ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from French nomade, via Latin from Greek nomas, nomad - ‘roaming
in search of pasture’, from the base of nemein ‘to pasture’.
Mental exercise: place on a scale of moral approbation.
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Of course my memories of that time are an amalgam of how things were and how I would like them to have been, but having said that I
do remember sitting in the hotel café. It was still early in the morning but heating up rapidly. I see myself sit forward in the hope that the
ceiling fan will evaporate some of the wetness from my shirt-stuck back but it’s a gesture born of wishful thinking really. What I’m doing
is postponing picking up my backpack and heading for the station. I’ve been alone here most of the time, picking and choosing superficial identities
as mood and circumstances dictate. Doing that has made my relationship to time more indeterminate. Leaving Marrakesh now is like watching the ball on
a roulette wheel slowly bounce to a stop, possibilities closing down one after another.
An hour later I’m at the station. It’s eight forty-five. I ask when the train to Casablanca is due and the man behind the
counter says “Aujourd’hui.”
I wander off to sit on the platform to wait.
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wait: To stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or until something else happens: remain in readiness for some
purpose. ORIGIN Middle English: from Old Northern French waitier, of Germanic origin; related to WAKE.
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Early senses included lie in wait (for), observe carefully and be watchful.
wake: To emerge or cause to emerge from a state of sleep; stop sleeping: become alert to or aware of.
ORIGIN Old English (recorded only in the past tense woc), also partly from the weak verb wacian remain
awake, hold a vigil, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch waken and German wachen; compare with WATCH.
watch: To look at or observe attentively, typically over a period of time: keep under careful or protective observation: secretly
follow or spy on: follow closely or maintain an interest in. ORIGIN Old English wæcce watchfulness, wæccende remaining
awake; related to WAKE.
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I get a place next to a man in the long flowing garmets of the Berber nomads of North Africa. They, and the Tuareg in particular, have
always been associated in my mind with salt. And pears too. Not the fruit itself but its voluptuous, sweet, unmistakable aroma drifting across a sitting
room on a Sunday afternoon. There was a documentary programme on our black and white television with the cosily familial historical title “All Our Yesterdays.” The “we,” in
this case, were the British (with a few others, the allies, to help) and the "yesterdays" were the politically eventful thirties and militarily dominated
forties.
The images had little to do with the family album and a lot to do with family history. |
