I met a man

who is from Zimbabwe and is a photog here at the Games. His name is Alexander Joe. We were sitting close to each other on the bus on the way home last night. I struck up a conversation with him. I asked him what he covered and he told me wars. He is known as the Conflict Photog for AFP. He has covered 26 of them. So I asked him what the toughest war he covered was. He said they have all been tough but then indicated that the way in Bruni was the toughest. He was always wearing a 26 pound flap jacket and more. It was not much fun. He said he went down once prostrate on the ground and took 30 minutes to get up...so he decided after that he would always 'kneel' if he had to go down again. He knelt a lot.

I asked him what his favourite story was that he covered. He surprised me and told me the Coronation of the King of Swaziland some 20 years ago. It is a private ceremony but in the end he and a couple of others were inside. They were invited to sit down and so he did. He sat down and then realized his pants were now wet. He had just sat in a pile of Cow Dung but he was there covering the story and was inside. He said it was special since it was the last time there had been a true South African traditional ceremony for a Coronation. He is afraid that the West will Westernize their ceremonies.

This is his first Olympics and he is shooting Volleyball for AFP. He has been doing this for 26 years. He wants to retire and live with his wife in Mozembique {sp}. He is currently in JoBurg.

Anyway...a fun ride home on the bus last night.