What was the first book you read? Where did you have your first kiss? What were you doing when your life took a turn? Ebeneezer remembers regarding his untied shoelace as he stood on the Brooklyn Bridge. He was nervously waiting for Maude to say yes to his marriage proposal. He’d ship out the next … Continue reading Where Were You?
Many years ago a stream bisected my route. It was too wide to jump lest I should ruin my shoes. The hide was not stripped from a cow’s rump to so readily go to waste. In search of the largest branch I found that alas, there were none. There stream did however run by a … Continue reading The Stream
“At times the ruts are deep - its gets messy, muddy and mucky. At other times it’s smooth bitumen.” I’m on the phone with dad who’s keen to try out his new smart-phone. He’s driven many dirt roads and sheep-tracks in his lifetime. He crossed the Nullarbor Plain, Explored the Simpson Desert and Tackled the … Continue reading The Difficult Road
The grumbly man has come to see the steam train just like everybody else. Everybody else is chattering, excited to see the old machine, but the grump is keeping to himself. What would they know about steam locomotives? “Excuse me,” asks a young man with his daughter. “Do you know why everyone’s gathered at the … Continue reading The Grouch
Screech! Bam! Something’s happened. Everyone in the street cafes stops looking at their phones to see what just happened on the street in front of them. A car has hit a pedestrian on the zebra crossing. None of them saw it happen, but they’ve made up their minds: the driver was at fault. Their minds … Continue reading The Pedestrian
Dad and his boy are sitting at a picnic table by the beach on a sunny afternoon. “Yuck! This muffin has orange peels in it.” Dad turns to his son and edifies him. “But orange peel has limonene and linalool.” Says Dad in a comical voice. “Are you telling me you don’t like limonene and … Continue reading When Life Gives You Oranges
He’s the king of the birds, and this evening he’s eating like a king. The rain has stopped and the worms are coming up for air in the waterlogged soil. The magpie barely needs to work to fill his belly. A human is watching and that’s okay, as long as he keeps his distance. If … Continue reading The Grass is Greener
Standing on a hillside in Victoria, I look across the open fields and see a million scruffy, wild bushes with little red fruits. The first frost of the year was last night and the little old lady whose house I clean has asked me - no begged me - to take her out into the … Continue reading The Scabby Fruit
“That tent’s been on the side of the highway for the last three days. I wouldn’t want to go near it. Only a freak would camp right beside a busy highway for three days.” That’s the mental process of everyone that’s driven past the little blue tent. And if the person that set it up … Continue reading The Suspicious Tent
The rails whisper before the steam even appears on the horizon, but Glen doesn’t know for sure that the train is coming until he sees its headlight blazing the way. His vision is failing him, and his hearing is all but gone. There’s no mistaking the feeling of the earth rumbling though, as the steam … Continue reading Glen, the Railway Man
Tandi Tales 