Getting to know my Father in his latter years was indeed a pleasure for me as he did the best he could do for our Mother and us kids. Taking us on holidays every year it was marked for the eighteenth of January each year. I recall having a bicycle accident as I was racing a friend except I borrowed his bike this time. The high rise handle bars collapsed and I tumbled forward dragging my almost bare feet on the bitumen road as well as skinning my hands. I was in a ripe old mess. I limped and cleaned myself up. The next day we were to leave on holidays and I recall seeing my Father’s face was disappointed as he thought we couldn’t go. I said no I am alright and I showed him I could wear his shoes over my bandages, which I did and we went. I would never disappoint him.

     We had a good time there down by the beach although mine was not as good as others. I spent my time bathing my feet in the sea and salty water to heal up more quickly despite the stinging and pain. We still had a good time away in our holiday home away from our usual place in suburbia.We had good times going to football matches together each week as we followed the Carlton football club. We would get there at lunch time and watch a reserves match before the main senior game where most of the people gathered into the park. There would be about forty thousand people on a good day. We saw some good matches sometimes my other brothers would also come along as we went to the same location every time so you got used to the same faces.

     It did occur to me that I needed to get to know him better now so I would make a concerted effort to go for a walk when he took the dog for a long walk. This happened on a Sunday we would have a lovely walk through parks and valleys close to a creek where he worked. He would speak of wild animals climbing from the creek close to where he worked and a security guy offered to shoot it and he jumped right out and defended the poor fox. He said “You Will not shoot it”. He was much like his Father and my Grandfather as he would defend animals as I do very much so, I believe in providing them with a voice as I reported one person for abuse of an animal so I suppose I follow in that way. I am not sure about others in reporting but I have no problems there. We would talk and talk about many things and laugh a lot. We liked to speak about sport especially.

     He always provided me with encouragement and was proud of me when I would accomplish good resuts. I would like to show him my attempts at poetry he was a good sounding board for me. It was after a study year that I started editing other people’s manuscripts and he was again proud and surprised at the same time as he would relay my visiting cousin.He was there when I would lose weight through exercise and running and when we played a social cricket match well really it was a scratch matcch between us and the mob at the end of the street who were totally up themselves as some had experienced players in the side where we were just drinkers from the local. They decided to challenge us so we prepared and trained a spy came out and they laughed. In the end we won thwe match and had the last laugh. He was there to see the match but not till the end. We had a very good family life and he was popular everywhere.