shown on the television programme ‘Four Corners’ about being corrupt. Immediately the gossiping began and naturally my thoughts went to some individuals whom I thought could have been corrupt. I’ll tell you how ridiculous I felt. The people who I thought may have been corrupt weren’t; and the ones whom I thought weren’t corrupt, ended up being the corrupt ones.
It didn’t matter who you bumped into along the corridors each was viewed with suspicion until everything came out in the wash through the Fitzgerald Inquiry. I still can’t believe what happened. Every police officer was under suspicion of being corrupt whether they were or not.
Unfortunately gossiping will never be stamped out and we’ve got to learn to live with it. With some people it makes their day when they gossip.
Word count: 427
Know It All
‘So you think you know it all.’ My father spoke these words standing over me; they cut through my heart like a hot knife slicing butter, his eyes dark and angry. ‘You think you can do a better job than I can?’
My mother and I had returned from a holiday in Sydney. She was very sick and the holiday was meant to give her peace. We had a wonderful time staying with friends giving her an opportunity to do what she wanted to do with no pressure.
When we arrived home, I don’t know what my father meant when soon after he went into one of his raging sessions. To me it was uncalled for and totally irresponsible. What hurt me most was he didn’t recognise what I’d done for my mother and I don’t think he cared.
‘So you think you can run this house better?’ His words blasted into my face, scrunching into a shape to frighten everyone, including my mother and sisters. I hated violence and moreso confrontation, particularly with my own father. I couldn’t understand his motives. In my mind I thought perhaps he could’ve been jealous or on the other hand alcohol may have affected his mind to such a degree he couldn’t control his emotions.
What was done – was done. He stormed out of the house, slammed the front door in the process, stamped down the steps and the last noise we heard was the car being reversed from the driveway.
Four of us stood in the bedroom and the tension lifted as soon as my father left the house. My mother almost collapsed on the bed, she looked exhausted.
Emotion filled my mind with ‘what do I do now’. I didn’t know it all but I did know when something wasn’t right and it needed to be fixed. How was I going to fix this problem?
Ten minutes later my father returned; and with tongue in cheek I said, ‘you weren’t away long.’
From that moment onward we dare not to speak with one another. He kept to himself and didn’t speak with me to work out what actually happened. I knew in my mind it couldn’t have been me because I was a ‘know it all’ because in actual fact – I didn’t know it all.
At the time I was twenty-one years of age and discovered along the journey there is much to learn before ‘you know it all’ - if ever.
Word count: 417
A Knock At The Door
‘Who could that be at this time of the morning?’ I sat up in bed. Another knock at the front door pierced my ear-drums. ‘Who’s there?’ I called out brushing the sleep from my eyes.
‘It’s Betty – I’ve come to collect for the Red Cross.’ A voice I recognized.
‘Betty – what’re you doing waking me at this time of the morning? It’s still dark – isn’t it?’ I called to her.
‘No. It’s past ten o’clock in the morning.’ She replied. ‘I can come back later if you want.’
‘Stay there. I’ll be out in a minute.’ I struggled out of bed, threw on a pair of shorts and tee shirt, walked to the front door and opened it. ‘Good morning Betty.’ I said blinking my eyes to the bright morning sunshine.
‘Isn’t it a lovely morning?’ Her words full of joy.
‘Where’d you come from?’ I couldn’t see a vehicle and I live at the end of the road with no neighbours.
‘I walked from town.’ She replied with glee. Betty was always one of those happy go lucky people who always greeted her fellow townsfolk with a smile and ‘g’day mate’.
‘You walked from town?’ I said shocked.
‘Yeah it doesn’t take much, only about an hour. I love to walk, it’s healthy.’ She replied with a smile.
‘What are you doing - collecting for the Red Cross?’
‘It’s that time of year again. Do you want to donate to a worthy cause?’ She asked in a solemn and sincere voice.
How could I deny her a donation after she walked for an hour to my place in hope I was at home and to collect some money. ‘Okay, do you want to come in; I’m having a cup of tea if you want to join me.’ I asked in a pleasing voice.
