ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

I can not remember any of those characters but then again maybe I'm not old enough.


Interesting read though Nev. Sounds like a hard job but with lots of memories.


Bob

In my limited experience Neville, bush poets are characters - mostly.

Heather

Thanks for the replies, Bob, Heather, Marty.

The thing that I regret is that it looks like we have no room for " characters " any more, someone might be offended. The status quo that now seems to be suitable is that we all just think the same, act the same, look the same according to a script written by the post-modernist social engineers who decry offensiveness[*]. Unless of course it is they who are out of order, but that is called activism, that's different.



[*]offensiveness...formerly known as telling the truth.

Pretty fragile creatures we are Neville no matter how tough an exterior we try to portray.


Political correctness sometimes discourages us from expressing our real feeling to people we care about and that leads to regrets later and then we persecute ourselves because of it.


We all carry baggage it's just that we do not like leaving ourselves open to getting hurt.


Bob

We have a couple of characters that wander the streets of Kilmore. Probably both with mental illnesses - seems to be the way it goes. They both tend to haunt the local Coles and the lady at one stage was quite a nuisance accosting the customers - but - the staff had a way to make her clear out and would shout, "The aliens are coming!" and she'd clear off quick smart. She's not as bad when she takes her medication and is really a very sad case.

Heather

I guess so Bob.

I meant that as a comment on the broad social scene. I sort of admired those people who had the resolve to be different no matter what anyone thought of them.


I know what you are describing Heather. seen it plenty of times. Mental illness is a terrible affliction that strikes right at the heart of our humanity more than any other illness I think, I am sure that they are endlessly tormented by fear and loneliness which seems to me to be pitiful.
( don't get me started on how they have been abandoned )

The way we see the world is conditioned into us from an early age Nev but we can change it although it takes a pretty dramatic event to do so. My older brother was a pretty outgoing sort of fella who worked hard to support his family but when his son ( a police officer ) was killed in a motor vehicle accident his focus shifted from work to to family. It is just a shame that sometimes it takes something like that to make us see just what is important.

Enough Said

Bob

That's a good picture of Arthur Stace, Frank.