Home  >> Stories  >> The Tale Spinner #2011-13

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IN THIS ISSUE

• Terry Remin and her father continue their trip in Australia
• Carol Dilworth has a question about aluminum foil
• Marilyn Magid forwards a medical alert
• Tony Lewis warns of a conspiracy in our own country
• Zvonko Springer sends the story of a question of souls
• The editor explains the light-weight nature of the Spinner
• Sites are suggested by Gerrit deLeeuw and Irene Harvalias

Terry and her father visit the Yarrangobilly Caves in her search for

A NEW LIFE

While we were in Tumut we stopped in a gift shop and Dad found a teatowel that outlined Aussie slang that he just had to buy. It said that a Wally meant someone who was always making mistakes. My Dad´s nickname is Wally.

We left Tumut and set off to the Yarangabilly caves and we were both excited about the hot pools. We had a bit of an oops driving on the left side of the road when we tried to enter the highway because we were both looking the wrong way for the traffic, and got a bit of a start when I went to start out and there were all these cars coming at us. Good thing we did the look right, look left, and look right again! We wouldn´t want to have to take our car to the "smash repair" shop.

The road into the caves was beautiful with all the gum trees and wild flowers. When we got to the cave ticket office, it was really magical because there were so many white butterflies flying around the place. I tried to capture them on film but they were so small that it was difficult.

The caves were quite fascinating. There were many formations. Hard to believe they were formed one drop at a time. Some areas were iridescent along with many other unique formations. When we came out of the caves we spotted a few lizards hanging around.

The hot pool was down quite a steep hill - they said 10 minutes down and half an hour back up because of the steepness. We were quite disappointed to get down there and discover the pool was quite cool actually and over six feet deep. I did not know it, but Dad does not know how to swim so he could just hang onto the side. He wasn´t keen to stay long. The best part was the whole hillside was covered with the white butterflies. I was pretty amazed by Dad´s ability to climb that hill as he is nearly 80 years old. I did quite well too, actually!

It was raining for the rest of the day. We passed some of the cabins that the cow cockies stay in when they come to look after their cattle for summer grazing. We also passed a few wild lupin patches. The first patch was near one of the cabins, with another quite large one across the road in the hills. I was just commenting to Dad that I wondered if they had originally been planted around one of these cabins and then gone wild or if they were a native wild plant, when I looked out the window and saw one growing on the side of the road!

We drove into Adaminaby and when we got out of the car, the rain was like walking through wet clouds. We were booked into a pub stay so we had a pub supper. We ordered a salad to go with the fish supper we were going to share and ended up getting a huge salad full of all kinds of veggies. It was good but we were stuffed when we were done eating. Whew! We got a laugh out of the sign outside the pub and the courtesy van called the "Jolly Trolly". The place was old but very clean and it came with a continental breakfast.

The next day we headed off though the Snowy Mountain pass. The road was really narrow and winding, with no centre line - typical of mountainous roads. We were surprised to see snowplow signs, which didn´t seem to fit with Australia, but I guess that´s why they are called the Snowy Mountains ... duh! At one point we rounded the corner of a hill and came across a firewood forest - dead trees that were left over from a forest fire. Enough firewood to last for years to come. They looked like ghost gums with their white bark till you realized there were no leaves and they were all dead. It rained all day so we didn´t make too many stops but I did manage to get pictures of some beautiful King parrots.

We stopped for gas in the ski resort before proceeding to Jindabyne, where we were planning to spend the night. We stopped at the tourist info again to find a room and decided to stay in a hostel right in the downtown core. It was pretty quiet as there was only one other couple and a young fellow, but it was nice to be able to cook our own meals for a change.

Internet is very expensive everywhere - $3.00 for half an hour - so I decided to get a stick internet. It cost $79 dollars for the stick and that came with $45 worth of gigs. We had a bit of trouble trying to get it up and running, but we went to a video shop and a fellow there helped us get it going. Oh, the drama trying to get internet here! I think they are very behind as far as internet goes. They need to put in cable lines to get high speed into more areas so it will be more affordable.

I found travelling with Dad quite freaky at times. I would think something or say something, and I would realize that he hadn´t heard me when a couple minutes later, he would say the same thing. It continued to happen all through our trip ... it made me realize how alike we are.

