Haveachat with Les Shipp

by Les Shipp

his English wife never had any children and I suppose that is why he was so caring of me.

  To me they were mother and father without any complications, except we were never seen out in public together. I had a devoted nurse who looked after me when I was a baby and she stayed with us through my childhood years. Father made sure I received the best education possible and enlisted me into several sports where I excelled. Most of the English boys my age were sent back to boarding school in England and I was glad this wasn’t for me. I didn’t feel I was missing out on anything because my all round education was full on. One of my great delights was playing polo and my fellow team mates accepted me into their world without question. I had my father’s deep blue eyes and my skin was a light coffee colour from my mother.

  I was always popular with the girls I met at parties or sporting events so I grew up with confidence in myself that there wasn’t anything I couldn’t achieve. I was tutored in social graces by my parents and learned to play snooker and bridge, as well I was taught to appreciate fine food, music and art. We always had our meals in a formal dining room and when I became old enough I was allowed to join the guests for dinner.

  I was a keen student and loved learning and with that combination I always did well with my grades. On completion of my school years I sat an exam which I passed with flying colours and this gave me a place at Cambridge University where I intended to study business and finance. My years at the university were filled with hard work and lots of fun times in between. Because of my father’s influence in my education, I naturally spoke with an English accent which allowed me to fit right in. Through my years at the university I was accepted as one of them. I had several girlfriends but none of them serious because I wanted to establish myself in life before I settled down. While at university I was able to attend operas, ballet, art galleries and major sporting events. My father had given me a generous allowance to support me while I studied so I was able to enjoy the best things in life. Many of my fellow students came from aristocratic families and I often spent weekends on their estates. I completed my degree with honours and returned to my family in India.

  Back home I joined my father’s company and worked closely with him. We became not only father and son but very good friends and he tutored me in the business. I enjoyed the challenge I had set myself to get to the top. There was no doubt that he accepted me as his son, but there was the complication of his wife in England who lived on the estate but didn’t have any children. As father grew older it bothered him more that he didn’t have a legal heir to take his place. After much consultation he decided the best option to secure my future was to adopt me, which he did. My mother never made any demands on him but was delighted with the adoption. Now with a legal son by his side we went from strength to strength.

  Father was getting old and slowing up but he encouraged me to press on with my ambitions. He liked to talk to me about my future and told me with training I could fit in anywhere. He said for himself, even though he had the family estate in England he was much happier in India but when he passed on I would have a choice. I told him that knowing I had these wonderful choices my place was here with the business.

  After a very busy day at the office, father didn’t look well so I took him home and called a doctor. It was the old man’s time the doctor said and a few days later he passed away. Before he died he said to me, William it’s your rite of passage that you will be the responsible owner of a fine business, look after it well and have a happy life.

  MY LIFE AS A --------- whatever it’s not.

  I was always a big strong boy even as a toddler which made me a leader in my pre-school class. This continued into my school years and I naturally became the captain of my football club and captain of the cricket team. I knew I was destined for greatness and expected everything I wanted to come my way. Being very smart I always achieved straight a’s or a+. Arriving home with my report card it was always ho hum I’ve done it again.

  In high school I became a prefect and the leader of the debating team. Playing rugby each weekend made me very fit and to push my boundaries even further I joined the boxing team and won all the matches I entered. I always had a flock of young ladies chasing after me and at times I let them catch me. In my last year of school I was the dux and had no trouble entering university to study criminal law. I played rugby for the university team and bulked up so much I looked more like a professional footballer than a law student. I sailed through university and received my degree with honours.

  Needing a break from studies I decided to skipper a yacht in a round the world race. Of course we won the event and I was free to start my working life. I was offered a position in a prominent law firm and after studying all the other offers I decided to join them.

  After the first year I thought I was ready for a change and a challenge. The firm didn’t want to lose me and offered a promotion that would lead to a junior partnership a little down the track. Being good with figures I had gathered an impressive portfolio of shares and not being satisfied with the idea of junior or down the track I resigned from the firm and started my own business. Most of my clients were criminals but what the heck they paid the best.

  At the age of thirty I thought it was time to settle down so I married the daughter of one of my rich clients. The father made me his business manager as well as his lawyer. He liked to have me around when he was negotiating difficult deals. During these events my experience in the boxing ring came in handy.

  With all my brilliance I was in a spot I could never get out of and didn’t really want to. Is this where all the clever dicks end up?

  LIFE IS JUST A FOOTNOTE TO REALITY.

  If it is true that Plato, together with his mentor Socrates and his pupil Aristotle, introduced the world to the way of thinking we call philosophy which comes from Greek meaning love of wisdom then we should get on with it and put our thinking gear into gear?

  Philosophy is difficult to define precisely as it tends to drift off into unreality at times. Some of the great men in this field tended to get stuck on their view of wisdom and being very clever men were able to convince everyone else that the path of thought that they were going down was the right one. This is not to say that they were wrong as they were deep thinkers and thought beyond the conciseness of others and no doubt had solid arguments for their view.

  I covered at some length psychology, sociology and adult education in the quest for a graduate diploma. In psychology the subjects covered were aspects of human development such as childhood, adolescents, middle age changes and the old age process. In sociology subjects covered were, group behaviour from both theoretical and practical viewpoints, also family and social groupings. In adult education, particularly important was the manner in which adults learn.

  The reason for including this is to emphasise the importance of keeping a strong grip on reality no matter where your mind takes you. The course was designed to expand your mind to whatever level you were capable of.

  Some of the exercises were confronting, such as the day at a mental hospital where we were instructed to chat to the patients and staff. My worry on that day was that I found it hard to tell the difference between the staff and the patience and the awful thought that many of the patients were more with it than I was.

  We were encouraged to write down where our mind bending journey had taken us. Here is some of what I expressed on that journey.

  There is a long twisting road ahead of me that leads to nowhere.

  I’m not sure about it leading to nowhere but when I look out ahead of me where the road ends, all I can see is a void.There is a dark oppressive cloud hanging over the void.

  I am moving down the road fairly quickly. I’m not sure by what means, but whatever it is that propels me, I am not able to stop.

  On either side of the road there are high banks with roads leading into the mountains. The road is well lit but the mountain tracks are dark.

  As I pass down the road I see suggestions of o
ther roads leading off into the mountains. These roads are not very clear. I would like to see where they lead to but I am moving too fast towards the depressive void to stop and investigate.

  I don’t have to make any effort while being carried down the road. I feel perhaps the mountain roads would take a lot of effort and courage.

  There are no living beings around me that I might look to for support. The road is so barren I feel as though I am in a vacuum.

  I don’t think I really lost track of reality during this course but I know it would be easy to do if you didn’t focus on where you were going and where you wanted to end up.

  Life is just a footnote to reality, if it is hang on to it and don’t let your mind wonder too far off the track.

  BLACK AND WHITE.

  Never did like this colour scheme, preferring to be like the lady on television and ask,” Does it come in any other colours”. Being black and white in thought has never suited me I guess, as from a very young age life hasn’t been that simple. Some problems need a black and white answer and I have often admired people who have such a clarity of knowing they are right and others just don’t get the picture. I probably fit into the others picture as I tend to look for the shades of grey or other colours.