Age is just a number for local author

TO prove that age is just a number at 75 years, Marlene Rogers started the daunting task of writing her memoirs despite old age and ill-health creeping in. Now a year later, 76-year-old Rogers has completed her book, titled, Doggy Pooh and Other things.

The septuagenarian says when the mini-back was launched, many eyebrows were raised and noses wrinkled at this weird name, but there was a method in her madness as she visualised the unknown on display among the likes of Tess Gerritsen, Frances Mayes and David Baldacci etc, so there just had to be a gimmick somewhere.

“In the year 2003, my poem entitled “Not in front of the children, man” was entered and published in the “The Gift of Time” presented by the Christian Poetry Association Club.”

“When I became a resident at Bill Buchanan Retirement Home, the idea of staging shows appealed to me, resulting in annual shows for the next three years. However when ill-health slowed me down, a monster writing bug and I began to write my memoirs,” said Rogers.

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Growing up in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape, Rogers said she passed time by writing poetry and lyrics and collaborated with her local church organist, Norman Burkett, to write a song called “So much love.” They entered the song in the music city song festival in Nashville, Tennessee, USA and to their surprise they received an honourable mention award, each for the lyrics and music and a joint honourable mention for the song as a whole.

“Durban became my new hometown and the fashion show bug bit me again in 1997.”

“Durban Girls College was the venue for “Yesterday, To-day and Tomorrow” a title inspired by the scripture in Hebrews 13 verse 8 which says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Being aware of just how much fashion, music and dance had changed throughout the eras, I put together a small scale fashion show in a small church hall and after requests by members of the public, widened the horizon and staged the show in a large school hall,” she said.

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“The cast of 80 with ages varying from eight to 80 years, with no professional models but members of the public helped to produce a big time fashion. I featured the late President Nelson Mandela’s special style of tailored shirts and received a letter granting me his permission to portray him. Absolom Gundane played the part perfectly and I now confess that the grey hair was simply Johnson’s Baby Powder sprinkled liberally,” added Rogers.

Meanwhile, Rogers has two children’s books and one adult book in the pipeline. Her other recent work is a testimony of a miracle which took place in 2005 at the Methodist Hospital, Fort Worth, Texas when her late former husband died after a cardiac surgery. The story was published in a Christian magazine last month. The mini-backs are obtainable at R50 each from Marlene Rodgers at the following address:

Room Number 261, Bill Buchanan Home, 1 Goodwin Drive- Morningside -Durban or you can call her at 031 3123737.