The story starts here: The Story of this Motley Crew – part II – TheGreatReset(of2020) (thegreatreset-thorn.com)
He is an enigma. He keeps to himself, knows how to survive in the veld eating from the bounty of nature, and works harder than any of the young men on the team.
When there is a debate on site, whether a raging clash of ideologies, or a philosophical debate about the nature of decline of political parties, he will get a far off look in his eyes, like he is gathering filaments of information from all corners of the world, and then he weaves his response into a well-considered mantle of knowledge.
Very much use or lose it. And mostly, it is wise to use it.
Not much is known about his past. And for some strange reason, not many people have attempted an interrogation. So, this would be the crumbs where we pick up his story. Or rather, his stories.
Some say he was raised by wolves. Having drifted down river as a toddler on a raft constructed of old pallets, not crying, accompanied by a flock of twittering birds, his life-raft beached on the sandy banks of a side stream to the mighty Okavango River. The wolves found him; they did not devour him as a morsel of sweet meat. Instead, they gently took him by the loose folds of the hide he wore and raised him as a member of the pack.
The story diverges here. Some say he was later found by a local witchdoctor, who taught him all the secrets of the veld. What herbs to use for toothache, medicine for stomach upsets, and the secret to longevity. And the many uses of old wooden pallets, from lean-to shelters, to raised vegetable beds, and many more.
There is another tale often repeated late at night. In this account, he is very, very old. Some say, he personally brokered the safe passage of the Dorsland Trekkers. These “Trekkers” consisted of a succession of explorers searching for political independence from 1874, to 1881.
Now if you are paying attention, you would at this point exclaim disbelief. Because that would make him more than 170 years old…..
Mine is not to reason why, mine is to share with you the tales told. But I will tell you this, it could make sense, if you see the sage way he advises the young men of the working crew on the meaning of life, and why it is important to make your peace with your friend, and your foe.
Some say, that after his family disappeared one stormy night, he spent all his days and nights searching. Searching the backstreets of all the towns in the region, searching all the abandoned villages in the North, searching the ghettos of the city, even in the poorest pallet homes part of the poorest locations, searching in vain. And no one knows whether he gave up hope, and became a hermit, or whether he scoured every inch of the secluded countryside which is how he came to learn about surviving on what nature provides.
Either way, he must have found at least his mother and his sister, because his entire pay packet is sent home, and on occasion a beautifully woven basket, filled to the brim with all manner of dried berries, or Mopane worms; or hand-crafted rubber string extricated from worn tyres, finds its way to whichever site he has found employment at. And he shares. With his paltry possessions fitting into a small duffel bag, he still shares. He shares his food, and his wisdom.
Some say he saved someone’s life once, at great personal peril. And when he woke up from the induced coma the doctors had to place him under for his body to recover, he could not remember anything. He was told he was found under a pile of pallets near an overturned lorry; hence he took the name John Pallet. We will never know the real story of John Pallet. But look into his eyes. You will see the wisdom, the harmony, and you will see his truth.
How does he fit in the end ? –>The Story of this Motley Crew – part II – TheGreatReset(of2020) (thegreatreset-thorn.com)