in Kenya and learnt Swahili, here’s a big ‘Jambo, rafiki!’ to Jerry …to the both of them! 🙂
I love the “Jambo Rafiki” expression. I didn’t know you were born in Zambia; you must also have many wonderful stories.
Hi,
What a lovely story, and it did bring on a smile. 😀
I smile every time I think about it.
What a delightful interaction.
Thank you so much, and thanks for commenting.
Thank you Ronnie for telling that story so accurately. What I don’t understand however is why our parents didn’t also give you an African name.
Maybe they loved you more!
Oh my goodness, that is hilarious!
I thought so, too; and so unexpected!