Observations

Detroit.

/ wordynerdbird / 2 Comments

This is my second visit to Detroit. 

On both occasions, I have had a wonderful visit and met some delightful people.  Everyone is so nice and welcoming here and, apparently, Australian accents are sexy. I’m good with that.

I honestly don’t know why TV shows and movies are so committed to portraying Detroit as such a bad place. Like any city, it has its poorer areas, and you can see a number of abandoned buildings and places that have slid gradually into dereliction. That’s not really a fair reflection of what Detroit is, though.

Detroit is a lively city. Downtown has some great restaurants and bars, a beautiful river walk by the Grand River, and streets lined by trees and gardens alongside the city buildings and construction sites. It’s a city which has obviously had its struggles, but it has fought its way back and is doing a fabulous job of reinventing itself as a 21st century city. 

Please don’t believe everything Hollywood or the television industry tells you, about Detroit or anywhere else. There are good people and bad people anywhere you go. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by how nice this city and its people are. 

Irony at 1.20am

/ wordynerdbird / 1 Comment

Of all the games I play on my iPod, I think my favourite has to be the one where I regularly drop my iPod on my head when I fall asleep listening to a podcast that I started listening to because I couldn’t sleep, and wake myself up again. 

In terms of rather pathetic and incredibly frustrating personal irony, it’s a perpetual source of entertainment that never gets old. 

You might be tempted to think I’d learn. 

Nope.  

Summer storm.

/ wordynerdbird / Leave a comment

The heat and humidity hung heavily in the afternoon air. The yellow of the wattles and the white trunks and green leaves of the gum trees that lined the road became more vivid in contrast to the looming darkness of the sky. In the gully where the koalas and kangaroos thrive, animal scents rose from the recently dampened earth.
A brilliant flash of lightning cut through the air, finding its earth in the paddock just beside the road, electrifying the air and then the earth around it for a white hot, fleeting moment. One flash was answered by another, further east, as the thunder rumbled deep and loud.
The rain splattered to the ground in big, lazy, messy drops that plashed carelessly on the ground, only to evaporate immediately back into the hazy hotness.

Dining ‘al fresco’ in Oakleigh.

/ wordynerdbird / Leave a comment

It’s noisy. There’s a general cacophony of people talking and laughing and the clatter of cups, plates and cutlery. Numerous cafes and restaurants, small shops, and several bakeries selling traditional Greek cakes and pastries line the street. The luscious aromas of coffee and souvlaki meats waft in the open air, interrupted from time to time by an acrid whiff of cigarette smoke from a diner at an open-air table. Smoking anywhere in public seems so out of place these days.

A well-dressed woman walks by, her expensive perfume lingering in the air after her. I wonder how much fragrance one needs to apply in order to have that effect.

The service is not terribly quick here, but I think that is related to how Greeks view eating and mealtimes: it’s about enjoying food, sharing conversation and spending time together.

In time, our meals arrive. Freshly prepared, beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. I enjoy every mouthful, but I am glad I didn’t order anything more.

Sated, I walk away enjoying the light breeze and the sunshine on my shoulders.

Waiting Room.

/ wordynerdbird / Leave a comment

The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne does some fabulous work in healing and restoring sick and broken bodies. It’s been here since 1871 and still has some beautiful Victorian staircases and hallways.

I’ve been spending a lot of time in the waiting area of the ICU this weekend with family.

It’s one of those places where everyone is truly equal. Grief is impartial: it doesn’t care if you’re rich, or beautiful, or not. None of that matters when you’re on your knees and you’re contemplating a future that is significantly different than you had thought it would be.

There are so many stories here of sadness and brokenness, of fear and loss and sorrow. So many tears.
It’s where people gather for waiting, crying and decision making. The prayers said here are probably more heartfelt and genuine than many of those said in churches on any given Sunday.

I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. Not ever.

Posh.

/ wordynerdbird / Leave a comment

High-walled gardens and tree-lined paths. Private mansions. Beautifully presented low-rise apartment blocks. Smartly dressed people walking briskly in the soft rain when they alight from the tram. Maseratis and Alfa Romeos parked by the kerb.

“I think there’s some money here,” says my brother-in-law from the back seat.
“You think?” I reply.

We drive on.