Once there was a boy who came to stay

He had a formal, gold-stamped invitation but there were complications. First there was trouble with his transport and somehow the dates were mixed up and he arrived earlier than he had expected. The door opened expectantly and lovingly and he entered in his best, brilliant red suit. Quietly. Softly. Sleepily.

Though his manner suggested otherwise, it was actually quite startling for him. He checked his map and directions. Surely this couldn't be right. He had spent the last few months tucked in a cushy suite in a posh location near Sydney and suddenly he realized how different this journey was going to be. He decided to rest. Just silently relax, regroup, maybe spend a few days at a spa, having all his needs tended to. Time rolled blissfully by. There were guests, of course. He was a very important person and his visit was greatly anticipated. But he just couldn't bare all the attention and slept on.

There were voices that he definitely knew from somewhere. Many whispers and queries "Is there anything we can do to make your stay more comfortable, Mr. Konemann?". And gentle caresses. Songs. Wishes blew about his bed furiously and often. He was beginning to think that with all this love and (strangely familiar) presence surrounding him it might be alright to wake up. Just maybe he would open his eyes and peek out at this new land. Harsh, noisy, bright, cool and foreign it was. He closed his eyes for just a moment more.

And we all waited patiently for him.

sounds like a personal problem

There is a man. He wears a set of paper bags and stands on his box. He says to beware; "The Portuguese fires are burning", "The Vegas strip is flooding", "The big apple is dark". He tells me to seek shelter in the arms of Jesus. Then he says that word: Armageddon. Certainly I am in the midst of a battle between my good and evil parts. I don't think this is what he means though.

People walk by and laugh at him. He is so different. He is mad in their eyes. Or maybe we are mad; trying so desperately to live our lives out of a catalogue, to be normal and straight and successful. So afraid to make a discovery that will lead us down a path we're not already on, we wander in disguise. Schizophrenics unable to vocalize our dreams. Left in our mad worlds with the appearance of utter normality. Pretending is the most subtle insanity. Ah well, as Simone says "sounds like a personal problem to me". Guess some will work through it and others will never realize it's an issue.

On a less morbid note, Simone is going into hospital this Wednesday to have the baby. It is becoming terribly exciting. But I am becoming increasingly aware that time is slipping past. It's almost my birthday! I only have two months left in Australia! I will be home in three months! I have been gone for nine months! It's all so incredible to me.

By the way, my dates for Thailand are the 24th October to the 25th November if anyone is interested in joining me.

"the tragedy of these people was that nothing in their lives had really bitten deep at all..." -Last Tycoon, F. Scott Fitzgerald

No, this is not at all a statement about the family I'm living with.

It just blows my mind that there are people out here, in a vast, dangerous, entrancing, gorgeous, exhilarating country such as Australia, and they have no idea that they are blessed. It completely escapes them that they are in the midst of an adventure, whether they're here to work, travel or remember. Whether they saved for three years to get here or meant to book a ticket to Melbourne, Florida and ended up in this red-brick oven. At every moment there is a choice to be free, even if chained to obligation. These children are half a WORLD away from everything they have grown amongst and into. As if possessing the particular demands of an orchid they refuse to bloom in unfamiliar territory.

Even though we're in a young country, you can feel the ancient past of the eucalypt trees, dusty soil, coral coast and rainbowed stones. The land should belong to the first people who existed here, in spirit before body. They call the moment in history before we needed bodies or farms or words The Dreamtime. If you want to believe, it's possible that this is all still a dream. Maybe we are living in a story, and when we close the book the Europeans will still only be socializing and lunching and parading in Europe. Maybe the bushwalkers are still the only ones on this continent, souls taking only what they need from this land. Looking up, into the stars that inspired the origin of questions, it seems natural to wonder.

In spite of all the negativity from fellow travellers, I feel like I'm sending roots through this ground, through the centre of the earth. When I come home I want to be international in a non-starlet sense. I want to grow anywhere.

Just a Spoonful of Sugar

I'm a nanny again.

Last night whilst I was wandering around the foyer of the YHA I spotted a handwritten want-ad. It requested IMMEDIATE assistance on the homefront. I grabbed it, called first thing in the morning, met with the family mid-day and left early afternoon with a job! There are two beautiful girls; Holly (4) and Cassie (1). Simone is also about 35 weeks pregnant with a third child. I'll be living with them in Leura, a charming village in the Blue Mountains next to Katoomba, for three to five weeks. I'm actually excited at the whole prospect. I'll be on a routine, making money, living with a lovely family, spending time with children, exploring the Blue Mountains at a leisurely pace, experiencing the real Australia. These are all good things.

Tonight I went to have a listen of Jodi Martin. She's a folk singer from Ceduna (one of the prime spots to witness the solar eclipse that happened earlier this year). I thought she was really talented. She plays a variety of stringed instruments and I was impressed with her skill. She's a wonderful songwriter, but her lyrics were sometimes lacking. You know that annoying habit Alanis has of mushing words into a line so brimming with syllables that thoughts are seeping out uncontrollably? Jodi does that sometimes. It always throws me off when a singer does that. It was so nice to be at a folk concert though. Comfortable. Familiar.