another take on mixups in alice

Both Stella and I now have our new bikes and we are having lots of fun, well mostly. Sunday was what you might call ‘bike day’. I went for a long ride in the morning inspired by one of the people I work with who is really a bike Nazi. If you don’t ride 100km for a bit of relaxation you aren’t doing it right. Well forget the 100km but I was pretty happy with my 25km.

Stella not to be outdone decided that she would ride into Alice Springs to the “Alice Springs Film festival’ which is actually a travelling version of the ‘Sydney Film Festival’ See come and live here you wont miss anything.

I dropped Stella at the start of the Simpsons Gap to Alice bike track and planned to pick her up the other end and take her into the theatre another 5 kilometers. She suggested that if I wasn’t there then she would keep going and I just pick her up on the road. The planning was impeccable.

I got to the pick up point, she wasn’t there, I decide to go to theatre to check to make sure she wasn’t quicker than I thought. She’s not there, I ride back to pick up point thinking she must be stressed and tired. I wait for another hour realising that this plan wasn’t as smart as we’d planned the plan to be. I start to realise that this ride was quite long and would take much longer than the plan. Night is starting to fall. Go to theatre one more time to check no bike in the rack then go home and get my bike, go back to pick up spot and ride back along the track to find out the problem. Leave message for her in case she exits while I’m away. Ride on the track for 8 km, I’m buggered, its getting dark. Pass guy coming the other way who remembers seeing a redfaced woman fitting her description about an hour before back near where I started my rescue mission. I thank him kindly, turn around and accelerate off. Shortly after this man effortlessly overtakes my huffing and puffing and disappears into the greying night. I lift my cadence (learnt that in the manual I got with the bike) but realise I still have a way to go to becoming a competent rider let alone a Nazi.

I’m not sure how you put sub stories into print but this is one sits inside the story above. When I am returning from the theatre I notice a girl in red shorts walking toward the bike track. I return to pick up point and think that as I’m waiting I’ll go across the road and look at Flynns grave which I have now driven past 400 times without stopping. Get to the grave and notice that the red shorts girl had changed her trajectory away from where I had stopped and was waiting to coincidently head towards the grave. I walk around it realising there is not much here, and start to walk away, while the red shorts girl stands awkwardly nearby but staying clear of the grave. I then walk in another direction to have look around, you know weeing on the corners sort of stuff. I am walking back to the car and see the red shorts girl slip past where my car is to the bike track. Don’t think any more about it. One hour later when I come back with my bike to start the rescue mission I pull up at the start of the bike path just as the red shorts girl is coming out. The poor girl must have thought I was weirdo incorporated and this was a dangerous moment. Feeling like you are seen as a dangerous person is a very bad feeling. Feeling like you are in the presence of a dangerous person I guess is even worse.

Get back to car, drive to the theatre. Stella is outside with a friend wondering why I hadn’t turned up. It was a wonderful sight. I missed the movie but my night was more memorable than hers. She had somehow got by me as I drove past from the theatre. We still don’t know how. I then didn’t see her bike on the second check because she had put it in a different place a bit hidden because I had the key for the bike lock.

Moral of the story:
1. Stella rides faster than I thought
2. I ride slower than I thought
3. Even if you try to avoid girls in red shorts its harder than you think
4. Plans are funny things

Movies and mix ups in Alice

Well, the Sydney Film Festival in Alice has come to an end. I so enjoyed immersing myself in some good movies over the last few days.  On Sunday night  I got to see the documentary on the woman who wrote “Forbidden Love” (about an  honour killing of a Muslim woman in Jordan) and was exposed as a fraud. I saw the doco but Keith didn’t. He was riding and driving around looking for me. It was one of those stupid mix ups. The whole thing started with me getting the idea that I would  like to ride my brand new bike into town to see the movie. There is a wonderful pebblecrete bike track that runs through the Larapinta Valley from Simpsons Gap, just near us, to the edge of town. I took off on about a 20km ride with just under an hour to get there. Keith was going to drive in and the plan was that I would meet him there and drive home with him afterwards. I was running just a tad late. Must have been because I was riding into quite a strong easterly wind! He looked for me at the end of the track and along the road between the end of the track and the cultural centre where the movie was showing.  We do not quite know how,  but somehow he missed me. He said he thought I would be running later than I was. I got to the movie a bit late but only missed the introduction talk from the film festival organiser. I rushed in to the theatre assuming Keith had not wanted to be late and had not waited for me. It was dark and the usher lead me to a seat on the edge. It never even occurred to me that because Keith had not seen me he thought I had fallen off my bike on the track and was in terrible trouble. As if that would happen to invincible super bike rider me!! Any way, he drove home and got on his bike to ride the track. He also got Stephanie and her new partner, Greg (who were working in our vegie patch) to wait at the end of the track for me. Meanwhile, I’m sitting happily watching the movie. When the movie finished I’m waiting outside for Keith to emerge. He doesn’t. I had left my mobile at home because it would not have coverage on the bike track. I borrow a friend’s phone to ring him at home. No answer. I see an ambulance rush by and I am just starting to visualise him having had some terrible car accident,  when he turns up and almost sobs with relief to see me alive and in one piece. I feel really, really terrible.  I underestimated his care and protection. He underestimated my super bike riding prowess.  Any way, I feel loved. I also feel guilty. It was a good movie. Although at least it wasn’t “Control”. You must see that movie!

