Classy?

 

Money is a poor indicator of class.

                       Rev. John Oates

                       Wayside Chapel

                       Kings  Cross, Sydney 

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getting the ship:s papers

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After motoring to the beautiful Clareville Beach, I found the waters calm and silky dark. Slow skidding cumulus that reeked of showers, hung without menace.  The lovely Barry Marshall (previous owner) arrived with a bag of ship's papers which provided a potted history, receipts, manuals and registrations. Generously, he also passed on a porta potti, boat hook, auto bilge pump, two headsails and a spinnaker. The headsails felt heavy and crisp, were labelled North Sails and are possibly unused.  I also became the caretaker of the yellow surf ski. I'd seen Barry, who paddled across Bass Strait calmly paddle this as a tender and as he told me the lock code, extolled it's virtues and how easy it was "to stand on to get onboard ". Of course I couldn't wait to try out the new tender in order to check on on Jack Sprat  so off we went with se new chain plate fittings and little else. As we arrived at the gunnel Barry's words came to mind as I shuffled and jerked, g...
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one month in

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i go out to gather firewood from the pile and overhead  a sky full of sparkling ancient orbs exuding timelessness. but inside an 11 year old squirt struggles with his illogical brain and oppositional heart to settle into what he must know is a secure and calm home. is a minute by minute focus far removed from the life of the stars.
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Rattled

Our home assessment,  unbeknown to me, unbeknown also an opportunity to talk frankly about Hs history. Initially I was saddened, then i became quite upset.  Knowing some of the father's behaviours, drug dependence & personality, i took safety in keeping the family at arms length. As snippets of the unfolding tragedy were fed through the grapevine,  i just shook my head & pushed it aside.  I knew the department was involved & felt somewhat confident that young H was safe.   But yesterday's information really hammered home how much little H had been through.  What I, as a grown man, was protecting myself from,  he was living it first hand.  And it must be stressed,  the department was less than effective as times & exposed H to emotional- mental & physical harm from his mother.  Right after hearing this I felt heartened that H was surviving well, but later as it sunk in,  I felt very upset, guilty I hadn't bee...
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