I was born into a family with one other child---and that's the way it stayed.
My paternal grandparents died in my first 18 months of life and my father was an only child---so I know little about that side of the family, other than my gradfather had two brothers, one who died in his 20s and the other alienated himself from the family.
Growing up, my maternal gradparents lived on an adjoining property and I was raised with all things Scottish, aunts, uncles and ten cousins----there never needed to be an excuse for the whole family to get together at my granparents house, which often spilled over into our yard.
In my mid teens, both of my gradparents died and so did the regular family socializing.
I married but had no children and many problems ended that liason.
My only brother died far too soon and my parents who were great supporters of everything I attempted have gone.
As far as family is concerned, I have some regular contact with two cousins, but that's my lot.----
Well so I thought.
I have searched a little of my paternal side and found that I am named after my paternal great gradfather who migrated alone from Denmark---he was a Master Mariner---a ships captain and was part owner of trading vessels plying the coast line of South Australia----kind of pioneering and romantic---except when I found one of his ships registration, changing it's name because it had been a slave trading vessel from South Africa.
But last week my family became substantially larger.
No, I haven't been breeding----well, nothing productive---well, not that I know of.
I got a phone call from a lovely lady who was tracing her husbands family. I gave her as much information as I had on my paternal grandparents and great grandparents---but she gave me more.
Yes, my great grandfather did migrate from Denmark---and yes, he did produce three sons with my great grandmother---but before that, he had 7 children with his first wife, who he met soon after arriving in Australia-- and of course they have all had families and families and families.
So this phone call has added another 140 plus relatives.
And I wondered what had happened to the old man's money.
I have a dream to visit Scotland and walk in the footsteps of my maternal Grandparents.
My Granfather was one of 7 children. Four migrated to Australia and I met and loved them all----and I do keep in touch with some 2nd or 3rd cousins who all live in another State---maybe it's because thay are a little older than be and when I first met them, they were beautiful teenage girls and I was a hormone driven 12 or 13 year old.
But there must be family in Scotland and I will try to find them before I go.
Yesterday I was sorting through some old stuff of my mothers----in an envelope there was a whole lot of old style computer printouts with names, birth and death details and some addresses for a whole lot of people I had never heard of.
Most of them live or lived in the USA and Canada but as I sorted through them the Scottish trail started to come to the fore until there in front of me was details of my grandmothers family.
It's funny that in all of these years I have found traces of the Robertson family---my gradfathers family, but somehow never thought that my grandmother had a family of her own----and there it was, my grandmother, a Cochrane and one of six children.
It's funny, that with the Scottish trait of allocating mothers maiden names, or grandmothers maiden names, as christian names of children, I somehow thought that my granny's maiden name was Malcolm---but that was her mother's maiden name and she was a Cochrane with half of her family living in the USA----and there is a great mob of them.
So answer one phone call and open one envelope and half the world could be related to me----I guess I'm not alone.
Immediate family, I have none
Fairly close, I have a few
But extended family, it could be you
It really doesn't matter how far medicine and science advances, we keep looking back at some of the good old remedies.
Whenever I got a cold, my mother would always offer to rub some Vicks Vaporub on my chest----so whenever any of my female friends get a cold, I make the offer.
My wonderful old horse trainer used to come up with some wonderful remedies for a lot of things----including boiling up stinging nettles to make a tea to drink to move kidney stones.
A lot of old remedies used with great success have included what we now know as deadly poisons---but in small doses, all poisons are stimulants.
I'm qite happy to try most of these old remedies but there are a few that I will just have to let pass into history
I must admit to having a fairly liberal view on what we should be able to say or see or do.
But having said that, I most certainly believe in censorship and the protection of children, animals and any adult of a diminished capacity.
I do believe in the freedoms---the freedom of the press, the freedom of religious expression and the equality of genders and races.
Australia has a fairly liberal standard of what can be shown or said in the electronic media (that's TV and Radio)---often only cersored by the time of the broadcast or telecast.
I believe that our standards are shared and accepted by most western nations although some may be a little more liberal.
Of course I will never believe that pornography should be available in any form that minors can access.
But tonight, I heard something on a local TV show and checked it out on line, that actually disturbed me.
It was not something that I thought could or would happen in a country with so much freedom and the rights to so much freedom entrenched in their laws.
In 2004 there was a live telecast of the Superbowl that stopped the nation in the USA and Canada---yes the Canadians love the game, or at least this season ending big game.
Sponsors pay millions of dollars to advertise duing the Superbowl and of course there is alway high class entertainment.
In 2004, part of the entertainment was Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson and you would have to be living under a rock, not to remember that there was a "costume malfunction" and one of Ms Jackson's ample breasts was shown to the world------look, go and search the net and you will find every other bit of Janet Jackson available for your viewing pleasure----but this was just a slip or a pre-planned slip, lasting a matter of seconds---blink and you missed it.
But this was on live television throughout the USA and Canada---so the broadcasting authorities in the USA received in excess of 540,000 complaints------yes, count the zeros---over half a million people in the US took time to register a complaint.
But that is only the US----there was another 50 people in Canada complained to the Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council----yes, that's right 50 and 49 of those were probably border hoppers on holiday from the US.
I have nothing left to say, but I have to wonder how many complaints there may have been if Justin had dropped his pants or if Janet had groped him.
