A Abroad: Two Shorts

By R Frederick Finlayson

These two short pieces explore Australians' engagement with cultures beyond their own shores.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Room editions
• Release date: Nov 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215930441

R Frederick Finlayson

R Frederick Finlayson lives on a mountain near a forest.

Book preview

A abroad: two shorts

Meditation

–  Jacko, mate, how ya doin?

–  Costa, good to see ya, ya sly dog. Just got here too, eh?

–  Yeh-no, Kackers’d told me you she’d heard you were back in town and I just like took a punt you might be in the old haunt. Fuck me, not wrong, eh.

–  Ha, yeh, right, mate, was feelin a bit thirsty and figured maybe one of the blokes’d be in situ so to speak and lo and behold. Hey, Nikko, beer for Costa and a gee n tee for me. You still on beer, right?

–  Yeh mate, why wouldn’t I be? Yeh, Nikko, haha, too right, mate.

–  Eh? What’d he say? Bit deaf in one ear.

–  Oh yeh, that right, mate? Gettin on?

–  Yeh, that too, can’t be helped, eh, but yeh-no popped it divin off Lombok.

–  Jeez mate you get around all right, livin the vida loca.

–  It’s hard work but someone’s gotta do it, mate. Actually, I’m livin in Bali now and Lombok’s just next door. Anyway, so what’d he say? Nikko.

–  Asked had you joined Johnno the Poof’s club.

–  Johnno the Poof! How is the old bugger? Haven’t seen him for fucken ages.

–  He’s great, mate, no probs. Still bashin the grog and fags, wouldn’t know he had HIV, jeez, what a constitution he’s got. Or it’s those bloody good drugs, eh. But get this, you can’t call him Johnny the Poof anymore, mate. Verboten.

–  Really, mate? What’s happened? Is he Jonette or something?

–  No way, mate. Now he’s Johnno the Non-binary.

–  Non-binary? What the fuck’s that mean?

–  Fucked if I know, mate. Neither does Johnno but one of his mates who’s some kind of brains trust said it’s the new term for poofs and Johnno reckons it’s good for a laugh. He’s usually in around eight so hang on a bit and he’ll tell you himself. Anyway, mate, what’s with the gee and tee? Never thought I’d see Jacko backin away from the grog.

–  Ah, mate, it just sorta happened, like, you know, we all go up to Bali for a week or two of hols, right, and sink wagon loads of Bintang, it’s cheap and usually cold, right, so, anyway, when I started livin there I kept up the partyin with some of the other blokes livin there, love a beer they do, and after a while I noticed I was gettin a bit of a keel. Made paddlin hard and I’d roll off the board and bob about like a ping-pong ball