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My 86 yr old mum has seen alot in her years. She watched Kingsford -Smith take off from seven mile beach, Cptn Degroot cut the ribbon the day she walked across the bridge, and saw my dad show off with a large mob of remount horses outside where she worked in George st before taking them across the bridge. But today she went for her first gyro flight. Not scared but totally relaxed flying around with her thumb in the air showing everyone who could see how much she was enjoying it. Upon reaching ground she immediately asked when she could go again. KenI forgot to mention she still rides her Quad bike around to keep an eye on me and make sure I'm hard at work.
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Fantastic Ken. That must have been a thrill. I doubt many could claim that!!!!Aussie Paul. [
]www.firebirdgyros.com
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That's a great story Ken -Ive done a few more Ks than you and I remember my Grandmother telling me that when she was 7, the youngest of 13, flight was considered impossible, apart from balooning. In fact, she and her sisters made up a poem which started 'The flying machine is an impossible dream...'She lived to see one of her grandsons fly a low level jet bomber (Tornado) at a very low level over her house! And of course see the moon landing on TV. Amazing what can happen during a lifetime....I remember reading somewhere that some 'expert' commenting on the progress of the early motor car stated that no one would be able to exceed 30 mph - because they wouldn't be able to breathe!
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It's amazing Michael, I don't think we can truly appreciate the changes that they have seen. The past 100yrs have truly been amazing. I don't think a vivid imagination will help us comprehend the next 100. I'm going to get mum to write down the changes she has seen. When they went to see Smithy the drive from Sydney was huge ( I think she said 5 or 6 hrs). It is now Easily less tha 2. They got a flat tyre and all the 6 kids had to pick grass so that my grandad could shove it in the tyre and fill it so they could get home. Ken
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Its interesting that you mention things like that.An old friend died a couple of weeks ago.She had seen a Model T travel from Perth to Alice without using a drop of fuel (towed by a camel).Saw the first self tracking road train.She still had all but one of her own teeth (broke one on a baked bean a couple of years ago) and had a filling that was put in in the twenties with a pedal type dentist drill.Once she ran into a black fella in a creek bed west of the Alice who offered her a painting.She declined but regretted it ever since. Apparently Albert Namatjira was a nice, friendly bloke when you met him in the bush.....At 89 she broke her hip. In the next 8 years she wore out 3 or 4 walking frames.She pre-dated electric street lighting, mass-produced cars and commercial aviation but would still email her mates until her early nineties when her eyesight started failing.My regret is that we never got around to going for a fly in the Drifter.She was wanting to but I insisted that her Doc OK it first.Unfortunately she kept forgetting to ask.She died at 97, a few days after deciding to refuse further treatment.As she said, she had had a good innings, her body was failing, so it was time to go.Unfortunately, you don't run into enough people like this.Her motto was that the secret of life was to die young....but as late as possible.telfFlying - The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. (Douglas Adams-The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
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It's those people that make Australia great. On friday we buried an 80yr old mate. He was born and bred in Berry but bought a milk run in Peakhurst.If people couldn't pay their bill it didn't worry him, he just kept leaving milk because he knew the kids needed it. He was a self taught mechanic and didn't charge those who couldn't afford it. He had no religion and swore like a trooper and had 6 of the most polite children you wopuld ever meet. He carried a shotgun with him everywhere(mainly for snakes) and worked like no one youve'ever seen. He drove a "POPE"special (Fiat) and was nearly always up to his arms in grease, but most of all was funny. He spoke a different language in terms that everything had a name. Kookaburra's - Ha ha Pigeons, etc. Just a small cog in a big wheel but still important. Ken
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