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CURRAWONG NEWS Chapter 2

The house phone was ringing just as I was going to bed. It was 10.55 pm and too late for a social call. I picked up the phone just as my wife came out.

“It’s Claud here. Constable Twist asked me to ring people and let them know there’s been a shooting down at the Connor’s. Constable Twist said to warn people there may be an armed person or more on the loose. Stay locked up.”

My father, Tom, came into the hall. “It’s probably the Connors shooting each other, but we had better keep an eye. Where’s Trevor?”

Trevor sleeps like a hibernating bear. I said, “Don’t disturb him. I’ll check the system.”

Trevor wasn’t capable of working on the property, and I think that he disliked cattle, but he was an electronic wiz. He had come across this idea of putting wireless controls on gates, tanks, and cameras everywhere. We already had scanners to identify the weight and health of the cattle. There were night vision cameras at the front gate and through the bush at the back as we’d experienced wood thieves. We could manage quite a few jobs on the farm from the computer, or an iPhone, Tom rightly insisted that cameras and machines were not as good as a person “A camera can't touch and smell and listen,” Trevor said that it would be possible soon. Anyway, it meant that any intruder would be noticed. The computer could tell the difference between cattle and a person moving. Peace appeared to reign, so we went to bed after I had checked the locks on every door and window.

Next day held a ripple of changes. Lauren, my eleven-year-old daughter, was returning from school camp. That meant Greg Matthews from next door would be home the day after. We had lent a hand with Greg after his father died. He did odd jobs for us after school and Saturdays. As it was illegal now to employ boys his age, it was clearly arranged that Greg was just helping out a neighbour. My father gave him pocket money every week ‘out of the kindness of his heart’ whether he worked or not, and if there was a school expense such as an excursion, Greg brought the form to my father, who wrote a cheque. I had worded up his teacher and nobody else knew.

My wife Jean had left to collect Lauren, who arrived home full of joy. Jean winked at me as she came through the door, so I knew something had amused her. Lauren was bursting with it. “Miss Hollock was funny.”

Funny can mean a multitude of things. “How was she funny?” I had met Miss Hollock. She would be in her thirties, kept her hair in a bun, neck-high tops and a skirt below her knees. My picture of an upright old-time very proper schoolmarm.

“She wore shorts and really old boots, and she had a top with badges. She climbed a mountain in Napal and is a member of the SES.”

My mental image of Miss Hollock transformed instantly.

“And that silly Moonly girl threw a basketball right up in the air into a tree and Miss Horrock climbed the tree up into little branches and got the ball. It was amazing.”

‘It must have been. What else did you do?”

“Oh, lots of hikes and a rock climb. There was a rope bridge, too, but it was a bit silly because we had to wear a safety harness and it was this huge thing that wrapped around your body and between your legs, but nobody fell off.’

Joan was fairly happy about this. “What did you do at night?”

“Miss Conway told us stories. She wouldn’t tell us any horror stories because she said we might get nightmares. But Lisa Verga had a  nightmare. She started screaming one night really late and woke us up. But Miss Hollock settled her down and we went back to sleep. They said something happened to her when she was little, but nobody knew what.”

Several days later Aiden came into the Office. “Hey Dad, Greg’s got an odd bum.”

“How do you mean, odd?”

“One side’s higher than the other.”

You are never quite sure what to expect with Aiden. “Ask him to come in here.”

Greg came in looking a bit sheepish. “it’s nothing, Mr. Patterson, I had a fall at camp.”

“Did you see a doctor?”

“No, we can’t afford a doctor.”

I could. I had Jean take him to pick up his mother and take Greg off to my doctor. Trevor came in and said, “I guess I look after the goats.” He liked the goats. He was clutching a thick book.

“What’s that?” I asked. 

“Just some stuff Gordon said I should read. More Lewis. Um… if you are leaving the University I could use the flat in Parkville. I’m going back to Uni. to do Theology.”

The omnipresent ears of Aiden spoke from the door. “What’s Theology?”

“It’s the study of God, and includes Jesus and the Bible and Church,” Trevor said.

Aiden looked astonished. “You’re going to be a Hood?”

I should explain that while there were frontal pictures of some of us in academic dress, the only academic hood that Aiden had seen from behind was that of our Rector, a rather small Sri Lankan man who wore the bright red hood of a D. Phil. Oxford which nearly enveloped him. Aiden had christened him The Hood.

“Not necessarily, wait and see.” Trevor said firmly.

My father, when told, burst out laughing. “If your mother was still alive, I would be a hundred dollars richer. I bet her that Trevor would end up in the Church.

