I want to tell you a story about an old fella I know. I know him quite well. He’s a beaten up old sod .. looks like death warmed up … And only just warmed up at that. There was a time when he was a valued member of society – well, thats probably not true. Knowing him as I do, I’d say that at no time would he have been valued by Society, but valued by his community he most certainly was.

Anyway, this old fella has had a few health problems; like all old fellas worth their salt should have. Who am I kidding .. the fellas a wreck. Looked after himself badly, but like he says, he sure has had fun ..and he says, he’s put in. Now though, he’s a barely floating wreck and he’s not putting in. He tries … He says, no one will let him – doesn’t sound right does it. I’m not saying he’s a liar, as I said, I’ve known him a long while. I just can’t imagine he’s not allowed to put in .. even the little he feels he can.

The reason I’m writing this today isn’t just to get a laugh – he gets a lot of those all the time – and I admit its taking me away from much more serious stuff. (I’m trying to calculate, mathematically, economically, how the King lives on his forty bucks a day.) The reason is, that he’s run out of his drugs – for his rhythmically poor hypertension .. and what ever else it is thats obviously killing him. How lucky we all are to be young and free and strong.

Anyway, he’s been into Emergency down at the Green Jewel Hospital to try and get himself a script for his drugs. He’s been told to ‘piss-orrf’ – he says this – I don’t doubt him. He says the young lass at the reception told him it wasn’t an emergency; he says he agreed. He says, he said that he was trying for it not to become one. She said, he says, that when it does .. he can come back in .. told him to make a proper doctors appointment and to get a better handle on his medical needs …

He told me none of this really worries him, its just that he was told it costs the Country too much when people keep ending up in Emergency, and while he does admit his past negligence in regard to the way he spent his life, and, he says, he does have a doctors appointment but not for another 4 weeks and his drugs run out in another 5 days, and he’s loath to waste the Country’s money … He says, the lass – very pretty he says, didn’t even want his details. (I’ll bet he was a gun when he was young!) Says she was on one of those fake-book things .. he thinks; she was laughing at it.

Its a shame really isn’t it? Anyway, life goes on … We’re young and strong and free and we live in a very lucky country.

(I was trying to write an article for an independent Aussie news outlet but I couldn’t do it. The old bastard spoilt my day. So, I’m off to the beach to have a play.)

“If you step in front of a bus on one of your lucky days, it will kill you just the same as on one of your unlucky ones.”