Blokes you come across
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:09 pm
I did my apprenticeship in a small country town in SA, after I finished my time and a few years working for a boss I tried it on my own, it kept us fed but wasn't setting the world on fire so I suplimented it with a bit of truck driving, tractor driving, general farm work and even had a go behind the bar of the local for a spell. I was good at that, a few years training on the other side stood me in good stead. After working out that I was getting broker instead of richer....money wise that is, I decided to move further north and started working in the real outback, remote SA and then the Territory, not only did my finances improve, so did my experiences!
It's pretty amazing what some people will say when you come across them in the name of conversation, just the other day I was coming home from a week out bush installing a switchboard in a water storage yard on a community. It was at a place called Harts Range, a small aboriginal community out on the Plenty. I was travelling home on the Plenty Highway....buggered if I know why they call it that, it is a link to Bulia from Alice, or to Alice from Bulia if you prefer, it branches off almost due east from the Stuart Highway, about 70 K's north of Alice and starts off as a skinny gutted single lane bitumen road which extends for about 100 klicks, then turns into something which resembles a disused rubble quarry rather than a highway! Anyway, I was heading home with my ute loaded up with swag, tucker box, coupla ladders, tool boxes and a few sticks of conduit left over, I had the trailer with the old switchboard and a few rolls of cable and stuff in it, and after a week without a drink I was on course for home.
I'm poking along steadily with a bit of "The Highwaymen" on the juke box when this bloke in a bloody great 4WD Henry is approaching , he's got high lift jacks, ropes, jerry cans, tarps and every sort of burnside bushman equipment you can imagine....and that's just what you can see! Next thing he starts waving his arm about trying to flag me down, "What the bloody hell does this bloke want?" I think to myself as I start to make a bit of a hurried stop. Next thing there is a great bang and a bit of a rattle, I look in the mirror and say "Shit"....the trailer just came unhooked! I get out and survey the situation, no damage, just that the trailer is now hanging on the safety chain! Looks like the bloody safety latch...or whatever you call it, has a bit of a dodgy spring and let the tongue in the ball pop up and off comes the trailer....highway?...yeah sure. By now this other bloke is out of his unit and walking back to me, "How you goin'?" he says...I was goin' alright." I replied, "What's your problem?"....in a friendly tone trying not to sound too pissed off. "I just thought I better warn you that a blackfella has tipped his car over back the road a bit."...I thought, "What the hell has that got to do with me? you just come from there and I am going there, why is it important to me?"...he must have detected my confusion because he quickly added "It is on a bit of a corner so I thought I had better warn you so you don't run into him." "Right." I muttered. Thinking to myself, "I do 50,000 kays a year on these roads mate, do I look like the sorta dickhead who would plough around the corner and run into a blackfella car?" It was sort like an insult, but I guess he thought he was doing the right thing.
Anyway, I was more interested in the trailer being not connected to the ute and cold beer in the fridge at home than I was about another blackfella car arse up, he already indicated that no-one was hurt and help was on the way, (Which only made me more cranky that he had stopped me.) Pretty observant this bloke, he suddenly worked out that I was more interested in something between my ute and trailer than what he was on about, "What's wrong?" he says, "The bloody trailer has come unhooked, I hit a bit of a bad pothole just before you flagged me down, the spring in this catch must be buggered and let the toggle go, when I started braking after you flagged me down the bloody trailer came undone, not too sure how I am going to get it back on." " Do you want me to give you a lift?"..."Jeese this blokes sharp!" I thought to myself. "Yeah that'd be good." I said, "Looks heavy." he said. I thought, "'course it looks heavy you bloody clown, it's made of steel! Everything made of steel is heavy and then when you chuck a heap of other crap on top of it it is even heavier!" "Hang on mate!" I said, I'll go around the other side and we'll see if we can lift it on without a jack." Turned out it was pretty well balanced and wasn't too bad, next thing it was on and a bit of wire to hold the safety catch in place and we are set.
He looks in the ute and trailer and says "Sparky are yuh?'" "No mate, actually I'm a brain surgeon." "Orr, how come you got all this electrical gear with yuh then?" " Mate, you just never know when you might get a power failure on these remote communities, not real good halfway through an operation you know, pays to have all the bits to get things goin' again, you got to be a bit multi skilled out here you know." He raised his eyebrows as if in recognition of my skill, I think he just reckoned silence might be the best defence here. "Any how, thanks for the warning mate, better keep moving, enjoy the rest of your holiday.".........
