Nambucca everything

25th April : Lucky to find a dry patch of concrete in full view of passing drivers. Managed to find a bus-stop just off the middle of nowhere. My beach walk was slightly spoiled by gale-force winds and swaggie-seeking raindrops. Everything's called Nambucca near the Nambucca River. Places, people and things you can't remember the name for.

Letter

After attending the dawn service in Macksville I feel less safe and more threatened than ever. I went to commemorate but encountered an air of expectation. I wondered why we only recognise those that died. What about those who suffered a fate worse than death? It almost felt as if young men like me should be prepared to earn their peace and freedom, the way their fore-fathers did. My head spun as it counted numerous ways to serve peace and freedom without choosing a destructive path. The very thought of war scares me to tears but most people seem quite calm about the whole thing. Perhaps I don't share their ability to not think about it.

These 'middle towns' between Sydney and Brisbane are most friendly at the beach or down the local pub. Elsewhere I've detected the slightest degree of suspicion of strangers. The look of suspicion resembles that face pulled just after one realises they've trodden on a jellyfish. It's as if their suspicion has fallen down around their ankles and I'm looking straight at their insecurities.