Through the lens of Bruce - Part 1
- Aug 6
- 5 min read
Introduction
As the world continues rotating at approximately 1,670 km/h most of us are probably unaware of how fast things are moving. Our lives are equally moving forward probably much quicker than we realise, days turn into months, then years, and eventually, the credits of 'the movie' roll. So you might ask, how do we gain perspective when everything is moving so fast? Maybe part of the answer lies with our elders, maybe their stories can provide perspective. I would imagine its a conversation worth having, a practice worth cultivating. So lets start looking through the lens of Bruce.
Early Life and Background
Bruce was born in 1947, no ordinary year on the world scale, an intense year for geopolitical shifts, many of which still play out in 2026. The second eldest son to a father who served in the South African Air Force (SAAF) during World War 2, Bruce spent his early formative first 5 years living in a WWII ex-servicemen’s camp in Pollsmoor, Cape Town, South Africa. Today Pollsmoor is better known for its infamous prison and its notable inmates during Apartheid, including the late Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. However, at the time that Bruce lived in the area, he recalls a childhood which was perhaps a stark contrast to the average middle class Gen Z (children born after the year 2000) childhood of today. He recalls significant freedom of exploration from early on, from walking, and even hunting in wild bushed areas, fishing and diving in False Bay from as young as 5 years of age. This freedom allowed for self-awareness and learning through experience, which he contrasts with modern children who are often restricted and engaged more with digital devices than outdoor activities. Exploration provided first hand experience and lessons that cannot be taught, nor replaced through any formal curriculum.
After School
Bruce later moved to Fish Hoek which further enriched his inclination towards exploring nature, and taking lessons along the way. He completed his BSc in Agriculture (Pomology and Botany) at Stellenbosch University, and thereafter took a year off to work aboard the steam trains as a stoker. During this time on the trains he recalls a near miss incident with some high voltage power cables which really shook him to his core.
After the time on the trains he continued his pursuit with his agricultural endeavours, starting as a junior scientist at the Fruit Research Institute in the early 1970's for a period of 4 years. Thereafter he was invited to join the well known Italian, Carlo Castiglione (Read: ‘The Guide to Extra Virgin Olive Oil in South Africa‘ 2013 ), who he had come to know through work at the Fruit Research Institute. On the olive farm he gained experience in olive cultivation, later managing the farm which produced well known olive oil under the award winning "Vesuvio" brand.
Bruce however was not content, his mind was eager to know more, he always had a driving belief that he needed to be self sufficient, in other words if you drop him off in the middle of nowhere he will find his feet, and not find his way home, but rather build his home where he finds himself. He had felt that on the farm something which he really needed to know more about was electricity, perhaps his core shaking near miss event working onboard the steam trains had also ignited a curiosity to understanding more about electricity, and so it was that he attempted to obtain a formal education in electrical studies. He recalls his application to enlist at the West Lake Trade Training Centre being a challenge, in that the college was not for people who already had university degrees, in Bruce's words "the college was for people that were like battling in life, you know, ex-prisoners or, you know, convicts and stuff like that", but Bruce was committed to knowledge, and so approaching a local politician to assist in a motivation to the Secretary of Labour at the time, his application to the college was granted.
The lure that cost more than four rand...
During his electrical training Bruce found a gap over the term holidays to travel up country in his Renault 16TS. He visited friends who were farming banana's in Tzaneen with the intent of getting some fishing under the belt.
So it was on the Tzaneen dam that two large black bass were avoiding his lure, Bruce decided to try and jig them, but ended up jigging his lure into a rock and getting it stuck. Now if you consider at the time a lure could be as much as R4, in comparison to a loaf of bread which was 30 cents, there was no way that Bruce wanted to leave his lure with the rock, so he did what most self respecting fisherman would've done, he dived in to retrieve his lure. Later that evening Bruce was relaying the experience in conversation with a local doctor, the doctor's response hit home, "you are going to almost certainly as the sun will rise tomorrow, contract Bilharzia from that swim". Bilharzia, or schistosomiasis, for those who don't know is a parasitic disease caused by flatworms, a major public health issue in tropical and subtropical regions, second only to malaria in Africa.
The doctors prediction soon rang true and Bruce started to feel the effects of the disease, extreme brain fog, and fatigue set in, Bruce suffered the effects for a couple of years, being treated on and off as symptoms persisted. During this time he experienced two blackouts after exercise due to the cardiotoxic nature of the medication prescribed to treat the Bilharzia. These moments that challenge one's health are confronting on multiple levels, it can push one's resolve, and even will to live, but can also be a catalyst for reaching deeper into one's understanding of the sensitivity of the human body and its responses to its environment, often spurring on new ways of living, and more appreciation of good health. As the saying goes "health is wealth".
Bruce went on to complete his training becoming a qualified electrician, completing his major apprenticeship with Union Steel in Vereeniging. It was up here that he also invested in his first K1 canoe and started a passionate paddling affair with the Vaal dam, and its rivers. Paddling at night after work, and whenever he could, shooting the chute's, and connecting to the ruggedness of the nature that surrounded him. A paddling affair that would make various appearances later on, perhaps the paddling was just the vehicle that transported Bruce into a world he felt deeply connected to, and ocean of infinite possibilities....
Part 1 of 2 - Interlude
As I was putting this piece together life's wave washed over me, chemotherapy, and a liver transplant, and Bruce's older brother Uncle John has been admitted to hospital. At the age of 80 John Davis, the quieter unassuming, Fisher of men, an eager Fisherman, a night duty nurse at Groote Schuur Orthopaedic ward for 30 years, another branch on this family tree, John like Bruce grew up in the bush, with every skill developed and honed to be completely self sustaining, a deep intellect and even deeper thoughtfulness, bordering on genius, probably on the spectrum in todays times, but in older wiser times grounded to real life, living free!! John suffered from petit mal seizures in his early married life, now officially called an absence seizure, possibly caused from numerous child illness events, but not fully understood, it effected him, perhaps pushed him towards a life in the service of others as a nurse. Only God knows, but he is a brilliant man...If God allows Part 2 coming soon...for now enjoy part 1 - Through the lens of Bruce.
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