Life Goes on .....

-->

Tuesday    11^th Sept.           

Life changes when you are in a new location and it doesn’t take long to adjust to ‘the norm’. At school today a large black snake appeared in the children’s eating area. The children wanted to hit it with sticks but the wise snake made a hasty retreat under the building. The meals went on as usual while the snake seemed of no concern to anyone.  They are on the move as the weather warms.  A snake killed another of the community dogs this week, the third since we have been here. Snakes are part of life at Robinson River.

Over the last few days the surrounding hills have been ablaze with bushfires. Several men have been fighting them unsuccessfully and smoke was drifting over the community. In Melbourne any sign of a bushfire raises the alarm and anxious Victorians rush into fire drill mode with good reason, but not here were life goes on unchanged. It has crossed my mind several times; to where would I run? And what would I grab should this become a serious situation? But it appears this may be a common occurrence as no one seems to worry.

Our porch has become a gathering place for children on the weekends. A little group was happily drawing and chatting when a ute pulled up and several words in ‘language’ were called out. Immediately, three of the children jumped up and clambered onto the back of the ute, which appeared to be already full of adults, children, and a baby. They shouted and waved goodbye to me as they headed off on their fishing trip, a very happy family outing.

We were entering ‘the shop’ and said hello to a gentleman sitting beside the door. “Take my picture,” he requested, all smiles. And so I did. “Print it and put it up in the shop,” was his next request. And so I did. 

David left to drive to Darwin today and as it began to get dark, a knock at the door revealed two children with their aunt. The children asked "where is Mr Dabe?" They had noticed me coming home alone. We chatted for a while and I heard more about the life in this community. Aunty told me she is one of ten siblings and that her mother was a painter and the first aboriginal woman to exhibit her work in Paris!!  She recalled a childhood memory of all of the children desperately missing their mother, while the mother was actually in Europe having a wonderful time in the snow…. One can only imagine.