Book 25: Streets Paved with Gold

The first of these two stories is a humorous account of a shoe-shine man who has set up business outside the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. While he polishes his customers’ shoes, the man gives them advice about stocks and shares. Nearly all his customers work in the financial hub of the city and many are stockbrokers themselves. What are the chances that a boot-black has inside information on stocks and shares and what are the chances that a high-powered broker will act on his advice? The narrator in this story did not take his advice and came to regret it later.
The second story is a serious look at how we see our culture, our identity and our race. Our past is composed of history handed down by our forebears. But, sometimes history is inaccurate. Sometimes it is coloured by the pen of the writer. It depends on who is writing history as to who the good guys are and who the bad guys. Science can help. Modern technology can unscramble our genetic past. Science can tell us who we really are. But, do we actually want to know the truth? It might contradict the history handed down to us by our forebears.