wRiting
(archives)
Recognition
Record
(academic)
Roots
Residence
Rogues
(gallery)
HOME
The life
& times
of
Warren Swil
V 2 |
All work and no play makes
‘Jack’ a dull boy.
Ain’t that true!
Balancing work with life’s other activities has been a top priority.
|
My favorite forms of recreation, in a rough order of
preference, are skippering a
yacht, motorcycle riding,
tending my garden and playing
with my dog, Franky. I used
to be an avid – and moderately good – skier,
hitting the slopes at least once every season from 1972 until I broke my
leg in 1990. |
| My first time aboard a smallish yacht was in 1974. It
was a dream assignment: I was sent for the Cape Times on seven-day cadet
training course, to write a feature for publication on my return. It was
a 55-foot sloop, crew of three and six students. We sailed out of Simonstown
harbor near Cape Point - about 30 miles |
Skippering 'Seamist,'
July 1999
southeast of Cape Town - for Cape Agulhas, the
southern most tip of Africa. more
... |
I’ve been a biker since I bought a Yamaha 125 to commute
around Johannesburg in 1974. It’s a wonderful sport, requiring such total
concentration that it turns out to be mentally cleansing and, indeed relaxing.
You’ve got to focus so carefully on what you’re doing – a motorcycle is
an unforgiving machine – that all your problems and worries are relegated
to |
Riding a pick-up-put-down skill event in 1989, winning
first place sweepstakes trophy. Check out all that silver!
the subconscious. Of course, the sensory experience is
another main attraction. |
| Gardening is another form of relaxation I find thoroughly
therapeutic. I concentrate on growing mostly things of beauty rather than
utility, though I’ve had some bumper crops of tomatoes and my lemon tree
has fruit ready for picking nine months of the year.
The gladioli are my favorite. I’ve got more than 100 bulbs
in now, and add more annually. They seem to get better every year, as they’re
supposed to. They make such wonderful cut flowers, so during their short
blooming season – April through early June in Southern California – I have
many more than I can possibly enjoy. So, I give them as gifts to anyone
I think will appreciate them; they make a wonderful gift, especially since
the recipient usually knows how much time, effort and love goes into making
them. more ...
|
My other great passion is Franky, my best
friend for the past eight years. She’s a high-energy bundle of joy, loved
by all who have the pleasure of meeting her, and a favorite at the Laurel
Canyon Dog Park - the first and best off-leash park in Los Angeles – where
we’ve both been going since 1991 more
....
.
|
|