Films, dance and bikes

This weekend Keith and I have seen more films that I saw for the entirity of last year. Yes, the Sydney film festival travels to Alice! The two favourites so far are “Unfinished Sky” and “Control”. Alice has a fantastic cultural centre so we get to import a bit of “culture” from the edges of this land to the centre. And like all good film festivals we even had a Q and A with a director who was very real and very witty. In his film, Elvis the dog gets killed and someone asked a dumb question about why the dog had to die. He immediately quipped with ” I know many people haven’t got over the death of Elvis.” Last week we saw the Bangarra Dance company which was amazing! The other great thing is that last night sitting outside I even had to put a wee cardie . A bit of a cool change came through this weekend after a stinking hot week. What a blessed relief. And soon it will be autumn and I will have survived my first summer in Alice. We both gave ourselves push bikes for Xmas and it has even been cool enough to do a bit of riding out to Simpson Gap. We are struggling with the difficult issue about lending the bikes to our indigenous neighbours. There are big cultural differences around how we treat material possessions. I end up feeling selfish and materialistic when I say “no” but then get hurt when valuable things get damaged or don’t get returned. It’s hard. Our neighbours are fantastic people and it can be hard on both sides showing respect when there are big cultural differences.

good welders wanted

This weekend I decided to bite the bullet and weld new hinges on the gates knocked down by guess who….Browns bloody cows. John our aboriginal neighbour said he would help because he had done a welding course at Centre for Appropriate Technology. Add that experience to mine which was watching my brothers weld. We were ready. We started with enthusiasm getting out this little welder that I had aqcuired because even person living on the land needs a welder to fix gates.

I decided to start while John held the hinge. After twenty minutes the metal post looked more like an aboriginal totem with a dot painting. There were little pock marks about 100 of them each one evidencing another failure. What was worse is I couldnt see through the protective helmet so some of the artistic pock marks were a little too far away from where the hinge was located to suggest it was strategic. It did stretch out the totem effect down the whole pole but it wasnt the best to be overseen by someone who had had tuition and knew the difference between aboriginal art and welding. I did keep John occupied though as he had to stamp out the little fires my art piece had started in his thongs. He reckoned Jim Brown had put a jinx on us so that his cows could get into our place.

John then took over the welding and I held the hinge and immediately things started to look more optimistic with pock marks expanding to pocky streaks. He clearly had the wood on me. After no longer than two hours we had virtually melted two hinges but John had successfully attached both of them to the pole. Indeed the hinges had become much more artistic than normal squarish things; quite deformed and random looking things.

After lunch with new skills and hope in our heart we moved to the second gate. I was feeling now like I could move from pock art to welding so within a jiff I annihalted another hinge but did infact get it to stick. The only problem was as I looked down, my latest fire had got beyond Johns thongs. I marvelled at how well buffle grass burned and jumped from clump to clump. I tried to stop it doing that but it was unimpressed with my intervention. I then recalled a conversation I had with old man Brown the week before that now was looking like pretty relevant advice. Always fight a fire from the back he said never from the front. Whilst I was musing over my new fire knowledge John went for the bucket whilst I was kicking the shit out of buffle clumps. The wind fortunately was blowing the right way so when it got to the drive way my kicking coupled with Johns dousing and no more fuel seemed to do the trick. I was so relieved that I hadnt had to ring old man Brown to bring his fire truck and let him see our welding.

John did the second one now in confidence as there was nothing left to burn. He showed that he was keeping his skill base well ahead of mine by actually doing a weld that seemed to work without completely destroying the hinge. We completed the job feeling pretty happy with ourselves and I must confess a little chastened.

I got up next morning to admire the previous days efforts as I like to do to see the second gate had fallen. One hinge had broken and it was my masterpiece. All of Johns were fine. Never mind got a drill put in a bolt and she was a ripper.

more sorry business

well we all need a go at this one. a truly wonderful day. it feels like a real priveledge to be living in alice on a day like today. we all met around the wednesday campfire tonight and shared our stories of today. there were a number of aboriginal people with their kids tonight which was so fitting. perhaps the highight of today for me has been listening to aboriginal people from all over the place speak of hope and optimism. Thats the first time i’ve experienced that since we’ve been here. So much of what one does here seems so hard because there is so little hope amongst aboriginal people that its hard to move forward. i pray that this hope is something that can be built upon in ways that help aboriginal people to dare to hope for a future for their children. I thank kevin rudd for his courage and genuineness in championing this issue.