I'm thinking that there is 540,000 phones on speed dial in the bible belt of the US just incase some girl in a blue dress gets her job back at the Whitehouse.
Get a life
The winner is ----AUSTRALIA
The wait is over
The Doomsdayers have nothing left to say
The Mormons can pack up and go home
The Christadelphians are going to have to rethink their "chosen ones" title
And no longer will the Vatican City be the centre of the Christian world.
Jesus is here
Well, not right here but he is in Queensland---our northern sunshine state.
Who would have thought
From my experience of Queensland, I doubted that they could find three wise men or a virgin but I guess that I was wrong.
Now apparently he has lived in my state--he was actually "born" here---ah, we have wise people and virgins----and he was married and has a couple of children---ah, right, Howard wanted him to experience a few things this time---but the marriage ended when he started having memories of his past life---and he has had another name----Alan.
ALAN--no wonder we didn't recognise him before----that would be just like HOWARD, to send him here under an assumed name, just in case we decided on nailing him up again but it looks like we passed the test.
And would you believe it---Mary has come with him---at least she came with her real name but for security sake, she used the surname of Luck---how appropriate and how lucky are we.
A report has said that the Anglican and Catholic churches are alarmed by the pair---well, why wouldn't they be---they haven't aligned themselves to either church, so the two major christian churches are out in the cold.
Jesus has bought a 40 acre property in rural Queensland and his Divine Truth followers have been buying up nearby blocks to be close to him.
Alan, sorry, Jesus has said that there has probably been a million people who have said that they are Jesus and most of them are in asylums.
Well people, our Jesus is not in an asylum, so I'm guessing that he might just be the one and only Alan, son of Howard
In Australia we no longer have school assemblies to sing our national anthem and salute our country's flag because we may offend those in our multicultural society who object to showing patriotism to this country.
Now don't jump on the "Muslims are taking over bandwagon". The protests and perceived offence have come from a multitude of people, including the indigenous Australian, who want their own flag.
But all of this has come after religious instruction has been banned in all but the church run schools.
That really does not offend me---I lost faith in my christian religion many years ago.
But, I have been a christian by convenience---I was raised in the Presbyterian church and even though I had ceased that association, I always claimed to be Catholic while I was in the Army
There was good reason for that. In the army camps out bush, those who didn't attend church services on Sundays had to work in kitchen duties, the protestant religions attended a service with-in the camp but the Catholics were transported into town and always had about three hours in the town.
Now that may be hypocritical but pretty moderate compared to a lot of people this weekend.
Those who have strayed from their christian faith, those who have never had a faith and those who protested that the faith was being taught in the State schools are all having a paid long weekend built on the christian faith.
I have yet to see any protesters on the street this weekend, pleading their case that their work place should be open for them to attend.
Happy Easter everyone---I guess you will just have to take the Christmas holidays and national patriotic holidays as well
It's funny that when things start to go wrong in life, we say that our luck has run out.
So how much luck do we get and when does it run out?.
Friends say that I am lucky in a lot of ways yet I fail to see their logic.
There is no logic in luck
I have always studied form guides for local harness racing and attended at every pre race qualifying trial that I could get to
I remember the first night that they raced at our new track---8 races and I backed every winner and 7 out of 8 at the corresponding interstate meeting---15 winners in 16races.
Of course at the next meeting, I increased my bets and backed 2 out of the 16 winners--giving back my winnings from the week before.
Yes, I suppose you would think I was lucky, but really, I am only persistent---
I realised years ago that gamblers must be prepared to lose every dollar that they bet and that you can't win every time you have a bet.
Like every thing in life---you can't win 'em all
There is no such thing as the balance of probabilities or Murphy's law---
I have been taking the same two sets of 8 numbers in our lotto for 20 years---I have had some wins but nothing really big.
Mathematically, my chances of winning are in the millions---but I keep on going
I have got two small dividends this week----they say that they come in threes---ha ha ha---who said that----I'm betting there is no third win.
Lightening never strikes twice---ha ha ha---a friend of mine from work won first prize in a State lottery---and three years later, shared first prize with a friend.
I guess that I'll never win a big one because a black cat crossed my path ten years ago and I walked under a ladder last week---at least I have never run over a China man.
Who made up all of these superstitions
And is luck only measured by winning money.
I think that I'm lucky that I have my health---I'm lucky that everyone who chooses to read by blog, takes the time to see what I think----I'm lucky that I have "met" some wonderful people on the Web.
I can do as I want in life because I have no family to think about or care about or be responsible to or for---is that lucky---or unlucky----or is it what I deserve.
I don't have a natural will--in that I have no family to naturally inherit my estate---but a friend of mine says that I should not make a will or I might die----
Ha ha ha---yes, I will die---but I'm not letting the Government or my ex-wife get my estate, so I do have a will--and that friends children get most of it
I feel lucky that I woke up this morning and saw the smiling face and wagging tail of a dog who depends on me and seems to be happy about the situation----oh, and she is in my will
I feel lucky that I have had nearly two years of retirement after 43 years of planning for it.
So my plan for tomorrow is to take a gamble on life---
I'm going to get out of bed---if I see a black cat, I'll let my dog chase it, if there is a crack in the path on the way to the beach, I'll probably tread on it, if there is a ladder I'll go around it or under it--whatever is easiest.
Oh, hell, it's the 13th---ha ha ha---I'll buy a lottery ticket
Hope I'm here tomorrow night to see your smiling faces
