Dear Hasbeen,

I saw a marvellous play last night at
The Playhouse Theatre,
the Arts Center, here in Melbourne.
It was Tim Winton's, "Rising Water,"
with the brilliant actor - John Howard.

Reminded me of what I imagine you'd be like.
The main character lived on a boat in his
retirement. Interesting man. Had a similar
mind-set to yours. Great character for a play.

Lexi,

Perhaps I was a bit harsh on you when I was responding to Belly.

However, given that you always take the governments side without question irrespective of their policies indicates that you far from balanced in what you post.

"Beck is rolling out the information far too late. He could have saved an entire industry far earlier" is pushing the boat out more than a little far.

Thanks for thinking of me Lexi. I am of course retired, but my only boats today are a small sailing dingy, & a canoe.

I guess all our mind-sets come from our life experience. I think you I & Belly may have had many similarities there, at least early on. There must have been a few differences though, as ours are a little different.

We were not refugees, but at the end of WW11 my father came out of the air force at 36 years of age, with a new government issue suit, & 10 pounds. The little they had managed to put together between the depression the war was gone, so we were only one step above refugees, like thousands of other returned servicemen.

With mum & me to support, he had to get a job quick, & took one in Townsville, 1500 miles away. It took 2 months to save the fare for us to join him.

Everything they then built was all at their own effort. No one gave them any help, it was sink or swim. That may be why I hate seeing these boat people swanning in here, & getting half a million spent on them. I have a very strong dislike of bludgers.

If you wanted a house you had to build it. When I was 10, I was holding up the internal panels as dad nailed them up. I recall I was not much good at it.

I'm sure Belly would remember the pillow slips made from flour bags, & sheets made of unbleached calico. I use only silk sheets now, talk about over reaction.

Lexi rest easy Friend, it is the pot calling the kettle black me giving this advice but here it is.
The thread has been high jacked, almost every one is, some times by me.
But know, I am who I am,two hobby's one past one current teach me , you know of my hunger to learn.
First Citizens band radio, first it had promise.
But became a rubbish tip , killed at the hands of egos not always connected to a brain.
A thing called, gee can not remember now, but it meant getting to met the face behind the voice, you may have been talking to for years.
Disappointing! never what you thought, often a danger, the nice person turned out to be some very bad things.
Ham Radio/electronics is my go now.
Not more than a very small thing there.
But online it is huge!
Any activity that sees us communicate with faceless people is going to bring out the good the bad the ugly.
We you and I others too, from all sides of politics , try balanced conversations.
Do not take it for granted those who taunt us are average Conservatives, or that they understand.
Some, are quite out of their depth, quite unable to focus on the fact we,all of us,are Australians, we have every right to vote as we wish.
continued

I Lexi am a blocky old bloke people say I look like an ex warfy, I can swear and insult with the best of them.
And love a laugh could use Satire and humor much more.
But to what end.
What becomes of our forum if we drop the debate in to the gutter.
In my former hobby's,the roughest toughest talkers, usually lived in a shed down the back, we call it the shack in ham radio.
Some are mansions, mine is also my entertainment center.
Know some hid there from the wife, and in some cases best resembled a small white mouse not a man.
Some bait us for reaction, some because they fear our side of politics or the Truth.
I say Labor will not be elected.
And they will not, but they will grow by the loss and be forever a part of this country's politics.
I hark back constantly and honestly to a LIBERALISM once so very different than todays.
Lexi one day it will return, once Turnbull would have been one in a big crowd that thought as he does.
Our detractors will be left behind as lost then as they are now.
Hasbeen I think your linen sheets may well be as worn and torn as you some times display your thoughts to be, but yes at my birth many ordinary Australians used such.
Rather be one of them than a snob mate sausage sandwich rather than caviar.
Tell me more about day Lillie's of the market soon.

It is the nature of Australian politics that we disagree, much more than we once did.
The very idea that every thing Labor does is wrong is quite silly.
As much as the refusal to even glimpse at Tony Abbott's alternatives.
We will look too late after the election.
Here in this thread we see our country's devisions.
I so badly want to kick my party for the stupidity of its handling of this issue.
I was not joking you know, yabby and I given the power,could have fixed it in a week and not stopped the exports.
As a union official, contrary to blind bigoted views It was part of my job,to be called in by bosses to fix broken things restart jobs by invitation.
Once Americans had a thing called American know how,it saw red tape cut the job done results not opinion polls.
One thing stands out to me, I TRUST NO ANIMAL WELFARE GROUP!
harsh? but honest! you can not trust them staged filming has been part of the plan for 6 decades.
You will Lexi not ever, never see one of our detractors, ever put such words in print about their party.
So why would you be concerned about them?
One clearly, is as fixed and immovable as the other but not Representative .