Haveachat with Les Shipp

by Les Shipp

stop every now and then to pick up pieces that had dropped off, like an exhaust pipe or some unnamed item from its undercarriage. Where it really came into its own was on the steep rocky mountain tracks on the property. It would get me up those steep rocky tracks with a full load of firewood on board and if it slipped and went sideways into a tree it didn’t matter as dents and scratches were not a problem, you wouldn’t even notice them.

  I became very fond of the embarrassing truck as she never really let me down. I enjoyed driving around the property as there were few places I couldn’t go with her and my little dog enjoyed coming with me. I should say he mostly enjoyed riding in the truck until one day I left him in the truck while I cut down a tree. To show me he was displeased he ripped up the driver’s seat, giving the truck another beauty spot.

  The embarrassing truck had its moment of glory when we were asked to conduct a wedding on the property. We had a horse drawn carriage that the bride arrived in followed by the embarrassing truck with the bridesmaids standing up in the back. It was very impressive.

  Looking at the truck most would say it was a useless item but I knew its value and was happy and contented with it. It ended its life when my son drove it from Tamworth in New South Wales to Cairns in northern Queensland and sold it to a young man who dismantled it and reconstructed it so it had another life.

  THE BLIND BEGGER GIRL.

  Violet lived with her mother in a very rundown slum area. Her father who was a violent drunk had deserted them some time before which was an improvement in their lives as they no longer had to contend with being beaten up every time he came home drunk. When Violet was six years old their poverty became desperate. Her mother used to take in other peoples washing but there was never much money in it as most of the people were in the same circumstances as they were. Life was hard as there were no social services or handouts of any kind and in winter their flat was freezing cold.

  Violet and her mother knew there wasn’t anything else but for Violet to go out on the street and beg. Violet had been blind from birth and couldn’t visualise the abject poverty around her, even in the street where her mother led her to where she would be in the best place to beg. It wasn’t too bad if she could find a nice warm sunny spot out of the bitter wind. The takings weren’t great but if she showed up every day then that was a help to put food on the table. These were desperate times but Violet had her mother’s temperament and never let life beat her down.

  Where Violet did her begging was on a road that led to a much more affluent area and at times some of the moneyed people would pass by her and that was always a bonus for her. To keep her spirits up during the long hours she spent on the street she used to sing softly to herself. As she sang so often her voice became strong and clear and she knew a lot of songs to sing that she had heard on other people’s radios. Violet found that her singing brought many more people to her than her blindness did which for once made her feel worthwhile.

  There was a music festival coming to uptown which Violet knew about but didn’t give much thought to, after all she didn’t think she was very good. However a husband and wife who were organizers of the festival happened to pass her by one day and heard her singing. What a magnificent voice they thought, so they approached her and asked if she would enter in the festival. She was overcome by the suggestion and replied that she wouldn’t even be able to find her way there. The couple realised how insensitive they had been in suggesting that she could leave her comfort zone just like that. So they asked if they could meet with her mother, so Violet took them home to meet her.

  The mother was astounded as she didn’t know about Violet singing in the street and as nothing good had happened in their life up until now she was at a loss to know what to do. The couple were very kind and assured the mother that Violet would be well taken care of during the festival and if the mother was willing they would come and escort Violet and herself to the festival where she would be able to watch Violet perform.

  The couple had entered Violet in a competition where she could win a recording contract and a sum of money to help her on her way. Violet wasn’t overcome by the amount of people in the audience because she couldn’t see them so she sang her heart out and wowed the audience as well as the judges. The lives of mother and daughter changed from that day on and Violet relished the idea that she was no longer a blind beggar but a singer who gave joy and hope to thousands.

  THE CABBY WHO KNEW THE WAY.

  Mahood had only been in the country for six months and was on a temporary working visa. He really enjoyed living in Australia and hoped he would be able to get a permanent visa later on. How lucky am I he thought as he took up his position as a taxi driver in Sydney. It was very confusing at first as he struggled to understand the language and memorising the streets but he was an intelligent young man and he was soon able to find his way around. He felt very privileged driving around in his flash taxi picking up all these people with enough money to be able to afford riding in an air conditioned taxi. Back in his home country the best they would be able to afford was a ride in a rickshaw.

  The fares he picked up took him from the airport to so many places around the city and sometimes to the outskirts of the city. He had basic English when he first arrived in Sydney and being a go ahead young man he enrolled in an English study course at night. His busy life kept him from being too lonely and he took his work seriously. Living in his one room flat that had a cooktop, refrigerator, a bed and not much else, he took care of himself and was happy everything had turned out so well.

  He would often view his passengers and wonder what kind of life they lived. He was not envious of them, just curious as he had not seen such wealth before. He knew from dropping off his passengers at huge mansions they must be indeed very wealthy. He couldn’t comprehend such wealth for himself and didn’t entertain the idea as he was happy the way that he was. His little flat suited his needs perfectly so it was never an issue. As his English improved he started chatting to his customers and was astounded to learn that they didn’t consider themselves at all wealthy and to them their houses were very ordinary basic houses. It took him a while to get his head around that because in his country for people to live in houses like that they would indeed be very wealthy.

  He noticed from time to time he would pick up the same customers so he became familiar with their destinations. One young lady that he considered very beautiful he would pick up from the University and deliver to a block of flats in the suburbs. At first he was very shy with her but after some time they chatted easily. She was a student at the University studying to become a welfare officer working with refugees. This intrigued him and he set about getting to know her better. It was a big leap for him when he asked her if she would have dinner with him after his shift was over. He was overjoyed when she agreed to his invitation. He was nervous as the time drew near as he wasn’t used to entertaining young ladies. The one thing that gave him confidence was that he knew the way to her flat and to the restaurant they were going to.

  They had such a wonderful evening and really got on fine together. That was the first of many outings they had together. The young lady encouraged him to apply for permanent residency. He was so full of confidence when he marched into the immigration office to apply for his permanent residency they were not able to turn him down. This cabby just knew the way.

  THE PERFECT TENNANT.

  If you have a house or a property that you have put a lot of your love and hard work into my advice is not to rent it out. It will break your heart to see what uncaring tenants will do to it. Sell it if you can no longer live there, this at least will give you closure.

  Our first property was twenty-six acres eleven kilometres out of Tamworth. It was indeed a haven for us especially when we built a five bedroom brick and tile house. We ran an equestrian centre from this property for some years and we were very happy there. Eventually our business grew too big to conduct on twenty-six acres so we bought three hundred acres twenty seven kilome
tres north of Tamworth.

  Then came the dilemma of what to do with our beloved first property. It was the first home we had ever owned and we loved it. We didn’t want to sell it so the obvious thing to do was to rent it out. Never having to deal with tenants and real estate agents, we were in for quite an education. Having engaged an agent he quickly found us a tenant who he said was the manager of a large bus building company in Tamworth. A first class tenant he said and we settled on the beginning of his lease. The tenant requested to move in a week earlier than agreed. I allowed this but told the agent I would need to have access to the property for that week to remove some items I needed.

  When we arrived at the property there were signs all over the place stating no admittance. Ignoring the signs we entered the garden area which was very difficult as the tenant had collected a mass of what appeared to be stuff he had collected from the dump. All the bits and pieces almost covered the whole of the two acre garden. A couple of weeks later we had a call from the agent saying the electric stove had blown up and we needed to replace it. The tenants who were Hungarian must have cooked one too many hungarian goulashes.