I awoke at about 6 am, which is something I never, NEVER do, but the sun comes up early here and my biological clock seemed to have gotten quickly attuned. I had heard some rustling against the swag a bit earlier and now heard a small whiny bark overhead. I glanced up through the netting of the swag to the back porch to find a little face staring down at me with tongue hanging out. It was Chewie, the family dog, excitedly wagging his tail and panting, seemingly hopeful that I would come out and say hello. It was a nice way to begin the day.
I went inside for some breakfast and to have a shower and get ready for service. I was to accompany Tim on a study later that morning. Fiona told me that breakfast was a self serve affair and introduced a substance that would become the central focus of my breakfast fantasies for the rest of the year. I had heard of a cereal called Mueslix years earlier which was a product of the Kellogs, but any interest in trying it out was eclipsed by my Saturday morning cravings for Count Chocula and Lucky Charms. This new stuff was simply referred to as Muesli and appeared to be a mix of a bunch of uber-nutritious things like rolled oats, dried apricot pieces, coconut shavings, almonds, and wheat bran. Milk was of course also required, but it was at this point that Tuula informed me gravely that the milk had gone bad. She opened the fridge to reveal a carton of milk on which she had drawn a rough, angry face and to which she had affixed a bandana. Apart from having no firearms, (or arms) this milk was clearly intent on holding someone up and robbing them of their valuables. This she thought was hilarious and was clearly very happy to be able to show someone new. A cup of most excellent Aussie coffee completed my breakfast. Honestly, even the instant coffee here is amazing.
Afterward, Tim took me to a large garage to pick up a trailer that would be needed later in the day to help some people move a bit of furniture. Now I think people here must have a ‘kangaroo sense’ because what happened next was to happen for most of the trip. We pulled up to a large shed and from a distance Tim spotted a ‘roo standing in the opening watching us. I would likely not have seen it at all, between having a color that helped it blend in to the surroundings and my eyes not having yet become familiar with that shape yet. We managed to get pretty close before it bounded around a corner and out of sight. I got a fairly bad recording of it and unfortunately turned off my camera instead of leaving it on, because as I stepped past the same corner, two of them quickly jumped away from me. It would’ve been a perfect shot. This was to be the story of kangaroos and I for the duration: perfect photo opportunities constantly missed. In Ohio I see deer all the time and it’s still an exciting thing to see one. You can imagine how magical it was to see kangaroos.
The trailer we were about to hook up had an unfortunate back story as it was the very one that had crushed Tim’s hand only months before due to a manufacturer’s defect in the mechanism that was supposed to keep it from dropping unexpectedly while someone was working near it. Fortunately his hand had mended well, all things considered, except for nerve damage and some mechanical issues with his thumb. In fact for all Tim let on about it, you would never know anything untoward had happened at all. After getting the trailer hitched up, we went over to another garage where we found a surprise I never would have expected to see.
As I think back to my earliest introductions to Australia, I can think of only a few likely sources. One was an animated movie with a live action opening and ending called Dot and the Kangaroo. Another point of mental entry was the movie that familiarized a huge number of Americans with this hitherto unregarded place: Crocodile Dundee. But a more dystopian glimpse into this dusty world down under was a set (later to be a trio) of movies featuring a character called Max Rockatansky, better known as Mad Max. Though I wouldn’t recommend them due to some content (even in the 80’s they were restricted) it showcased a car that figured prominently into the first two stories: the V8 Interceptor. Like so many cars in my early life, such as The Love Bug, Adam West’s Batmobile, the General Lee, and the Knight Industries 2000, this car had been very special to me.
As Tim lead us into the garage, we found his eldest daughter hard at work (wearing appropriate PPE) with a grinder and a fender. She was seated next to a junk car on blocks with various panels and pieces spread around the garage. It was at this point that Tim asked if I could identify the car. I think I weakly suggested it could be Vin Diesel’s Dodge Charger from the Fast and the Furious movies. But as soon as he told me that it was in fact the last of the v8’s, I knew right away what I was looking at. To be honest, it felt like meeting a celebrity. Although this vehicle was in pieces and bore only a passing resemblance to the movie car at this point, it fairly pulsated with potential awesomeness.
Referred to as the Pursuit Special in the films, Max’s car was more affectionately known as the last of the V8 interceptors. It was a modified 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT Hardtop. The most iconic addition was a Weiland 6-71 supercharger which allowed more air to be sucked in to the cylinders, more fuel to be burned, and the engine to do more work giving the car more power. In the movie, this feature could be switched on and off when needed,.
The sight of Khiara restoring this car from the ground up was pretty amazing. She’s one of perhaps two women around who are panel beaters (someone who does body work on cars) by trade. It was just one of several impressive talents she possessed, but those would come into the story later. For the moment, seeing this girlish 18 year old single-handedly restoring such a beautiful vehicle gave my brain a kind of ‘we’re not worthy!’ Wayne’s World reaction. It really was impressive.
We left Khiara to her work and returned to the house. I asked Tim about what I should wear in the ministry. Though a tie was indeed required, an undershirt was not. ‘We younger generation just sweat through our shirts’ he told me. And sweating was something we would be doing a LOT of today. Here its just too hot during the day to add the extra layer. As I was getting ready, I met the family cats: Loda and Toothless. Sweet animals.
We climbed into Tim’s wagon and I got my first good look at the land. Gladstone proper is home to about 33,000 people and boasts one of the largest shipping ports in Queensland. Along the outskirts of the country are the cities and the temperate forests. This is were most of the people are. In the center of the country is the desolate outback with almost no people. In between the two is what’s known as ‘the bush’. It’s characterized by being wooded, rural, and undeveloped. This isn’t to say that there are no people here, only that they are much more sparse there than on the coasts. Here, with many cattle farms, horse pastures, and fields of different crops, the people are fewer. I have to admit that even after an explanation I’m not exactly sure where the boundaries between the different biomes are, and I think they kind of spill over into one another. But I now realized that much of what Americans think of as the ‘outback’, really isn’t.
Tim’s study and his wife were manning a literature cart when we met up with them. They were just finishing their shift and we followed them back to their home. They lived in an isolated ‘Queenslander’ style house on a hill with dry, brown land stretching off as far as one could see. This particular study was a man advanced in years. He had been opposed the truth for most of his long marriage, but had recently gotten baptized and was now finishing the second book. You can imagine his wife’s elation at this happy turn of events. They were sweet people.
The Craigs daughter Maisey is a pioneer and so we had to pick her up from the port before heading home. There is a lot of human traffic at this shipping port and it had recently been approved as a spot for cart witnessing. The brothers are in the process of obtaining a license to be able to go aboard the ships themselves and witness. Maisey had been here with another sister on the carts. We were a tad late. There were no repercussions apart from the misstep being used in a bid to extort a trip to Maccas for a sandwich on the way home. The bid had no takers.
We got back to the house, rested a bit, had an amusing dinner (complete with sitcom level conversation among the family), and then went to the meeting, where I forgot to bring a tie and met quite a few new people. I would see many of them again at the assembly the following month and a camping trip that was still future. It was a really nice hall and very diverse group of people. It was also my introduction to the idea of halls with no drinking fountains. Instead there was a small kitchen with filtered water and community glasses and cups which were washed an rinsed after each use.
Then it was home to swag and bed and a good night’s rest. Tomorrow would be my first Aussie field service day.
