Some Brand of Sunshine

 (Josh)

You have Anglo Saxon middlish class Australia, who are privileged enough to live by the beach, deciding that they don’t want the working class dago kids from somewhere else coming into their suburb to use their beach?

Where in the universe would they have got an idea like that? Not liking people who are different?

We lock them up if they are from somewhere else and in need. We’re in favour of war. We passed draconian laws specifically targeting a certain part of the community. We have eroded human rights in the rush to pass protection laws. The media keeps us in a constant state of threat.

Do you know the baying riot crowds chanted Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi, as they caved in the Arabic kids face. Do you know that they bashed an Italian boy because they couldn’t tell the difference between the nationalities they hated and the nationalities they didn’t. Do you know that the whitey kids, more often than not, draped themselves in the Australian flag as they bashed the wogs, usually as a victory statement afterwards?

Who was it who said, Patriotism is the last bastion of the stupid?

Do you know what John Howard said when he was asked to comment on the use of flag draping at the riots? Look, I would never condemn people for being proud of the Australian flag. I would never condemn people for being proud.

I reckon this is the logical conclusion to the poison Pauline Hanson dared to belch. That gave Howard the mandate. Conservative politics, it’s almost clichéd.

Did you know a few nights later, a car load of Lebanese boys arrived in Cronulla with their noonas baklava, which they handed out as a peace offering and in way of an apology? That, funnily enough, wasn’t covered on the 6pm news.

(Christian)

(Josh)

A beach full of Lebanese boys, I’d never be off me fucken knees, mate.

Christian

Nicholas was asleep on the couch in a towel, when I got up to make a cup of tea. He woke up to say that Tim had said to him, at the Peel, I know you and Jimmy want to dump me. Nicholas said it was all just weird Tim shit. He had a bong and went to bed.

(Tom)

Ah what a glorious sunrise, orange and mauve, painted in huge bush strokes. As I lay in bed and enjoyed the morning glow, I was reminded of ourselves, from what seems like a distant time, as I watched the kids come home over the road, at day break, obviously way out of it. Bless their straight little hearts, that their time in the light ended in punch-ups and blood noses and shirts being torn from their backs, and reconciliation's and recriminations and the threats of the police being called... and the guilty party returning with a rock and trying to kick the door in. It was all done remarkably quietly, well, for the most part. Kind of nice kids turned bad. You gotta love that alcohol.

But, if you took the violence away and replaced it with laughter and naughtiness, it was kind of like the same comings and goings as... ah, it did take me back. I think I rolled two joints as I plumped the pillows and watched. The boy who had his shirt ripped off was hot.

When I came down to make tea, I found Nicholas sitting upright on the couch, asleep. He heard the kettle and had a bong and staggered off to bed, looking very much the worse for wear.

When I went back up stairs, three houses to the left, the drugged out twenty year olds were home. They were hanging over the balcony in a dazed state, smoking pot, playing ambient chill out.

Just a normal Saturday morning in Fitzroy. How's Ding?

Christian


(Tom)


All the comedians have died this year.
Richard Prior, Anne Bancroft, Bob Denver, Eddie Albert, Graham Kennedy, Ronnie Barker, Campbell McComas... Rosa Parks.


Christain



As soon as I had sent that last email, I pondered my mental state.


I’m reading the sun, smoking pot.


I’d started with the joints at 7am. I headed back to bed for a nap – and for some skanky American boys doing it to each other and DVD.



SMS. 10.07. Ho hum, ho hum, ho hum – Christian


SMS. 11.07. Fuck yeah! I am so over this stuff – Rachel


SMS. 11.13. Do you want to go to Portugal? Buy a 2CV… – Christian


SMS. 11.16. I just fainted. Can we go 2 Turkey after? No pun intended, but I have this need 2 C Turkey and Morocco – Rachel


SMS. 11.20. Would I like Turkish men? – Christian


SMS. 11.24. Dark and swarthy with a dick? You tell me – Rachel


SMS. 11.26. I’d love Turkey – Christian


Well, that certainly sounds like a cosmopolitan beginning to the day.

Rest assured we have no such shenanigans (or expression, individuality etc) in Dingley Village.

The Court "family" is way too old for that, though there are a couple of teenage boys across the road, 15 and 18, who seem to do their goings on without attracting undue attention.

They are both tall, skinny and with bucked teeth, the prodigy of two remarkably ugly (physically, I mean) people.

The older one IS in a band though, so I hope for his sake he does get into his patch of sunshine a bit.

We had our day Christian, and it was a long and glorious one. And we had our share of police too, if I remember correctly - at least you did anyway, Miss.

We were lucky to live in such a time and place and have all those dreamy Sunday mornings, popping eckys and trips like they were vitamin tablets.

But now we're older and even wiser, and the world is not such a new and shining place, and there are costs to be weighed from boosting oneself's in a vain attempt to reclaim the giddy heights of yesteryear.

I think retiring with a gorgeous tan to remind myself of all that sunshine is a graceful way to live.

So, what are you up to this weekend?

I have the family coming over for my birthday, just a few snags on the barbie, nothing too glam or exciting.

Then tomorrow I'm hoping I'm perky enough to go into the inner city and spread some love around.

The Dingley brand of sunshine seems to have been a bit short of late (or so the grapevine tells me) and I want to go a-visiting and give my friends the chance to see that my life crisis is over and we can get back to being normal, with drop ins and laughter and quick exits.

I've found I work best that way.

So, are you gunna be around the home tomorrow?

It would be a joy to drop casually by and share perhaps a coffee with you, and I could even pop my bed linen in the washing machine!

Anyway, that's the plan at the mo'.

Whaddya say?

xxxx

Tom

Been smoking pot all day. Been laying on the couch watching TV all afternoon. Godzilla has just finished and Head On is about to start.

Life's good

Christian

I lay on the couch all afternoon and made short work of my eighth j.

I watched The Human Body.

I watched Godzilla.

I watched Head On, speaking of human bodies. I know who I want my next boyfriend to be... and his name could be Alex, it’s a good boyfriend name. “Me and Alex will be over soon.”

(Of course, I’ve had an Alex, but, before I even knew what a boyfriend was)

Tim went to bed. Nicholas lay comatose on the couch.