Wednesday, 2 April 2008

Oki's Made His Move!

It was a big day, last Saturday. Chris and I helped Oki to clean the flat he has rented for the past thirty years at Bondi Beach, and then we loaded up all his worldly possessions into a trailer to cart over the Blue Mountains and far away to the little village of Kandos, where he has just bought his first home. Kandos is on the way to the beautiful, old country town of Mudgee, and is situated amongst the rolling hills and vineyards of the mid-western farming district of New South Wales.
One of the best things about living out in the country, for Oki, is the pitch black night skies with the bright Milky Way blazing overhead each evening. For a keen amateur astronomer, what more could you ask for? He is close to the Astronomy Club where he will be a regular participant, and he will have plenty of space in his back garden to construct his own observatory.
He's already splurged out on several telescopes, and he hopes that anyone who wants to see the stars will come and visit him to get a good look at the Dog Star, the Seven Sisters, the Jewel Box, the Orion Nebula, the binary stars in the Southern Cross and whatever else takes their fancy. He has three bedrooms, two of which will be all set up with beds for guests.
Oki's move was a funny one. It was very obvious to me, when we were loading the trailer, that I was helping to move a man from one place to another. The vast bulk of the load consisted of old bits of wood, new bits of wood, metal pipes, boxes of electric cords, boxes of computer and television cables, three toolboxes, boxes with gaffer tape and masking tape, telescope tripods, bottles of beer, more boxes of gadgets, boxes of books, and finally a couple of small boxes of clothes and kitchenware. These things were an after-thought and of little importance.
When we left Oki, to return to Sydney on Sunday evening, he sat on his front verandah, beer in hand, and watched the sun set and the stars rise. As the Milky Way blazed down upon him, he thought to himself, "This is the place where I was always meant to be."

5 comments:

  1. Can't see anything wrong with Oki's packing priorities - perhaps some wine?
    Hope you enjoyed the drive.

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  2. Thanks for your comments, Rob. I always enjoy getting feedback when I do a blog update. Oki likes a wee drop of wine, occasionally, but he's a real beer man, especially Coopers.

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  3. Who is this Oki fellow anyway? Sounds a bit odd to me.

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  4. Apparently, he's been christened "The Laird of Kandos", and is now galavanting about the town with all the friendly neighbours who've invited him to their places for dinner.

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  5. Enjoyed the update Kathi. Taken by the photo of Wendy - when taken? Just as I remember her. Say hi for me.

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