Halfway Ayr …

Day 19: Wednesday 11 April (6pm, Ayr)

Half way mark today! Hard to believe that I’ve been here only two and a half weeks and yet I feel like I’m a real part of the Ayr community already. I’ve totally absorbed myself in anything the locals have offered and they’ve been so welcoming …   

Last night, Lynette invited me to celebrate the 4th birthday of her son KJ at the local McDonalds with just a few family members (and there could have been many, so I feel very honoured!). Tonight, my very generous motel owner Ray has invited me to have dinner with him and the visiting crown prosecutor, whom he regards as family (she stays here so regularly). Tomorrow night, who knows, but I know if I wander down to the RSL or the local tavern I’ll find a familiar face who wants me to donate to the meat raffle (yes, most people attempt to win, but somehow I seem to miss the draw each night). It’s just that kind of a town – friendly to strangers so that you don’t feel like one, but not so present that you don’t have any privacy. I’m loving it!

So apart from this being the halfway point of my adventure, today was also significant as I conducted my first interviews for the RAP! Jim was in town, having driven up from Bowen over the weekend and needed a repair done to his car. So while he waited for the repair to be completed, he came in to the office for a cuppa and a chat. Seeing as he had a couple of hours to kill, I suggested we make a start on the interviews, so he became my guineapig for the process – we talked at length about what reconciliation meant to him and Gudjuda and then we covered off his thoughts on respect, relationships and opportunities. I can see the challenge is going to be to identify the common themes for the RAP as everyone will have different ideas, but that’s a good challenge to have.

We filled in the hour easily and I got to learn a bit more about the remarkable man that he is – I don’t think I mentioned in an earlier log that Jim gave up a kidney for a work colleague, simply because he could and she needed one (Australian Story, May 2002). He just believes he has led a charmed life and that’s why he is so generous with his time and energy. He told me today that “Dad was one of the ‘Rats of Tobruk’, and then he got shot in New Guinea, and when I was born, I was carried safe across the Don River with all the crocs that got carried there with the flood; so I know I’ve had a charmed life and even more so since giving up the kidney and that allows me to continue doing what I’m doing”. How lucky am I getting to meet such amazing people?!

And finally, just a silly, quick thing, but I saw a picture of a sign today that was showing the direction to somewhere by the placement of a few footprints. I suddenly realised that I was expecting to see some indigenous content to it, because in two and a half weeks, my brain has rewired itself to sense that footprints and shoeprints are one way of signifying the difference between indigenous and non-indigenous people. It’s funny how something so seemingly insignificant can be a real light bulb moment. There’s been a few of those today!

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, no sign of the snake yet J