It's pretty amazing what some people will say when you come across them in the name of conversation, just the other day I was coming home from a week out bush installing a switchboard in a water storage yard on a community. It was at a place called Harts Range, a small aboriginal community out on the Plenty. I was travelling home on the Plenty Highway....buggered if I know why they call it that, it is a link to Bulia from Alice, or to Alice from Bulia if you prefer, it branches off almost due east from the Stuart Highway, about 70 K's north of Alice and starts off as a skinny gutted single lane bitumen road which extends for about 100 klicks, then turns into something which resembles a disused rubble quarry rather than a highway! Anyway, I was heading home with my ute loaded up with swag, tucker box, coupla ladders, tool boxes and a few sticks of conduit left over, I had the trailer with the old switchboard and a few rolls of cable and stuff in it, and after a week without a drink I was on course for home.
I'm poking along steadily with a bit of "The Highwaymen" on the juke box when this bloke in a bloody great 4WD Henry is approaching , he's got high lift jacks, ropes, jerry cans, tarps and every sort of burnside bushman equipment you can imagine....and that's just what you can see! Next thing he starts waving his arm about trying to flag me down, "What the bloody hell does this bloke want?" I think to myself as I start to make a bit of a hurried stop. Next thing there is a great bang and a bit of a rattle, I look in the mirror and say "Shit"....the trailer just came unhooked! I get out and survey the situation, no damage, just that the trailer is now hanging on the safety chain! Looks like the bloody safety latch...or whatever you call it, has a bit of a dodgy spring and let the tongue in the ball pop up and off comes the trailer....highway?...yeah sure. By now this other bloke is out of his unit and walking back to me, "How you goin'?" he says...I was goin' alright." I replied, "What's your problem?"....in a friendly tone trying not to sound too pissed off. "I just thought I better warn you that a blackfella has tipped his car over back the road a bit."...I thought, "What the hell has that got to do with me? you just come from there and I am going there, why is it important to me?"...he must have detected my confusion because he quickly added "It is on a bit of a corner so I thought I had better warn you so you don't run into him." "Right." I muttered. Thinking to myself, "I do 50,000 kays a year on these roads mate, do I look like the sorta dickhead who would plough around the corner and run into a blackfella car?" It was sort like an insult, but I guess he thought he was doing the right thing.
Anyway, I was more interested in the trailer being not connected to the ute and cold beer in the fridge at home than I was about another blackfella car arse up, he already indicated that no-one was hurt and help was on the way, (Which only made me more cranky that he had stopped me.) Pretty observant this bloke, he suddenly worked out that I was more interested in something between my ute and trailer than what he was on about, "What's wrong?" he says, "The bloody trailer has come unhooked, I hit a bit of a bad pothole just before you flagged me down, the spring in this catch must be buggered and let the toggle go, when I started braking after you flagged me down the bloody trailer came undone, not too sure how I am going to get it back on." " Do you want me to give you a lift?"..."Jeese this blokes sharp!" I thought to myself. "Yeah that'd be good." I said, "Looks heavy." he said. I thought, "'course it looks heavy you bloody clown, it's made of steel! Everything made of steel is heavy and then when you chuck a heap of other crap on top of it it is even heavier!" "Hang on mate!" I said, I'll go around the other side and we'll see if we can lift it on without a jack." Turned out it was pretty well balanced and wasn't too bad, next thing it was on and a bit of wire to hold the safety catch in place and we are set.
He looks in the ute and trailer and says "Sparky are yuh?'" "No mate, actually I'm a brain surgeon." "Orr, how come you got all this electrical gear with yuh then?" " Mate, you just never know when you might get a power failure on these remote communities, not real good halfway through an operation you know, pays to have all the bits to get things goin' again, you got to be a bit multi skilled out here you know." He raised his eyebrows as if in recognition of my skill, I think he just reckoned silence might be the best defence here. "Any how, thanks for the warning mate, better keep moving, enjoy the rest of your holiday.".........