Jean returned home. “Greg has a badly bruised hip and buttock. He won’t talk about it, but the doctor said that he’d been kicked and there were other bruises. He gave him some ointment. I’ve dropped them home.”

“OK, I’ll look into it.” The culprits were probably beyond reach. Greg needed building up.

Just then my mobile went off, along with Dad’s and Joan’s. A McDonald’s voice told me that a severe electrical storm warning had been put up. I looked at the radar. It had been clear this morning. Now there was a vicious black and red mess heading our way with lightening symbols. A warning flashed. Very severe weather warning. We had a drill.

“There are cattle in the Creek Paddock,” Trevor shouted from his video control. My father was on his motorbike in a flash and heading down there. The paddock wouldn’t flood badly, but that soil would get boggy and bogged cattle were a nightmare. Jean was rounding up the dogs and putting them in the mudroom. I phoned Mrs Matthews and checked that she knew a storm was on the way. I sent Lauren and Aiden to chase the goats into the shed and turn on the feeders. Trevor went out to the cover over the turntable switch between the pole and the house and turned it off. The pole was in fact a tower of thirty-five feet high with a TV and wireless ariel and a weathervane, plus some of Trevor’s electrics. Of all the things on the property, which was the one most likely to be struck by lightning, and Trevor disconnected its link to the house. I ran and checked the generators and then shut every shed and every door and window in the house.

When everybody was safely inside, I went back to the radar. My father peered over my shoulder and said, “It looks worse,” It was also fast, and a cell-storm was a new experience for us.

We didn’t have long to wait. The sky darkened as if an eclipse, and there was a clap of thunder. Then the lightning and the rain began. The rain was heavy and driven by a ferocious wind. There was continuous violent forked lightning all over the sky and thunder very close to us. The rain seemed to grow heavier and heavier. The power went off and the generators kicked in.

Aiden buried his head in my stomach and sneaked an occasional glance out the window. Jean said, “We still have to have dinner. Let’s all go into the kitchen, and I’ll cook.

We had to shout to converse, so we didn’t say much. Aiden clutched me and though Dad kept reassuring everybody that we would be OK the children weren’t happy. Then Dad displayed a little alarm. “The phones have gone.”

The storm continued, and so we went to bed. Lauren and Aiden were jammed between my wife and myself as they were terrified. The lightening, thunder and heavy rain was relentless at an appalling level. We didn’t sleep, so I thought, but I was shaken and then shocked awake by a clammy hand on my face. 

I slammed my hand on the light and was confronted by a wet and bedraggled Greg.

“What,” I shouted. Everyone in the house was wide awake.

Greg said, “Our house has gone. It was hit by lightning. Mum’s hurt. I tried to get here in Mum’s car, but it’s bogged halfway.” It was 4.00 am.

Dad came thundering in. He must have gone to bed fully dressed. “What’s happening?”

I told him and he immediately took charge, as ever.

“We’ll go over in the Massey.” Our Massey-Ferguson tractor was a huge thing with an enlarged cabin so that Dad could take grandchildren around with him. “Jean, dry that boy down and put him into some sort of clothing. Lauren, go and bring Lawrence.  If his system has anything left, I want a look.”

Then to Greg. “How hurt is your mother? Is she bleeding?”

Greg said, ”She was knocked down. Her legs bleeding.”

He focused on me. ”Andy, two blankets and the First Aid Kit and two Walkie-Talkies out of the Fire Kit. We’ll take one, Jean, you and Trevor keep the other. And find that big doona my wife had. It’ll pad the cabin. Move it.” We moved.

The trip to the Matthews was memorable. We were driving blind through the rain and struck Julie Matthew’s car. Greg let out a moan of horror. Dad backed and swung around it. “Never mind, I’ll get it fixed.”

Julie Matthes's house was gone. When hit by lightning it had burnt. I didn’t believe that anything could burn in this, but it had. Julie was on the ground in a shed crying. Dad checked her over and said, “Her spine seems OK.” He then dressed the gash in her leg with the ruthless efficiency drawn from decades of dealing with injured animals, wrapped her in blankets, and lifted her into the Massey. We followed.

Greg was sobbing. “Everything has gone. There’s nothing left.”

Dad said, ‘Just know you’re safe. We’ll get your mother to hospital. Don’t worry about the house. I’ll fix it.”

‘But it’s a house.”

Dad said, “Yes, and I said I’ll fix it.” My mind was already drifting to the unused Manager’s Cottage. “ Andy, get Jean to have the 4-wheel drive ready. The rain is easing, We should be able to get out the back way onto the Geelong Road and take Julie to Casualty. Jean had better come with me.”

