Falling rain like sheets of glass Showers from each window crack, Towels around each shuttered door, Building shudders, front to back. Trembling she lies on her bed Listens to the typhoon shriek Wondering if the house will break Terror has no words to speak! Coconuts like cannon balls Penetrate the yielding earth With resounding angry sound Flying mud and scattered turf, Will she make it … Continue reading Typhoon
My parents tell me I was six years old when this event happened, which means the year would have to be 1942. We were residing in the old mining town Gympie, Australia where my Father Eric had business interests and was beginning to take an interest in politics. The town sits astride a river in the beautiful Mary Valley. By 1942 memories of a frontier … Continue reading My First Ocean Dip
Not long after Joe the sulphur-crested Cockatoo (see one of my early blogs) joined our family in the 1940’s my Father Eric came home one evening with a cage containing an injured Galah parrot. To us children this multi-coloured bird was a thing of beauty and by common consent it was agreed we should call our new pet “Pretty.” Pretty was a young bird and … Continue reading Our “Pretty”
One of my favorite pastimes is to spend time in a bookshop. During shopping expeditions with Georgine I confess to becoming weary of craft shops and the dress section of superstores, where GG examines each of these items with meticulous care. After fifteen minutes of that I know its going to be a long haul, so with appropriate excuses gravitate to the nearest bookstore. Georgine … Continue reading The Back of the Book
You can imagine how happy we were as children in 1948 when our father Eric returned home one evening with a white sulphur-crested cockatoo. One of the farmers had found the bird on his property, and as it was obvious the young bird was unable to fly took it home to look after. Not having much to do of an evening the farmer spent considerable … Continue reading Joe
Beth studied her index finger pointed toward the ceiling. There was a long silence as she tried to remember why she was doing this. Her daughter Ellen glanced up from her knitting and frowned. “What are you doing Mum?” Beth lowered her finger and glanced toward the doorway. The cleaning crew were giving the corridor a once over and the racket diverted her from her … Continue reading The Activity Room
She exits freeway weary from her day, The traffic fumes hang heavy in the air She wonders what her waiting spouse will say; Would greeting cold come from his favourite chair? The trauma of last evening comes to mind, When late she came, impatiently he said That she should seek another job to find! Then rigid silence as they went to bed. But as she … Continue reading Vows Renewed (Poem)
July 4 1776 was the birth of this great nation. An association of diverse communities banded together to form a political entity which eventually evolved into the United States we know today. Here we were on July 4 2006, two citizens from “Down Under” who were there to celebrate our daughter Gina’s first Independence Day as an American citizen. Naturally she wanted us to be … Continue reading Independence Day in the USA
The above image copyright to http://www.featurepics.com It’s funny how things seem to hide in the deep dark recesses of memory to be triggered long afterward by a ‘happening now’ event. Now I’m aware the further you get from early childhood events the recalled scene is sugar coated with an added element of mythology. However there are things which are so seminal in one’s experience they … Continue reading Brotherhood of Mankind
