Bali And Beyond Well, where to begin . . .? Love gone wrong and job gone west! I had been in love with an Indian girl called Janice in Melbourne. We lived together for two years in a gingerbread style cottage in the Dandenongs. She was beautiful and I fell…
As Written I wrote to my brother to pass on the news but also to give him a chance to air views about weather, the family, friends still down South or the dietary portion he puts to his mouth after the doctor has shaken his head and told him to…
ANSWER THAT LETTER! We are told that the art of letter writing has been lost. I don’t agree. I think it’s more a case that letter writing has adjusted itself to the changed conditions of present day life. In business, we no longer write those highly formalized beginnings and long…
Errant Passenger We come across snakes now and then in normal life and, for many, it is not a pleasant experience – although, generally, if you leave them alone then they will leave you alone. But the following is a more unusual encounter. It happened at our local airfield the…
Earning a Living Secondhand dealers come in various categories and this one was a prime example of the sleazy, predatory type. ‘And what would Sir be looking for today?’ he enquired as he slouched up to me, apparently resisting the impulse to rub his hands together. ‘I’m after an urn.’…
As I Lay In Bed Tonight As I lay in bed tonight I shall think of happy thoughts of you and me. The times when we walked hand in hand, On the road we wished wouldn’t come to an end. When we leafed through the pages of our favorite book,…
Apelike What seekest thou, my long-armed friend? who hath no need to stoop or bend to rest thy knuckles on the ground who peers, bright-eyed, at all around where jungle trails tell what has passed to those, like you who are most harassed, through fear of foes –
A MODERN FABLE Mary liked John. She liked the way he gave her thoughtful little gifts. She liked the way he listened attentively when she told him about her worries. She liked the way he always tried to please her. Unfortunately, Mary never once told John that she liked these…
A Fibber’s Prayer Dear God, it’s true I’ve done some things I said I didn’t do. I’ve kept some secrets to myself, but now I’m telling you. I’m sharing sins because I know that children should be truthful . So, I’m blurting out my fibs Instead of keeping them all…
Private Flight Commuters, businessmen, holidaymakers – all walk onto an aircraft, perhaps glimpse something out of the window and possibly marvel just a little. But the essentials of human flight have become just another form of transport. Yet the magic of actual flight lingers – for those of us who…
Song of Paul I’m a Native of Western, Pennsylvania. I was born just outside Pittsburgh in 1963, and have lived in Long Beach, Southern California since 1990. I’m a fitness buff, a chronic camper/hiker – “Give me a wilderness whose glance no civilization can endure.” The author whose identity I’m…
The Creatures of Home When Andrew first arrived in the land where creatures dwell, his home was in Melbourne. His parents lived in Preston in a very old house, where he always found there was some creature sharing his home with him. This doesn’t include the flies that insist on…