My Time in Cue ~ Part 4

Quiet Sunday

A week has passed since I travelled to this part of the world. Slowly, but surely, my working day has become familiar. Cue was established towards the end of the 19th century as a gold mining town, and the buildings are reminiscent of that era. Daily, tourists stop and take photos of the Post Office, a magnificent building, and the adjoining Police Station. I have visited the Post Office, and been greeted with the salutation, “Good morning, How can I do you today?” I have no intention of having the need to inspect the confines of the Police Station.

The Shire Office is partitioned into several areas, and the main one in my eyes, is the library where I have enrolled as a member. A small subscription was made, and that will be refunded when I depart this area. I suspect this subscription is essential as many who arrive in Cue are but ships in the night, arriving on the late bus and shipping out days or weeks later on the first offered ride.

Isolation worries many; the bright lights of the city are far, far away, and after a hot day, or a bad day, many it would seem, jump ship. I find plenty to amuse me! Sunday is my day off work and last Sunday, after essential chores were completed [no matter where one lives there are essential chores], I sat out on the balcony and watched the passing parade.

The major event of the day was the Australian Rules football game between the only two competing teams from Western Australia, all other teams in this series coming from the Eastern States. A large screen TV in the bar of our hotel proved the ideal place for viewing, as shown by the patrons who arrived up to an hour before the telecast. Some walked from nearby streets, some ambled over from the caravan park, others rode into town in beat-up old cars, blue smoke pouring from their exhausts and happy exuberant folks leaning their elbows out the red-dust covered windows, still others arrived in pick-up trucks, flash motor cars polished within an inch of their life and destined to need that washing and polishing again within hours, some cars sported balloons in the owner's favourite team colours, and still others dawdled in later.

I stayed upstairs watching, and later viewed the finale of the game on my TV. That the underdog won was a real victory! I had an excuse to rag some of the locals at breakfast the next day!

In the middle of the game a campervan drove into town. Sitting in my eyrie on the balcony I watched, un-noticed, the antics of its occupants. A young man, who I dubbed Son, bounced out of the driver's seat and made his way, rather full of his own importance, to the notice board that gives details of what is what in this town. He looked around. Obviously he was looking for something, but being new to town, I had no information to volunteer, so kept mum. His companion, who I dubbed, Mother, came over to see what was what. Nothing was what, but in an endeavour to do something he headed across the street to the bar, to the bar where over excited patrons were viewing The Game. Shouts, cheers, despair and utter disbelief echoed across the bar and poured out onto the street. No doubt Son wondered if he was actually in a civilised environment, and halfway across the green strip in the center of the wide roadway he made the decision that he was indeed in an uncivilised place. He stopped; he looked and listened, and hurriedly retraced his steps and urged Mother back into the van. They drove back down the block, he hopped out, took a photo or two of this hostile place, and left town … not in a cloud of dust as the roads are sealed, but had they not been I am sure one could have followed their progress until out of sight.

Of course all the above is only the result of assumption, and as a teacher of mine once said, to assume you make an ass out of u and me.

Those who prefer civilisation … cities and bright lights, people talking on mobile phones, movies and fast food shops, miss out on Life. Their view is clouded by what they wish to see, not what is right under their noses, and in my view, that which is right under our noses is the most interesting, should we take time to watch and wonder.