1. The army vets have given me a dog, boyfriend and home security
2. There are these hilarious secret men's societies
3. Everyone in Meeka is on Facebook4. I'm going to Peak Hill Station for a week to go bulldozin'
5. Beryl carves emu eggs
Gary is just great, a gentle soul with whom I have a fair bit in common (so far). He's a down to earth, quiet type, blokey but smart - we can have intelligent conversations about metaphoric subtext in various films, and he's managed to stop talking to me about the different gear ratio systems on the Z series Kawasaki's at inappropriate moments (male nervousness default setting).
He used to work at a bookshop just around the corner from my old place in St Kilda; I would have walked within twenty feet of him for years going down Chapel Street! He does roadworks out of Meeka for the mining and station tracks, driving trucks & dozers, and is one of the fire & rescue volunteers. Stats: 53 years old, six foot tall, recently lost most front teeth (getting new ones "soon"), two adult children, no "ex's" hanging around, no restraining orders, ace mechanic, knows who Franz Kafka is,
closet blues air guitar artist.
He also belongs to a couple of "secret" societies - the Masons and the Buffalos (I was in hysterics, with visions of the Simpsons episode where they wear giant moose hats) - they're not really secret. They mainly do charity fundraising and community work, when they're not busy colluding with The Illuminati to orchestrate a global corporate takeover to enslave the mindless masses...oh whoops I've given the game away.
The impression I get from being around them is that they're community-minded guys with values that I think Meeka needs more of - doing your bit, improving things around the town, helping others. Us wimmin folk are welcome to come along after the new world order secret mission business is done and the Grand Exalted Heffalump has closed the meeting; it's the old "ladies bring a plate" deal & everyone sits down for a bit of supper together. Gosh, why didn't I keep those high heel and frilly apron outfits? Silly me. They're having a formal dress birthday party for Cameron next week (they like dressing up) and I was panicking about my wardrobe. Gary: "Don't you have a little black cocktail dress stashed away somewhere?" Me: "No, can I borrow yours?"
Gary said that if I ever have any trouble around the house at night to either call one of them or just go straight to Paddy's Flat rather than calling the cops! Yeah, great, I'll have a team of PTSD-crazed Vietnam vets wielding Japanese swords and lovingly restored field rifles & bayonets from the mess hall museum making a commando raid at my house at three in the morning. I'll get video footage.
Gary starts work again next week, one of his jobs will be doing road maintenance out at Doolgunna, about a hundred km out of Meeka. He's asked me along, so we'll go stay at Peak Hill homestead, which sounds amazing. It used to be the old post office back in the late 1800's, way out in the bush. I'll be able to do some truck drivin' practice (when I'm not making picture-perfect casseroles in my frilly housefrau outfit of course).
Whoa, Kev and Ray are here to do the back gate, better go put the kettle on.
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