I was really having trouble with my neck, which was creating headaches and twinges, so we decided to head to Cooma so I could see a chiropractor, and Dad needed a visit to a second-hand store for more books. We headed to our favourite resource place - the tourist information booth, which was right downtown. We really liked the mosaics they had in their downtown park. I couldn´t get an appointment until 2:30 so we had some lunch and did some shopping.

I arrived for my appointment and it turned out that the chiropractor was very experienced in neck problems - 30 years worth. This was good because mine was in a mess. He did a lot of preparing me before the treatment with acupuncture, massage, and ultrasound waves before he did the chiropractor treatment. I was happy to finally have it sorted out.

We left Cooma heading for Eden on the coast. We found the landscape changeable - from dry grassy plains to rocky areas where the rocks seemed to burp out of the ground. From there we went into a bit of rainforest as we wound down a mountain highway to the coast. We always know when we are in rainforest because mist builds up on the outside of the window. At first we thought it was inside, so we put on the defroster. Then we tried the air conditioning to see if it would freeze it off the window, but we finally discovered that it was on the outside and needed the wipers.

We decided to take a secondary road through the farming district with lush green rolling hills. It was nice to drive through the rural area. We saw a bird run across the road that looked just like a roadrunner. I was not sure there was such a thing here but it was fascinating to see. We saw about a five-acre block covered in net tents to protect the crop from the bats and birds.

We were happy to get to the ocean. We decided to stay for two days at a time as we find moving every day tiring. In Eden we arrived at the tourist information place just as they were closing but the woman suggested a motel. It was more than we had been spending, but we were too tired to think so we decided to take her up on her recommendation. We arrived and there was a pool and a spa (hot tub). We promptly booked for two nights, which we were to discover meant getting a great discount.

To be continued.

CORRESPONDENCE

Carol Dilworth writes: Recently I was at my cousin´s home and she was wrapping up the rest of the dinner I cooked (take-out pizza). I decided to broach the topic that has divided us for so many years - which side of the tinfoil goes out (or in). She demonstrated that she places the tinfoil on the counter the way that it comes out of the box - shiny side up. And she pointed out that I must turn it over to make the shiny side go out. I feel very silly but not necessarily wrong. Do your readers have any input on this?

ED. NOTE: Wikipedia says: "Aluminium foil is widely sold into the consumer market, often in rolls of 500 mm (20 in) width and several metres in length. It is used for wrapping food in order to preserve it, for example when storing leftover food in a refrigerator (where it serves the additional purpose of preventing odour exchange), when taking sandwiches on a journey, or when selling some kinds of take- away or fast food...."

It makes no mention of sides, so perhaps it is not important for the preservation of food.

Marilyn Magid forwards this

MEDICAL ALERT

The Centre for Disease Control has issued a medical alert about a highly contagious, potentially dangerous virus that is transmitted orally, by hand, and even electronically. This virus is called Weary Overload Recreational Killer (WORK). If you receive WORK from your boss, any of your colleagues, or anyone else via any means whatsoever - DO NOT TOUCH IT. This virus will wipe out your private life completely. If you should come into contact with WORK you should immediately leave the premises.

Take two good friends to the nearest grocery store and purchase one or both of the antidotes - Work Isolating Neutralizer Extract (WINE) and Bothersome Employer Elimination Rebooter (BEER). Take the antidote repeatedly until WORK has been completely eliminated from your system.

You should immediately forward this medical alert to five friends. If you do not have five friends, you have already been infected and WORK is controlling your life.

ED. NOTE: The suggestion that you purchase these antidotes from a grocery store does not apply in Canada, except for Quebec; you will have to go to a liquor store or wine shop. If neither of these outlets is available, find the nearest pub.

Tony Lewis warns about a conspiracy:

THIS IS HAPPENING RIGHT HERE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY!

We Must Stop This Immediately!

Have you noticed that stairs are getting steeper, groceries are heavier, and, everything is farther away. Yesterday I walked to the corner and I was dumbfounded to discover how long our street had become!

And you know, people are less considerate now, especially the young ones. They speak in whispers all the time! If you ask them to speak up, they just keep repeating themselves, endlessly mouthing the same silent message until they´re red in the face! What do they think I am, a lip reader?

I also think they are much younger than I was at the same age. On the other hand, people my own age are so much older than I am. I ran into an old friend the other day and she has aged so much that she didn´t even recognize me! I got to thinking about the poor dear while I was combing my hair this morning, and in doing so, I glanced at my own reflection. Well, REALLY NOW - even mirrors are not made the way they used to be!

