“You bet on a donkey and squandered a whole month’s hard earned wages. Honestly!”

 

Cousin Jim pushed his plate back and stood up. Breakfast was over and he has had his say. Again. He was leaving for Church. He groomed himself for every service. Hair brushed. Tailor made suit in black. Black shoes shining. He was a man of God. A formidable purpose driven man, who denied himself the folly of mere mortals. But was my gambling a folly?

 

There’s nothing like the Durban July horse racing event on the calendar. During breaks, doing maintenance work on the railroad, my co-workers and I discussed the winning potential of each horse. Our discussions were irrational. Some preferred to choose the winning horse, by the power of dreams while asleep. Some said it was the year of the mare. Others held that the prime favourite according to the bookies, was invincible. It didn’t matter how you arrive at the number of the horse you have chosen. Winning and losing were out of the hands of mere mortals.

 

A mixture of greed and dreaminess, decided me on the horse with the highest odds. Mervin’s Folly, the horse was aptly called. I got the stallion at 25 to 1. And bet a full $500 on it. I laid the bet two weeks prior to the race. Then I dreamed about what I was going to do with the thousands I was going to win: my very first house; no more donkey work on the railroad; a rare visit to see Jamie at the coast; and last, but not least - the bragging rights!

 

Mervin’s Folly ran stone last and my money was gone. Yet, the experience was good, while I lived in anticipation.

 

I looked at Jim’s empty chair. He’s so deceived, I thought. Gambling induces dreaming in me, and that could be folly, it’s true. But is it a vice? For all practical purposes Jim was the biggest gambler. He of all people should have understood. Especially with his high expectations of Heaven, when no heavenly reward was assured!