Sunday 9^th September

Friday morning I got a ride to work with Chris and Angela, who had had a sleepover at Pete’s.  I had been planning to walk down the hill in gorgeous spring weather but…it wasn’t glorious at all, it was windy and sleety and just a bit ghastly.  The footpaths were very slippery and my feet went out from under me as I went past Service Tas.  Oh ooops…the usual reaction of (a) pain (b) embarrassment… No real damage, just a bit of a shock to the system.  I dearly hoped nobody had seen , but a young girl wearing trackies, with lots of make-up, tightly pulled-back hair, came up and said, “Youse all right?”  Well yes…I thanked her for her kindness and she trotted off saying, “Just checkin’!”  She really didn’t look like the sort of girl who would care if someone like me slipped and fell flat on her face… As we all know we should NOT judge people by appearance. 

A few years ago I was catching a bus bound for the northern suburbs.  I had my backpack full of gym gear and was about to get on the bus when a very unprepossessing girl came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder.  Sigh sigh… she’s going to ask me for money and I really only have my bus fare…But no; she just wanted to tell me my zip was undone and my gym gear was about to spill out.

My mother is very good at not making this sort of judgement.  Recently she was walking her little dog around the streets of prospect vale when she was accosted by some of her neighbours, who were very cross and crabby.  Their letterboxes had been vandalise and they were in high dudgeon.  They wanted her to join in condemning Young People Nowadays, who have No Respect.  “Goodness,” she said.  “What makes you think it is young people?  I think it is more likely to be older people, drunk on their way back from the casino!  I find the young people around her to be very courteous and respectful.”  This did not go down well but good on her, she is quite right!

 Mind you people are not always as wonderful as they could be… I do not always go through Readers Digest Aw Shucks encounters.  I was picking Katy up from the Launceston bus, in her uni years, one Friday night.  She was way down the back of the bus and couldn’t get off in time to warn me that I was going to have an unpleasant experience.  A very shabby smelly young bloke got off the bus and thrust his dufflebag at me, muttering something; I think he was trying to tell me the zip was stuck, and could I fix it.  (Yes I do look like the sort of person who could fix a zip.)  I bent over helpfully to have a look and a large and MUCH smellier woman charged up to me, shouting, “Get away from him you fucking white missionary ****.”  (Insert here a Very Bad Word.  And no I don’t think I look like a missionary!)

Once again…part of life’s rich tapestry…