Very many years ago, I left the newspaper that had nurtured and nourished me. In those days, nobody left the New York Times - unless it was under circumstances beyond their control, such dying on the job.
When I left The Times, I was the Africa correspondent based in Nairobi for the fabled newspaper. The Kenyan capital was a lovely city, verdant and lively with cafes and clubs. The population overwhelmingly consisted of blacks from various tribes; many came in search of jobs, which weren't plentiful.
Then there were Indian immigrants, descendants of traders who'd sailed for East Africa a century ago in search of wealth. During my time, Indians owned most of the big department stores and automobile dealerships. And then there were the whites - mostly Britons - that occupied the top echelons of the corporate world.
Kenyans would call them "mujungu." It wasn't necessarily a derogatory term when blacks used it among themselves. In fact, I met several native Kenyans whose first names were "mujungu."
But when someone called a white person "mujungu," it wasn't a term of endearment.
The whites and the Indians lived in exclusive neighborhoods, usually in large colonial-style bungalows that sat on lush lawns that were lined with hedgerows. There was a plethora of trees such as acacia, and diverse vegetation.
By and large, it was a good time to live in Nairobi; of course, there was street crime such as the occasional mugging or pick-pocketing, but then few cities anywhere were free of these afflictions.
Nairobi was a convenient place to be foreign correspondent. I used it as a takeoff point to visit countries in Sub Saharan Africa, some 49 of them.
In those days, there were very few flights from East Africa to West Africa, let alone to North Africa, known as the Maghreb. Sometimes, I had to fly to Europe from Nairobi to catch a connection to Dakar or Casablanca. It was exhausting
But thanks to The Times, I received an extensive geopolitical education about this part of the world.
Since my time in Africa, many countries of the continent have become what development economists term "failed states." And why so?
Corruption, poor governance, and an inability to set up or strengthen judicial institutions in those countries.
In the three decades since my Nairobi posting, I've been back many times to my old haunts, and I was dismayed about why countries did not develop to their potential. After all, the continent is rich with natural resources, and it has a young population.
During my time in Africa, there was one country that I couldn't visit because I possessed an Indian passport (I now have one issued by the United States). That country was South Africa, then under the influence of apartheid.
When I finally managed to go there - as a US citizen - South Africa had become free. Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years of imprisonment. Even after such a lengthy incarceration, he had the wit and good spirit to laugh about the matter: "I went for a long holiday for 27 years."
Freedom was achieved in 1994; in 1990 President Frederik Willem de Klerk began negotiations to end apartheid, culminating in multi-racial democratic elections in 1994, which were won by the African National Congress under Mandela. Cities like Durban and Cape Town began flourishing. But, as most everywhere else, residents complained about street safety and deteriorating municipal services. There was an exodus of whites.
Still, South Africa was distinctively a "rainbow nation." The term was coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to describe post-apartheid South Africa, after South Africa's first fully democratic election in 1994.
May South Africa always remain a "rainbow nation." And may the other countries of Africa -- the current population of Africa is 1,218,352,300 based on the latest United Nations estimates. Africa's population is equivalent to 16.14 percent of the total world population of 7.4 billion. Measured by population, Africa ranks number two among regions of the world (roughly equivalent to "continents").
That's a lot of people. And they all have dreams for a future of prosperity, and of healthy societies. That's a lot of dreams.
I wish that I were a young reporter again, roaming at will through this great continent, which would surely yield many more stories than during my days in Africa.
But time spares no one. I have my past to treasure; Africans have a future to look forward to.