Today is the 11th of the 11th and the 89th anniversary of the day the guns went quiet on the western front in the Great War.
Today at 11am I sat on the lawns of the Australian War Memorial to commemorate this. As we sat waiting, I mentioned to Lachlan the medal my grandfather had received for construction service in WWII.
Last weekend we had visited Grand-dad in the nursing home. He had recognised me when I arrived, but then lapsed into semi-sleep broken by occasional wakefulness.
Every now and then he would reach out towards my grandmother, and when she took his hand, he would try to pull himself up. He seemed to hate being stuck in a chair.
Just as I was about to leave, he reached out towards me (I was sitting next to him) and when I took his hand, he just held it. There was no attempt to stand, it seemed that he just wanted to hold my hand.
After Lachlan and I left the war memorial I turned my phone back on and listened to a voicemail from my dad. As it turns out, I was talking about my Grand-dad when he died.
And although I sit here crying, I feel so privileged that I got to see him last weekend, and for the 23 years I have had him.
Goodbye Grand-dad, I will remember you.
11-11-2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Thieving Crows!
I've never really liked crows much. Those big, heavy black birds, with their long wicked looking beaks. As of Tuesday, I like them even less.
This year, on the first Tuesday in November, the ACT held its first "Family and Community Day" public holiday (conveniently synced with the Melbourne Cup).
As Lachlan and I don't follow horse racing, AND don't have a television, this was simply a day together.
One of our friends had the bright idea to call a picnic in Commonwealth Park. We decided to brave the cold and blustery weather, mainly to see how different the place looked post-Floriade.
Dodging the bobcat that was preparing for turf laying, we found the picnic spot. There was only us, and Nathan, who had called the picnic. We had a nice lunch, and then decided that it was a perfect opportunity for a games of Boules. So, out came the carry bag, it was zipped open, and we each chose our markings. I went with the single lines, Lachlan chose wide double lines, and Nathan the narrow double. We tossed the little wooden jack and began the fun.
After several games, we grew rather silly - throwing all at once etc. I decided that we should wrap up. "Last game" I called. I tossed the jack and instantly, one of the large crows that had been hanging around swooped down and flew off with the jack!
I followed it and saw it land and start wildly pecking at the small wooden sphere. Another crow joined it, and it was momentarily distracted by its competition. I shouted, hoping to scare them both off and reclaim the jack. Alas, I managed to scare them both, but the evil bird took my jack with it!!!
It flew out of sight, the little jack in its beak. Nathan and Lachlan thought we should walk around and look for it, but after a circular walk around the park, we returned to pack up our picnic.
I thought how clever it would be for thieves to train crows to steal something small and insignificant (but frustrating) to get people away from their valuables and make off with them. The most valuable thing we had however was our picnic bag. Maybe the sight of Nathan's beetroot and cashew dip scared them off...
This year, on the first Tuesday in November, the ACT held its first "Family and Community Day" public holiday (conveniently synced with the Melbourne Cup).
As Lachlan and I don't follow horse racing, AND don't have a television, this was simply a day together.
One of our friends had the bright idea to call a picnic in Commonwealth Park. We decided to brave the cold and blustery weather, mainly to see how different the place looked post-Floriade.
Dodging the bobcat that was preparing for turf laying, we found the picnic spot. There was only us, and Nathan, who had called the picnic. We had a nice lunch, and then decided that it was a perfect opportunity for a games of Boules. So, out came the carry bag, it was zipped open, and we each chose our markings. I went with the single lines, Lachlan chose wide double lines, and Nathan the narrow double. We tossed the little wooden jack and began the fun.
After several games, we grew rather silly - throwing all at once etc. I decided that we should wrap up. "Last game" I called. I tossed the jack and instantly, one of the large crows that had been hanging around swooped down and flew off with the jack!
I followed it and saw it land and start wildly pecking at the small wooden sphere. Another crow joined it, and it was momentarily distracted by its competition. I shouted, hoping to scare them both off and reclaim the jack. Alas, I managed to scare them both, but the evil bird took my jack with it!!!
It flew out of sight, the little jack in its beak. Nathan and Lachlan thought we should walk around and look for it, but after a circular walk around the park, we returned to pack up our picnic.
I thought how clever it would be for thieves to train crows to steal something small and insignificant (but frustrating) to get people away from their valuables and make off with them. The most valuable thing we had however was our picnic bag. Maybe the sight of Nathan's beetroot and cashew dip scared them off...
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