Last Stuff

March 17, 2002-Good-byes
(photos:Water dragon & ibis our lunch partners,
Bunya tree warning)

We were farewelled today. They turned the noun into a verb & had a lovely lunch for us. They served corned beef sandwiches. We had a choice of white or rye bread. No, the bread wasn’t buttered. Some lovely words were said & they gave us a challah cover with a koala on it. I call it a choallah cover. David was moved by the realization that he’d influenced so many lives. I just grinned & nodded in agreement when asked if I was looking forward to going home.

On our way back to the apartment we passed a rainbow flag flying at a park entrance. We pulled in & tried to figure out which was the gay group. Contrary to popular stereotype, you can’t tell by looking. We were ready to give up when we noticed that someone was taking the flag down. We followed the flag & introduced ourselves to the group. It was a social club that meets weekly for drinks at a hotel bar & has frequent picnics. We took a card with contact information to give to one of our newest temple members. He’s gay & was very active in his temple in Adelaide. He’s organizing the temple Seder here & promises to be a wonderful addition to the community.
As we were leaving the park, a man stopped to ask us if we knew where the bats were. We actually did know. All he had to do was look up. They roost in the trees of that very park. He was a visitor to the area & I guess he thought he’d ask some natives.

I just realized that you could see where we live here by going online & searching under keywords: gold coast australia pacific international. The first one to come up on the list was Bel Air Resort. That would be us. There’s a picture of the exterior & the interior of an apartment that’s exactly like ours.
March 18, 2002-Seasonal Hazards

We just got back from mailing three more parcels home. We have one more to go. We’ll mail that on April 4, the day we leave. I now have three pairs of shorts, four t-shirts, two dresses, & a sweater as basic wardrobe. We’re only taking the really scaggy stuff to India & Africa. I’m not going to try to impress anyone with a style show.

We seemed to have missed the snake season. We didn’t know that it was going on. There was a news item on TV today that told about a nine-year old boy who was bitten when he stepped on a snake. They mentioned that the season was almost at an end & he was unlucky to be bitten. Do the snakes know this? By the way, he’s fine. He called “000,” the emergency number, on his mobile phone & used his t-shirt as a tourniquet until help came.

March 20, 2002-New Hazards

We spoke to Daniel, Vikki, & Alex yesterday. They had an ultra sound of the baby showing lots of detail. There’s a great shot of a foot that they’re going to scan & send to us. They told the tech they didn’t want to know the sex of the baby. I asked Alex if she wanted a boy or a girl. She said she wasn’t sure. If it was a boy they could get it the cutest little Nikes. In the background I heard Vikki say, “It’s all about shopping.” On the other hand, Alex said there are really cute little dresses for girls. Yes, I guess it is about shopping.

Bills are still coming in for my nose surgery. We got one from the anesthesiologist for $A 270 for thirty-seven minutes of time. When I looked at the doctor’s name, it indicated he had an MB degree. I assume that to be bachelors in medicine. He also had a BS (bachelor of science). I don’t get it. He was a certified anesthesiologist. We submitted the bill to insurance & they’ll reimburse us.

The surf life saving competition was delayed this morning because of sharks feeding on the enormous schools of fish that are still near the shore. Obviously, the shark nets have failed. In order to get the competition back on track, some competitors used powerboats & jet skis to herd the fish away from the area. Records might be broken this year. I bet they’ll be swimming & paddling a lot faster than usual. They’re nuts!

David had a free day yesterday so we went to Mt. Coot-tha near Brisbane. It’s where the Brisbane Botanical Gardens is located. Even though this is technically autumn, flowers are still in abundance and temperatures are in the high 90’s. We didn’t expect much, but it was spectacular. We had a refreshing lunch at their café & were joined by a couple of water dragons. They’re lizards about the size of iguanas. They were lolling all over the park. We discovered a new Australian danger. Evidently, the bunya tree can be lethal. It has huge cones that can injure, maim, &, in some cases, kill if they fall just right. There was a warning sign at the entrance to the path where they were planted.

The latest scandal in the headlines is about Senator Heffernan who accused Supreme Court Judge Kirby of using government cars to procure male prostitutes. The judge is openly gay & is possibly the most respected & best judge on the court. Unfortunately for all, Heffernan didn’t verify the documents he used to vilify the judge before he accused him on the floor of the senate. The time sheets offered as proof of misuse of the cars were forged. Prime Minister Howard, a close friend of Heffernan, asked for an unqualified apology & removed him from his position as parliamentary secretary. His political career is over.

We closed out a bank account today to take advantage of the favorable value of the Aussie dollar. We took out $A 2,000 & got $US 1,000 in Traveler’s Checks. It was traumatic. We are so used to having it go the other way. I wonder how long it will be before we adjust to a $100 item costing $100.

Toby