On my 40th birthday, our family doctor, and long time friend Sally Mathers told me I was heading for an early grave because of my “gutless drunken” lifestyle. She pointed to my heavy smoking, excessive drinking, poor diet, and lack of exercise as the cause.
“A few years ago you were one of this countries leading footballers, you were an all round sportsman top in most sports, People looked up to you; You were a role model for many youngsters.
Look at you now, puffing and panting out of breath after climbing the few stairs to my office”
“Look at your pot belly”
“Listen Doc someone once said to me “If that was on a woman she’d be pregnant” I told them “It has been and she is”
She didn’t laugh she just got angry. “This is not a bloody laughing matter it’s serious.” “You are becoming an embarrassment to your friends.”
“I’m sick of defending you.”
“Its three years since Nancy and the kids were killed by that drunken truckie out on the highway. You can’t bring them back. Even if you did Nancy would be ashamed of you.You`re a bloody disgrace to her memory.”
Those last few words hurt.
She was wound up now and went on at full speed. “There are a lot of people who have lost love ones. Look at your next door neighbour, Mrs Brown, her husband was killed, yes slaughtered, by a truckie out on the highway in his car.”
“She looks like loosing that old motel they bought to work together. Your loss is no greater than hers. She’s not giving up, she’s trying, even though she is running out of money, while you are pissing yours up against a wall.”
I woke next morning out on the farm, with a thumping head, a shitty mouth, and an upset gut.
Thinking over what Sally had said, I realised for the first time since I lost Nancy and the kids that,
“Grog wasn’t the answer.”
For three days I went cold turkey, no grog, no smokes, no visitors, I stayed out on the farm with only my old dog for company. I milked the house cow, and gathered eggs from the chook run, living on eggs and milk.
On the fourth day, an old mate Harvey Smith drove up with a feed of meat and vegetables cooked to perfection by his lovely wife Judy.
Judy ran the town’s swimming pool. Harvey was told to feed me up and bring me into town to their home.
He told me Judy had got together with doctor Sally Mathers, and the pair was going to feed me good tucker and make me work at my old fitness routine.
“They reckon in six months you will be ok.” Harvey said with a grin.
They were right. Or should I say “after a lot of hard work and sweat they were proved right.” The most obvious outward improvement was the loss of my beer gut. Mentally I was fully recovered and ready to enjoy life again.
I visited Nina Brown and arranged to buy the Motel, located next door to my farm on the highway.
She was reluctant to leave and as I had no one to help, we agreed for her to stay and work for me.
As I worked around the motel, she convinced me to follow her husband’s plans to remodel the Motel as a special Backpacker Girls Resort.
“Why girls” I asked,
“Because the great majority of foreign Backpackers travelling Northern Australia are women. Most come from Europe and travel in groups generally two or three or more for safety.”
Nina went on: “My husband and I thought if we advertised our concept in Europe their parents may be happier knowing their daughters would go to a women’s resort.”
“We also planned to make our place popular with working Backpackers. We planned to buy a small bus and contract to local farms to supply backpacker labour.”
“We could then guarantee visiting young women work on local tomato farms.”
“Most Backpackers come here to work for a few weeks to replenish their funds, before they go off to holiday on the Barrier Reef.”
“You’ve been a farmer so you know local tomato farmers would rather hire women as they are better pickers and packers.”
“The farmers are always looking for casual labour. The locals don’t pick because of the lousy wages they pay, but the foreign girls are just looking for quick money before they move on.”
I looked hard at her “Nina I am bloody amazed at the work the pair of you put into these plans. You and I will make them happen.”
She started to cry “we had good plans but we didn’t plan on him getting killed.”
I pulled her to me and hugged her close. I was surprised by the firm tits that rubbed against my chest. I kept the hug going longer than necessary because her body was so enjoyable.