A South African Odyssey  If Shooting really starts, whites
aren't going to be there  I'm baffled. What tawdry scene? Next
morning I realize: this hotel is integrated. Blacks are sitting
in the lobby.  I came to South Africa with mixed motives. I've
always been a travel junkie, flying to Africa was irresistible.
Also, the Republic of South Africa is a hell of a story and one
that's going to be around for a long time - attractive
ingredients from a writer's perspective. Mostly I'm curious.
What is going on here? South Africa's white, racist rule is
transparently easy to see, so easy it blurs everything else
about the country.  Unfortunately, I'm here illegally, one of
those tacky little facts that so often clutter life's really
interesting moves. South Africa doesn't hand out many journalist
visas these days, in fact they don't hand out any, so I said the
hell with it, materialized at RSA's Beverly Hills consulate,
spoke through a triple-paned bulletproof glass window, got
myself a tourist visa.  "And why do yo