by Les Shipp
going to make it only to find himself in yet another refugee camp on an island off the coast of Australia.
After many months there he was one of the lucky ones who was granted asylum in Australia because of his young age and what he had been through. He was sent to a migrant facility in Victoria which was much better than what he had to endure up until now but wasn’t freedom as he had imagined it. Although he was well fed and housed he was only free to do what he was told to do. Just as well he was in such a facility because he couldn’t speak English and knew nothing of the outside world. English classes were conducted there which he knew would be important to him so he worked really hard to master the language.
A kindly church group came often to help out with the refugees and one couple were taken with the hard working Ahmed who they felt had such an intelligent look on his troubled face. They discussed among themselves how they might help this young man who had been through so much. Finally they decided to investigate if they might adopt him or at least have him come and live with them.
With great joy they found they were able to adopt him and went off to ask Armed if this is what he would like to do. He agreed to go with them but didn’t know how well he would fit in, not ever really being part of a family.
He fitted in so well everyone thought of him as their son and in no time at all he was able to get his life together. He did so well he was soon off to university to study political science. He now had time to reflect how wonderful his new life was and if he kept working hard the world would be his oyster.
THE DAWN OF INSANITY.
Looking back Billy really couldn’t remember when everything started to become a little bit disjointed but he knew it had and he disparately wanted to get back to what his life was before when he knew who and where he was.
He knew he was only a child when it all started so it was a long way back. Could he find his way through all the blackness and despair? It would be a long hard journey and he didn’t know if he could make it on his own. The feeling he had now was that he had dived much too deep into a cold dark river and he was frantically trying to swim back to the surface which he could see but seemed an impossibly long way off.
On the surface he appeared to be a normal young man who was a bit intense and not very outgoing but he managed his job efficiently. At work with other people around him to distract him he managed reasonably well but it was at home by himself that the dark cloud descended upon him. He did his best to ward off these dark thoughts and feelings. Studying at night school to better himself helped but it wasn’t enough.
There were days when he would have to ring in sick and these were his worst times. On these occasions he would take himself off to bed and wallow in his misery. He felt he was the only one who felt like this and was too afraid and embarrassed to ask anyone for help. He was an orphan so he didn’t have parents or brothers and sisters to look out for him.
When he turned thirty he thought it was all getting too much for him and he longed for romance in his life but that wasn’t going to happen in his present state of mind. He gathered up a collection of sleeping pills in case it all got too much for him and in deep depression he felt now was the right time.
At the office there was a young girl who had secretly become very fond of him, but of this he knew nothing. The day he decided to take his fatal step, the girl had become worried about him because he was away from the office longer than usual so she felt she should check on him. She found him unconscious but was able to get him off to hospital in time.
As Billy regained consciousness, he wasn’t sure of where he was, perhaps this is what afterlife looked like. Soon a doctor came around to see how he was getting on. Doctor Ben new Billy as he had treated him for depression in the past but he had never been able to get past the wall Billy had put up. Doctor Ben knew that now was the time to push really hard to find the reason for his dark moments. Billy knew it was now or never to escape his tormented mind and Doctor Ben seemed the right man to help him.
Billy found he was able to talk to Doctor Ben and once he started, all the darkness and hurts came pouring out and he felt a great sense of relief. The doctor was able to understand where Billy was at in his mind and was able to start him on a programme of medication and therapy. The dawn of insanity had started for him when he was abandoned as a small child and the doctor was able to work with him through all those dark days.
While he worked through his recovery, the young girl Belinda from his office came to visit him often and he soon found he really had a lot to live for. This was his dawn of sanity.
WHEN THESE OLD CLOTHES WERE NEW.
I could wax lyrical on this subject as my cupboard is full of old clothes, as a matter of fact you would be hard put to find anything new there. There is one item that I remember from when it was new and that is my dinner suit that I purchased thirty years ago.
I remember feeling very smart in it as I entered the ballroom with my wife equally smartly dressed to attend a black tie affair. It was the norm to attend such functions well presented at that time, especially as you would be the odd man out if you didn’t. Through the years this suit was to be my attire at many functions of importance. It only let me down once and that was when we were attending an evening that was full of politicians and dignitary’s to accept our “runner up” prize for the best tourist business in northern New South Wales. The zipper of my fly decided to malfunction and couldn’t be persuaded to do up. I spent the evening walking around with my programme held strategically in front of me. The walk up to the stage to accept our award was the most difficult part.
This suit was worn to many weddings and at my eldest son’s wedding his father-in-law had difficulty with his suit that he had hired and as it was the same as mine I was able to help him adjust his waist line being so familiar with my own suit.
In later years most of the functions became less formal and the suit wasn’t brought out so often. It then became my stage attire when I was required to appear as a toff. Most of the others required to appear in a dinner suit used the ones from the musical society’s wardrobe and they inevitably looked baggy, not at all like my well-fitting suit. When we attended the opening night function of a show we were expected to be as smartly dressed as we could be and my faithful dinner suit came in handy.
We belonged to the Westpac helicopter rescue service and when they held a dinner to raise money, I worked as a waiter and of course I wore my dinner suit pants as part of my uniform. My last memory of actually wearing it was when we attended my wife’s niece’s wedding in Ireland. It was a very formal affair and the guests were seated separately from their partners during the reception. It was in a huge marque and the tables were very large round ones. So large you were not able to talk to the people on the other side of the table. The meal way a buffet and during the evening I found I had a loud mouth man on one side of me and a very boring spinster on the other. Becoming very bored I stripped off my dinner jacket and spent the rest of the evening helping the over worked waiters. The hostess didn’t notice that I had changed from a guest to a waiter and I had a reasonably pleasant time for the rest of the evening.
I wouldn’t have worn my dinner suit in the last ten years and I feel mildly proud that it would still fit me, I hope.
SUPERIOR BEING.
Oscar lived in a beautiful house right alongside a children’s park. He had a very privileged life with all his wants being taken care of with fine dining every night and he could come and go as he pleased. He had absolutely everything he could possibly want except a reason for being. He was very handsome and was often admired for his looks by people who came to his house but he knew this was his due.
It was the long boring days that bothered him as all his family went out for the day and he was left to amuse himself. If the days were fine and sunny he would take himself off to the park and find a warm spot to settle down in to watch the children happily playing. He loved to watch the children as they played and would imagine being part of this fami
ly or that one. They all looked exciting to him but none of them really took much notice of him except to comment now and then on his handsomeness.
One day ran into another with very little change, until a family arrived in the park. To him they looked different to most of the other families. The mother and father were older than usual and they seemed anxious as their little boy played. He heard the parents call the little boy Joshua and Joshua did seem to have difficulties with the equipment. Oscar could see that Joshua was special little boy and needed extra care.
As the family left the park heading for home, Oscar felt a great need to be with them and help take care of the little boy. Oscar silently followed the family home. Once there he made himself known to the family and Joshua immediately felt a strong bond to this handsome cat. He begged his parents to let him keep his new found friend and they agreed to do so until his owners came to claim him.
Oscar and Joshua formed a very strong bond, so much so the parents hoped the owner would not turn up as indeed they didn’t. The parents noticed how much better Joshua was managing now he had the company of the cat who obviously loved the little boy. They would play together during the day and curl up together at night.