“What about me?” Greg asked.

“Hot meal, hot shower, and bed, Dad said.” We don’t know how long it will all take, and your Mum will be well looked after.”

So, Julie was given a bite and drink, and departed with Dad and Jean. The rain stopped, the day dawned, and there was sunlight. Trevor was gazing at monitors in disgust. “It will take weeks to fix all this.”
I asked, “How much damage? What can you see?”

“Not much, but there are cattle down in the front paddock.” This was the unpleasant stuff.

I said,  “Take the children into the kitchen and keep them occupied.”

When that had happened, I opened the gun safe and took out a rifle. The sound of gunshot carried a long way and distressed the children. There would be animals to be put down. I put the trailer and a fencing kit onto the Massey and got busy.

Dad returned with Jean that evening. “She’s got a cracked thigh and a few ribs as well as the gash on her leg. A couple of weeks, they guess. Jean can take Greg down tomorrow. She can buy him some clothes at the same time. I have bought a satellite phone.  I should’ve done that years ago. There won’t be phones for at least a week.  And the electricity is just as bad. We have a lot of cleaning up to do. And we’re going to have insurance assessors and vets and heavens knows what all over the place. Julie says her place is insured. We will have to wait and see. As we’ve got her place to consider as well as our own, I’m not looking to see who else needs help for the moment. There’s a list of jobs a yard long.

In the middle of all this I noticed the distant look on Aisen’s face and was struck by a resemblance. “Uncle Mark,” I exclaimed.

“Shit!” Dad said.

Aiden shot out of his chair and shrieked. “Swear word! Swear word! You owe me five dollars.”

Dad nodded, “You’re right. Mum will give you five dollars to spend in Geelong.”

Aiden wasn’t missing anything. “Out of your own wallet. That’s the rule.”

Dad reached for his pocket as he glared at me. “You started this Swear Box stuff. “ Then he grinned, “I had better phone Mark.”

Uncle Mark was not Dad’s brother, He was a cousin who had never succeeded at anything and was partially supported by the family. He ran a bookshop library in Toolon.

Dad called him on speaker. “Mark, did the storm harm you?”

Mark chatted on. It had rained, but no problems. He heard about our excitement. I butted in.

“Uncle Mark, were you ever diagnosed with ADHD?”

“No, but the doctor wanted me to see a psychiatrist years ago. I had survived school. I refused. I wasn’t getting medicated. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, just curious,” I said. I’ll talk to you about it one day.”

I wasn’t saying anymore. The omnipresent ears were flapping, and Aiden hated being discussed.

When the phone was off, he blurted out, “Am I going to grow up like Uncle Mark?”

“No,” I told him, “You are going to be a Victorious Conqueror.”

He looked straight at me and said, “Victorious Conquerors get higher pocket money.” 

A moment before, having spoken to Uncle Mark, I was thinking that I should deliberately teach Aiden survival skills for school.

I reversed my opinion. It was the school that would need survival skills. Dad was grinning. He said, “Like father, like son.”

CURRAWONG GROWS  Chapter 3

Syd Jacobs believed that vigorous swearing helped his hammer drive nails into the fence posts more effectively, which is why I didn’t let the children near him when he was working.

He paused to tell me, “The old homestead fence is shot. Posts finished. I can use the rails same as. And you’re looking after the Matthews place. Hell of a mess there.”

The storm had caused terrible damage. “I’ll look into it.”

Some movement on the edge of my vision caused me to turn and look. There was a car heading towards the house. “I had better go and see what this is about.” I left Syd to it.

When I reached the house I met Bernie Roberts. I had been to school with him and seen him several times at Uni. After a little chit-chat, he said, “I’m working as a consultant to the Army. We have an incredible array of weapons these days, but with all the extraordinary compensatory devices we can stick on guns today, we have very few dead shot marksmen. Now, Andy, you have a secret talent. Nobody has come near your score at the school rifle range. Some wondered why you weren’t in the Olympic team. We’d like you to tell some Army trainers how you did it.”

I frowned at him. “There was no way I could afford to get tangled up in competitive sport, and surely your trainers have read and developed all the stuff necessary. You have remarkable snipers, surely? You just find people  born with the ability to achieve complete stillness, and an instinctive perception of wind and light.”

“The word is, you are still a remarkable shot. I’d still like you to talk to them, in Melbourne.” He stood up. “I’ll give you a call.”

He left, and I stood wondering how someone in government heard that I retained the accuracy of a sniper. Maybe Rangers’ chatter.

