Never assume
Two things Alan Latham taught me the first was never write a letter in the passive sense, always the active, eg “I/We shall be pleased/obliged if you will…..” not I/We should be pleased/obliged if you would….”; you get the idea and second ‘never assume’ the first has stayed with me but I confess I’m a sucker when it comes to assuming.
When I started on this saga/ chronicle of mine my intention was, and still is to not only to write it in sequence for the most part, but to distinguish the periods. these are: (1)1955 -1965 Is the high and low period, (2),1965 – 1975 My Odyssey period, (3) 1975 – 2005 The Happy Years (4) 2005 – 2015 Epilogue. The first part is taking some time and is almost half way through.
The second part is my wanderings, after the disaster of ’63 – ’65, I did as Odysseus did after the fall of Ilium (Troy), like Odysseus I’d upset the Gods and after my war I travelled and traversed this whole island continent, unlike Odysseus I never to returned to my Ithica (Melbourne) and a faithful wife Penelope (Joan); my journey terminated in Sydney where a new life opened up for me which brought the greatest of happiness; how much time and detail I shall spend on that is anybody’s guess.
And the fourth part? It will of course be a summary, a reflection on the past, the good and the bad and I intend to write that soon and to be on the safe side leave it in safe hands to be published should I not survive ‘The Happy Years’.
Naturally I have been working on the assumption that those closest to me, if they can be bothered reading my ramblings would understand where this saga is heading, however, I am wrong (I should have listened to Mr Latham on that score) for I assumed that their minds and thought process was in accord with mine but of course it is not possible. Where they prefer to sit and watch television for a few hours I will read a book, while they can happily watch a football match for and hour an a half, I get no enjoyment from that; I much prefer to listen to Beethovens Missa Solemnis which runs about the same length of time.
I must admit that I do enjoy watching the Major League baseball games from time to time. a mans got to have a break sometime, 😛
So for those members of my family who feel I am denigrating them by writing what I have so far I suggest that they stop and think where this is all heading, can anybody reasonably assume that the years 1975 -2005 were such that I have nothing but ‘bad stuff’ to write?
LordBeariOfBow 