My second highlight was the courage of Brendan Nelson. I am aware of the barbs he has received and indeed his speech was patchy and conditional. yet stop for a minute. this man leads a party that only a couple of months ago carried 46% of the nation on the long held position that an apology would be wrong. indeed he personally supported that position (even though a number of others eg Turnbull and Costello). So this man has had to change his position in the most public of ways, he was never going to be the hero today and he has an angry party watching his every word wanting to differentiate itself from a resurgent labour party that holds the high moral ground.

yes he did upset indigenous people but he did take his party to make an historic bipartisan apology the results of which I have seen writ large across aboriginal faces in alice. Thats politics and I think it took guts. indeed he may not survive it.

Sorry business

I just had to join with everyone else in expressing my delight at the apology this morning. For the first time in what seems like an eternity I felt really proud of my country and happy with the government and a sense of hopefulness for the future. It’s only a start but it’s a step in the right direction. It was shown at 7:30 am here in Alice so I had only just rolled out of bed and I watched it on TV and was late for work. I work with a woman who was from the Stolen Generation and she was very happy. Her brother was in the gallery in Parliament House. It was good to actually recognise a couple of faces there. I have heard a lot of stories living and working here. A lot of the Stolen Generation experienced sexual abuse in the institutions many of them were taken to so working in a Sexual Assault Clinic I have heard a few of these stories. I felt so ovewhelmed with joy to think that some of the horror of what they went through has at last been finally acknowledged and apologised for, that they had a day to remember where their suffering was publicly spoken about. The suffering of the war vets is routinely acknowledged every Anzac Day so i don’t really know why Brendan Nelson had to bring it up on their day. Any way, even if Dr Nelson’s speech missed the mark, at least he agreed to vote for the apology so it was from all of parliament which was the more important. I’ll give him that. It was proabbly a very hard line for him to walk given his party’s history. And how amazing to see Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser standing side by side on this. I too have felt really happy all day and tonight a bunch of us will be celebrating it out here.

My friend is dying

I found out yesterday that my oldest school friend, Karen, is in hospital. She has had cancer for many years but it really looks as though she is now in the last leg. I feel a long way away in Alice. She has a husband and two sons and it is all really hard for them. I just really pray (and ask any of you to join me in this prayer)  for peace for her and her boys at this time.  I keep noticing my breath and how it comes in and goes out and I think that one day it will stop. Death is such an ungraspable concept really.

bicycle babies

Last night Stella picked up her new Christmas present, a brand new bicycle. It was very exciting. we tried to ride it in the dark but its surprising how dark dark can be and how tricky tricky can be when it comes to riding in the dark. Peo who is staying with us is christening it today by riding into Alice Springs from home along our bike path.

Hopefully my Christmas present which also happens to be a brand new bicycle is coming in a few days. Because the tractor is on temporary rain check they are fitting a front end loader to mine so its taking a bit longer. Its all very exciting.

A vegie garden, Brown’s cows and meditation

Last weekend Stephanie came out and the two of us gathered cow shit from around the property and emptied out my compost heap and dug it all into the soil under the shade cloth Keith put up for us. It was good to be getting some benefit from old man Brown’s cows who keep getting into our place and knocking things over in their pitiful search for food and water in the desert. Don’t get me started on cattle farming out here! Last weekend our neighbours found one of the cows dying. Old man Brown wasn’t too fussed but dragged the carcass away when it eventually died. Any way, after preparing the soil Stepahnie and I planted a bunch of seeds and seedlings that have sprouted from the compost. We have lots of chilli seedlings! So now we now have what is starting to look like a proper vegie patch. Hopefully Brown’s cows won’t get into the yard and eat the vegies like they did to our neighbours. So far most of the transplanted seedlings are surviving the heat, although this week hasn’t been too bad with a lot of cloud cover and even a drop or two of rain. Our friend Peo, from Sweden is currently staying with us and seems to be coping with the weather. He spends time meditiating in Thai monasteries where it is hot and there is no power so I suppose he will manage. My meditation group started up again this week, which is great. I really missed it.

friends and sydney

Had a fantastic January re engaging Sydney from a visitors perspective rather than as a resident. It is an exciting and fun place but probably its less about the place and more about the people. Thats a bit of motherhood statement buts it funny when you separate a place and people because usually it’s all together. You get to do that more when you travel and see a place for it being a place. The people might form part of the place but its only when you become close to them the people and place merge to become apparently a single thing but in reality the people are separate. Put another way you could take all of the people and put them in another place and life could go on, but you cant take Sydney anywhere. Sydney has to stay where Sydney is.

So in conclusion I really do feel like I live in Alice Springs for next stage of my life. Its a great place but it cant go anywhere just like Sydney cant so why dont you all come and live here. Thats a bit selfish I suppose.