Lauren was safely cloistered in a Boarding House at Geelong Grammar. Aiden was at the local primary school with a teaching aid trained in ADHD. Julie Mattews was out of hospital and in our renovated Manager’s cottage with Greg.

I got the tractor out and did a survey of the Matthews property. It was smaller than ours and everything was a bit below par, grass, fences, cattle, the lot. Julie wouldn’t be capable of working for a few months.

She had difficulties. Her husband had insured the House and property with an El Cheepo insurer. They produced all sorts of objections against the client. In the fine print, we discovered they had to report every year on the condition of deadlocks in the house and the state of the fences and the whole lot of funny little rules that no body really bothered ever to obey. The insurer claimed that because all the conditions had not been fulfilled, the claim would not be satisfied. I pulled in the family solicitor. Mr Jacobson had been to school with Granddad and looked that way. He was, however, one of the sharpest solicitors I have ever met. He told me that if the case went to court, it was a 50/50 job. There was a chance that a judge would support the claim and make the insurance company pay. But on the other hand, it was a contract and some judges would go for a ruling that the contract was binding. Buyer beware.

Mr Jacobson said that there was another way of dealing with this. He had let the insurer understand that two television stations were keen to hear about it, and indeed, the ABC had expressed an interest.  And then there was always the possibility of a class action. He didn’t doubt that the insurance company would come to the party. In the meantime. The Matthews probably had to be run. And I hired staff to manage that. 

In the bachground there was a thought. My mind wandered over the visit of Bernie Roberts His offer made me uncomfortable so I got on the phone to men who would have known him at school. It turned out that after school had gone into the army and done a degree of some sort as an officer. And then he disappeared into government service. Several guys thaouth that ‘Into government service’ was a cover for going into Asus or Asio. I decided that I didn’t want to be training possible assassins for the Australian government and decided to ignore his offer.

Jean called me. What would you like first? The good news or the bad news?” OK”, I said, let’s have the bad news.”

“ Well, your sister and family have let me know they’re coming down to stay for the weekend.” Now, my sister is OK, but she has married  very tiresome man. Brendon, a rather spindly furniture warehouse Manager whose mind is filled with opinions about nothing but the latest news, which he repeats at length. And he has a son,  Roger who is fourteen and a revoltingly superior little boy. He attends Melbourne Grandma, which he tells you is the most wonderful school in the world and vastly superior to other schools out in the sticks, of which, sadly, includes Geelong. They also have a daughter. Lori who’s sixteen and a very quiet girl. “OK”, I said we’ve got them for the weekend. Cheer me up. What’s the good news?”

“Aiden has come home from school,” she said, “ith a project. They are not allowed to ask, why about anything, they have to ask how? How does it work? I have had about thirty questions from him already and he is excited to talk to you.”

Well, I was reasonably happy about that. After years of why, why, why? How might be more a healthy change. I got to the house as Jean was preparing dinner. I checked out the spare bedrooms to make sure everything was ready for my sister’s arrival.

Rather late Friday night, they arrived. The next morning after breakfast, our extended family life began. Roger retired to his room to read a book. Farming was not his thing at all. Jean took my sister, Alice, and Brendon on a tour of inspection, as I had some work in the office.

About half an hour later there was a faint knock on the door and Lori came in. “Uncle Andy, can I talk to you?”

I turned and looked at her, She had switched modes. She was standing firmly upright and as I looked into her eyes I saw a gleam of strength that surprised me.

“Mummy and Daddy are pushing me to go to do something feminine like nursing or primary teaching. I want to join the police. I want you to tell them I can join the police. They will listen to you. Anything I say, I just get squashed.”

This was a new Lori. I said, “I think doing a degree would be a good idea and then and go into the police, which would be a good way to go, but do you realize how tough being a policewoman would be? It would be physically demanding and emotionally tough.”

She looked about eighteen. “I don’t want to be rude about your sister, but I have survived my family so I’m already emotionally tough, and physically, well, I’m in a wrestling team at school, though Mummy and Daddy don’t know that.”

A new Lori had emerged before my eyes. “OK,” I said, I’ll drop some heavy hints around the family.”

Aiden mysteriously appeared between us looking in awe at Lori. “You do wrestling?”

I held his head. “You hear too much. Lori, we need ear plugs. Where can we get ear plugs?”
She was quick . “There’s plenty of cow dung outside. I could make him some.”

As he shrank away I said to Aiden, “What you heard is secret, just between us, OK? Because if you tell, I will turn you into a frog.”

He was grinning. “You didn’t last time.”

I locked eyes with him. “How do you know?”

“But I’m a boy!”

“You might be a frog thinking you’re a boy.”

