Ashley Green-Thompson Ashley Green-Thompson
Diarmuid and Gráinne is an Irish love story for the ages. It involves a beautiful princess and a dashing warrior, and misplaced love and loyalty. Like so much folklore from the emerald isle, it celebrates the human condition and the resilience of the heart. Love is at the core of it, and ultimately triumphs, even as tragedy is in close attendance.
Senzagakhona and Nandi, the parents to Shaka, had a love affair that burnt brightly and briefly, but captured the essence of a classic love story. This one did not have a happy ending, but it had plenty of passion and drama, and is an essential part of story of the rise of the Zulu nation.
I think of Winnie Mandela standing strong with her husband in jail for 27 years. She resisted the worst abuses by the apartheid state, and kept Madiba’s name alive. She had love not just for her people, but for the man who charmed his way into her heart. Their divorce was one of the more painful things I’ve witnessed, but even through that very public process, the love they had for each other was plain to see. Circumstances and history were simply not on their side.
My parents in-law are characters to be celebrated. My late father in law Mbhuti stood tall, enjoyed his whiskey, was sought out as a social animal, and was definitely the patriarch of his extended family. I can still hear his booming voice calling the name “Mavy”, his wife of fifty-plus years. She’s going strong at the midpoint of her ninth decade, and she loved her man. They weathered the early storms and raised their kids to be decent humans, supported their extended families and their community, and stood as a beacon to the younger generations to persevere and let the love between them find expression in commitment, perseverance, and solidarity with each other.