Another thing, everyone drives so fast these days! You´re risking life and limb if you happen to pull onto the freeway in front of them. All I can say is, their brakes must wear out awfully fast, the way I see them screech and swerve in my rear view mirror.

Clothing manufacturers are less civilized these days. Why else would they suddenly start labelling a size 10 or 12 dress as 18 or 20? Do they think older women don´t notice? The people who make bathroom scales are pulling the same prank. Do they think I actually "believe" the number I see on that dial? HA! I would never let myself weigh that much! Just who do these people think they´re fooling

I´d like to call up someone in authority to report what´s going on - but the telephone company is in on the conspiracy too: they´ve printed the phone books in such small type that no one could ever find a number in there!

All I can do is pass along this warning: WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! Unless something drastic happens, pretty soon everyone will have to suffer these awful indignities.

Please pass this on to everyone you know as soon as possible so we can get this conspiracy stopped!

Zvonko Springer forwards this one:

CATHOLIC DOG

Muldoon lived alone in the Irish countryside with only a pet dog for company. One day the dog died, and Muldoon went to the parish priest and said, "Father, my dog is dead. Could ya´ be sayin´ a mass for the poor creature?"

Father Patrick replied, "I´m afraid not; we cannot have services for an animal in the church. But there are some Baptists down the lane, and there´s no tellin´ what they believe. Maybe they´ll do something for the creature."

Muldoon said, "I´ll go right away, Father. Do ya´ think $5,000 is enough to donate to them for the service?"

Father Patrick exclaimed, "Sweet Mary, Mother of Jesus! Why didn´t ya tell me the dog was Catholic?

FROM THE EDITOR´S DESKTOP

You may have wondered why there are so many jokes in the Spinner, and so few heart-wrenching stories of real life. The reason is a purely personal one: I try to make the newsletter an antidote to the bad news that predominates the daily media.

Every day the news is filled with tragedies, both natural and man- made, and it has got to the point where I am overwhelmed. I hate to read the daily newspaper I still get from force of habit, and all the on-line news media to which I subscribe. I get daily headlines from Reuters and the New York Times; I get news summaries from AlterNet, Mother Jones, Rabble Rouser, the Tyee, Common Dream, and The Nation. Mostly I just read the headlines, because the stories themselves are such downers. At least I don´t watch the TV news because I don´t have a TV - from choice.

I do read the good-news stories: those about relief efforts in disasters, heroism and altruism, kindness and helpfulness - but they obviously aren´t as newsworthy as bad news. I also like the stories about the way people are coming up with ingenious solutions to problems, like urban agriculture and alternate sources of power.

I am disgusted with the antics, posturing, and downright lies of politicians all over the world. In democracies they are supposedly elected to handle the people´s business for the good of the shareholders, not to push their own agendas or enrich themselves and their friends. I am tempted to say, a pox on all their houses!

Old and disillusioned? After having lived through the Great Depression, the Second World War, the intervening years marked by the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, Desert Storm, the Iraq invasion, the war in Afghanistan, and now the military intervention in Syria, and countless small wars that don´t rate capital letters, can you wonder that my opinion of humanity has hit rock bottom? Frankly, I am tired of the whole mess.

And yet, I love to laugh. I enjoy the jokes and the amusing videos and cartoons I receive in my mailbox, and I like to share them with you. Perhaps you too need a distraction.

Heard any good jokes lately?

SUGGESTED WEBSITES

Gerrit deLeeuw suggests this link to a video of 15-year-old Mark Vincent, winner of Australia´s Got Talent. Listen for the songs after the judges´ remarks:

Irene Harvalias sends this link to a video of an autistic musical savant, Derek Paravicini, who has overcome overwhelming odds to become a piano master:

For a wonderful animation about the last 300 years of civilization, go to http://arunaurl.com/455g. It takes us from before the dawn of industrialization and up to now in 300 seconds! How to tell THAT tale in less than six minutes? Incisive writing and narration by Richard Heinberg, author of "Powerdown," "The Party´s Over," and "Peak Everything."

The message: Fossil fuels have powered human growth and ingenuity for centuries. Now that we´re reaching the end of cheap and abundant oil, we´re in for an exciting ride. While there´s a real risk that we´ll fall off a cliff, there´s still time to control our transition to a post-carbon future.

Tom Brokaw explains Canada to Americans, and reminds us of the connections between the two countries:

Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems? Jane McGonigal says we can, and explains how:

To check out the features of the "freedictionary", which changes daily, go to