“Ha, ha,” he said derisively, “I saw people trying to make people think like that on the TV.”

“Aiden, what you heard you can’t tell Lori’s parents. It really is secret. We are looking after Lori. OK?”

Then all hell broke loose. The fire siren went off. I ran into Trevor’s control room. “What?”

“There’s a grass fire in the paddock behind the big shed.”

I shot out the back. Dad was already starting up our fire engine, and I climbed up to the nozzle. He shouted, “It’s not fast, we can handle it.” Jean and Aiden with the dogs were chasing the goats into a further field. Cattle were safe, for the moment.

Fortunately, the grass was still a little damp and the fire struggled. Nevertheless, it took furious effort to extinguish, and we were tired and filthy by the time we finished.

Dad asked, “How the hell did that start?”

Trevor was poking about along the wall of the shed. “There’s a cigarette but.”

“But nobody smokes, “ Dad said. Then, “Where’s Roger?”

Once inside, we dug him out of his room. He smelt of tobacco. Dad was furious and belonged to a generation in favour of corporal punishment. He shouted at Roger, “Nobody smokes here. Apart from being unhealthy, it’s a fire hazard, as you just found out.”

I thought that Dad was about to punch Roger, and pulled him away. “My prisoner,” I said, and carted him off to my office. I was tempted to thump him myself. 

“You have known from birth that nobody smokes here. What was going through your mind, to smoke behind the shed?”

He looked resentful. “I’m entitled.”

“You’re what?”

“I’m entitled to make my own decisions. I don’t have to obey your rules. I’m an individual.”

I looked at him in anger. “You are an individual in a community, and we have community rules we all obey. You’re not thinking straight.” Then I had a flash of inspiration. I phoned Gordon Harris and told him what had happened. Could he help Roger sort out his thinking, say, this afternoon? Yes, he could. I took Roger back to his parents.

Alice said, “We ought to go home now.” Brendon was half-heartedly saying he should pay for the damage. I said, “You are not going home. After lunch I am taking Roger to meet a friend of mine. It will help. And you are not paying for it, Brendon. I won’t have damage payments between family.”

A slightly shocked Alice said, “ You’re even worse than Dad.”

I smiled. I enjoy a compliment.

After lunch the other children said that they wanted to come for the drive so I packed the four of them into the car, including a very terse Roger. When we reached the house I took Roger to the front door. When Gordon opened it, Roger immediately said in a hostile manner, “I’m not answering any questions.”  Gordon said, “I wouldn’t ask you to (Slight pause and drop into a confident tone) answer any questions that I ask you. Come in.”

I left them to it and I took the children for the traditional ice cream. As we didn’t hear from Gordon we ended up watching an uneventful cricket match on the local oval. After two hours I had the phone call. Time to collect Roger.

A very chastened Roger said goodbye to Gordon at the door and shook hands with him. As he approached me he said, “Sorry” before climbing into the car. Lori looked at him and asked, “What happened? What was that like?”

Roger was almost stuttering. “I’m not sure. He sort of turned my world upside down.”

I put my hand over Aiden’s mouth. Roger went on, “He started talking about when he was at school and asking about my school and we got onto what we did in History and he started telling me a long story about the Battle of Hastings, I think, and I forget how it ended but I found myself being in it and thinking differently, I think. Anyway, he’s the nicest man I have ever met. I mean, Uncle Andy you’re ..”

I stopped him. “Yes, he is the nicest man, and we won’t talk about it anymore. Change of subject. Who can spot the first yellow car.”

When we arrived home Roger pushed me into the office and shut the door. “I am very sorry for what I said to you and for being an idiot. I don’t know how to make up for the fire. And can I come back again and talk to Gordon Harris?”

“Forget the fire. We’ll put it down to fire-drill practice, and yes, you can come back and talk to Gordon. He may have told you it’s confidential. We will never know what you talked about unless you tell us. OK?”

I took him back to his parents. “We’ll have a celebration dinner tonight. Lori and Roger have grown up a step further, and are going to be much more adult and self-expressive. Roger will be working on being more connected, and Lori is heading for University and a career choice after that.”

Loti turned her face to me, widespread and open-mouthed. I winked at her, and she grinned.

Alice said to me, “For the second time today, you’re worse than Dad.” 

Dad laughed, “Eclipsed. I am no longer the family tyrant.” 

Alice said, “Grandad was supposed to have been even worse. It’s bled down through the male line. What is Aiden going to be like?”

The omnipresent ears flapped. “What am I going to be like what?”

All credit goes to Gordon Harris, because Roger immediately chipped in, “Like the most amazing wonderful person ever. Now, put a smile on your face.”