‘Okay – a cup of tea would be lovely, its morning smoko in any case, don’t suppose you’d have a biscuit to go with the cup-of-tea, would ya.’ She asked.
‘I’m sure we can muster up a dry old biscuit for you. I’ll put the kettle on.’
Betty entered the house and sat at the kitchen table. I prepared her a cup-of-tea and a couple of chocolate biscuits and placed them on a plate in front of her. ‘How much do you want as a donation?’ I asked. She had her mouth filled with chocolate biscuit before I could finish the question.
‘However much you want to donate. It’s for a good cause.’ She mumbled with a mouth half filled with chocolate biscuit.
Word count: 434
The Republic
‘Who wants to be the first President of Australia?’ A shout from the opposition echoed through Parliament. Julia Gillard’s ears opened to the sound of Malcolm Turnbull. She’d been in a slumber during the boat people debate.
‘I will – I will.’ Julia called out to Malcolm suddenly finding she was wide awake and shouting.
‘Sit down Julia. I want to be the first President of Australia.’ Malcolm expressed in a diplomatic voice.
‘Over my dead body,’ Julia replied. ‘I’d make a better President than you. The Australian people love me – I know they do and since I’m the first female to make Prime Minister than I should be the first female President of Australia.’ She proclaimed.
‘We’ll take a vote – shall we,’ rebutted Malcolm Turnbull.
Julia shouted to her fellow members of Parliament, ‘all those who want me as their first President of Australia and a female one say ‘eye’’.
One lonely voice was heard ‘eye’ – it came from Wayne Swan her deputy. He whispered across to her, ‘can I be your vice-president?’
‘I doubt it Wayne.’ She whispered back.
‘Those who say ‘no’’, she called to the members.
A resounding ‘no’ almost lifted the roof of Parliament.
‘If that is the resolution of the honourable members present, we’ll stick with out Westminster system and I’ll remain your Prime Minister. Thank you for your continued support.’ She returned to her seat and went into another slumber.
‘What about me?’ Tony Abbott jumped to his feet stomping and shouting waving his hands in the air.
‘Sit down Tony, who wants to have a President who romps around in bungee smugglers.’ Malcolm Turnbull replied. ‘I’m taking my bat and ball and going home if I can’t be the first President of this fine country. It’s all I ever wanted to be.’ Malcolm stood and left the Parliament without another word.
‘Look at Malcolm leaving Wayne, we might be able to now vote for me to be the first President of Australia.’ Julia commented to Wayne Swan.
‘I don’t think so Julia, if you won’t make me your Vice-President than I too am taking my bat and ball and going home, good-bye.’ Wayne stood and promptly followed Malcolm from the Parliament.
Word count: 373
Get Off Your High Horse
An argument was brewing, I could tell. Words cut through me like a hot knife through butter. I detested confrontation of any type. Visions of hatred formed in my mind – those moments when you wished the other person would stop what they were doing or saying and leave you alone.
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What caused this catastrophe to make me despise the ground this person was standing? What happened to good old common sense and the ability to talk about ones issues? What caused a grown adult to behave in this way? Was it jealousy, rage, misunderstanding, or something else to cause this family member to go into a fit of anger, shouting uncontrollable words in my face?
It happened when my sister and her husband were the only two from my side of family to be invited to my son’s wedding. My sister, as soon as she laid eyes on me spat out angry words which curled the back of my hair. She wanted to know why her children weren’t invited.
Over the years growing up with her, I put up with abusive behaviour because of the love we had for one another, this latest outburst was the straw which broke the camel’s back. How dare her – I pondered and wanted to give her a piece of my mind.
Instead I allowed my temper to cool, showing a controlled voice I muttered, ‘get off your high horse and enjoy yourself for once in your life.’ With these words she stopped her belligerent behaviour.
We had a wonderful time at the wedding and nothing more was said between us about not inviting her daughters. From that moment on we went back to being brother and sister putting up with the untold factors which bonded us together.
Blood is thicker than water, I thought. Thinking back to other similar events when my sister terrorised me with her outbursts, I should have given her a similar outburst myself by telling her to ‘get off her high horse’.
Growing older, we seldom see one another only at family