I am approaching blogging with much trepidation. Like all true-blue technophobes I am intimidated by this brave computerised new world and all the opportunities as well as pitfalls it brings with it. I have been warned that social media can become addictive, particularly for those with narcissistic tendencies who are forever checking up to see the number of thumbs-up icons they score. I have also been told you can purchase "followers or fans" for a small fee. Nothing would surprise me. It must be quite devastating to be in the wilderness of no response for months on end.
Perhaps blogging will get me into the habit of writing everyday. This at least will teach me to navigate my way about the computer and also examine my life more closely for subjects/topics to blog about. Otherwise your entire life can wash over your head like the surf at Coogee Beach.
But enough of my ramblings. I would like to introduce myself. My name is Michael Leibowitz and I was born in 1946. To me, my early childhood seems as fresh as this morning's breakfast, but to some of you I may seem as old as the pyramids.
Since then, my life has been a Tale of Three Cities: Johannesburg, Wellington (NZ) and Sydney.
Growing up in apartheid South Africa is an entire, complex saga in its own right, (which I don't want to dwell on in an introduction to my life), other than to say I met my wife, Jeannine, while we were both in the final year of our schooling. The longevity and novelty of our marriage brings me no end of satisfaction.
At university I studied medicine. Medicine was a demanding, difficult and confusing lover. While Medicine is an Art, it is at the same time a Science. This left me with a love of the clarity of thought which Science brings with it. Paradoxically I can see more beauty in Science than in Art, although Art claims to be the repository of beauty. But my kind of beauty appeals to the intellect rather than the soul, which says volumes about me.
After exploring several areas within Medicine, I settled on Dermatology to be my area of expertise. This I studied at Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto. Baragwanath Hospital was like a city of exotic diseases and for black patients only. It was vast, rambling institution (the biggest hospital in the Southern Hemisphere) and an island of goodwill in very troubled seas. Working there was a very happy time in my life.
As life became more and more intolerable in South Africa, we emigrated to New Zealand in 1988 (before the change in the South African government). I found adjustment to New Zealand much more difficult than did the other members of the family including my three daughters (Sheena, Vicki and Paula). For me the New Zealand years was a period of eclipse. Although having said that, perhaps a long period of dormancy was what I may have needed.
As our children started migrating to greener pastures in Australia, getting married and having children of their own, we emigrated yet again to Australia to re-establish the family. For us family is everything. Our life experience has brought us to that point. We intend to spend out the rest of our time living in Australia.
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