With all the books, secrets, and matchmaking services today, we know that we live in a society that is looking for love and romance. In fact, last year, weddings in far away places were considered fantasies. Search the Internet and you will see couples celebrating their marriage in Botswana.
For me, the story of love in Botswana captured my heart when Precious Ramotswe rather casually mentions that she married her mechanic in The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency some years ago.
And while I know this story is now a new HBO series, I encourage you to read the books and learn a little bit about loving.
I somehow do not see that the nuances of the the book will be captured in film.
Despite all the stories, sometimes quite sad, this is what I found – a woman (although the author is a
man) who understands relationships. When you follow her travels through Botswana in her white van, you will become as delighted as I was to learn how she became a wife – in a very low key way.
The novels were written by Alexander McCall Smith who weaves a tale of a woman who takes money left to her by her father, a cattle farmer, and following a disastrous marriage to a jazz musician, she sets up The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Gaborone. Her tiny white van brought her to meet and marry her love, “the finest mechanic in Botswana,”
In terms of looking for love Emily Brandon wrote about the difference between young love and mature love in US News and World Report “The biggest difference is you have some experience. You already have a love story inside you. You’re a lot freer. You’ve completed your adult tasks, which are to raise a family and establish yourself in the community…You are freer to define the kind of life you want to lead. That’s a wonderful bonus for relationships. You put a premium not on scoring with someone, but on connecting with someone and being who you really are.”
Precious Ramotswe has one such love story and it embraces all the children and families who come into her world. Read the books! And when you see the cover, you will understand why I chose the AP photo of two women taking respite from the sun in Botswana. The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency And you will marvel at the author.
(This piece of mine originally appeared in The Examiner.com. While I almost never just reprint, I really like this piece and I loved the books.)
Copyright 2009 Rita Watson