John #1

Initially I was super impressed by a school friend's Lego blocks and other toys too. I started to visit to play with him and his toys. As puppies and kittens tended to get dumped in their yard, there was always one or more dogs and one or more cats to also play with. Maybe it was the sheep that kept the grass down in their front yard that hinted they were animal lovers? Over time I got to also become friends with my schoolmate's sister and parents. One day I got to see inside John's garage! Wowwie! The Lego didn't stand a chance any more. There were all sorts of things to investigate. Tools of all sorts, and bits metal of all types, shapes and sizes. An impressive range of nuts and bolts and screws and other gizmos all sorted into tins and jars. Everything had a place, and the whole place had been built by John!

I felt very accepted at my mate's place, and got along well with all the family members (except maybe for the sheep, and the crow they were nursing back to health). I used to disappear from home and go to my mate's place whenever I could. It ended up that I had quite a few meals here and got exposed to other forms of cuisine as well as a bit of cake or similar after every evening meal. I so wished that these had been my parents instead of the ones I got!

Even when no one was home, I would go and spend hours in their yard playing games with their dogs or quietly stroking one of their cats. (We had no pets at home!)

I remember helping out with a pick and a shovel and even a pneumatic chisel to dig the rocks up in their yard so the sewerage and storm water pipes could be put in. I was proud of the blisters that I got from all that hard work and also of the fuss they made over me for helping. There was so much rock that an explosives expert even came and set a few charges. It was all fascinating "boy's stuff" to watch the charges being set, and the heavy blast mats positioned to contain what would otherwise be flying debris.

I felt ever so special when I was invited to come on their camping trip one school holidays. I was still young enough to think that it took forever to get there (and I think I even asked "Are we there yet?"!!!) One of the cats was hanging around as we packed everything up to take with us, so it ended up in the car and came too! (Like most cats, it is not a good idea to have one roaming free in a car whilst it is heading along the road. Cats panic and are quite prepared to scratch and bite in order to run away and hide somewhere.) We arrived, unhitched the trailer and set up the two small tents which would be home for the next 2 weeks. We let the cat out, and it took off into the thick tea tree! We didn't see it until another couple of nights later when it came into our tent for a cuddle. (This particular cat used to follow me around like a dog might.)

On another camping trip that I went on with the family, John and I ended up going off by ourselves for about a week. I almost felt like his son! In the middle of nowhere, we'd set up the tent and drove and hiked around during the day, ate like kings and had a great time. We investigated some abandoned farm houses that were falling apart, hiked through quite thick bushland and got lost for a couple of hours in  the afternoon. It was at this camp that John taught me how to cook French Toast. I also had an encounter with a scorpion that had wandered into the tent and was checking out my sleeping bag!

John was always a story teller with tales about everything. He told them in such a way that you never really knew if you were getting the truth or a tall story. He loved to spin a yarn and draw in his audience. It was even better to have them as "captive" passengers in his car as he barrelled along down a dirt road at what seemed a bit too much speed. It was John who introduced me to Grand Ridge Road in Gippsland, as well as Great Ocean Road. John loved to tell of the times he went around Great Ocean Road with only 3 of the car's wheels on the road (and the 4th hanging over the cliff!)

When I did leave home at 16, it was to come and live here. John treated me as another child and set the same curfews on me as he had for his own children. I had just met my first girlfriend and was starting to stretch my wings. I was pumped full of testosterone and didn't need to 8 hours sleep he was telling me I did. I decided it wasn't really that easy to live under his roof after all, and moved out after a short time.

A lot of my enthusiasm for life can be attributed to John and how he just got on and did things with a laugh and a joke to boot.

John #2

Born in 1930 as the 4th of seven children in a tiny seaport in the north of the Netherlands. The 2nd World War meant that his education ended after the 3rd grade and he had to work on a farm. When he turned 18, this John did National Service in the Dutch Army.

On his discharge, he chose to immigrate to Australia by himself. He met his future wife on the ship. Her family settled in Port Fairy, Victoria and John got work and settled near Mount Gambier, South Australia. Every weekend he would ride his motorbike to Port Fairy. The relationship blossomed and three years later they were married.

A year later, the 1st son was born and shortly afterward the young family moved to Hamilton, Victoria. Another two years saw the arrival of the 2nd son, and a 3rd a year later again.

With the boys now aged 3, 4 and 6, the family again moved. This time to a Melbourne suburb to share a house with John's sister-in-law and her husband. After 3 years they were able to buy a block of land and build a home for themselves in St. Albans.

A few years later I met John living here and bringing up his family. He was always busy and always had at least one project going and another planned. I fondly remember visiting whilst the kitchen was being remodelled. John built all the cupboards himself and was installing them. He needed a hand to get the bench top in through all the doorways and positioned on the cupboards. Having got it all the way inside, it needed more adjustment and had to be taken outside again. This happened, and he even took a moment to help one of his sons make an adjustment to steering on his push bike.

I witnessed one transformation of the kitchen, but I'm aware there was at least one other remodel of the kitchen cabinetry.

I'm still not sure how it is that I managed to get invited to travel with the family over to Hamilton to visit John's parents and stay for the weekend. The trip was a journey of enlightenment for me! On the way there, everyone chatted good-naturedly and everyone got along. A dinner stop happened at Ballarat and a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken was purchased. (I'd never had this sort of take away before!) We arrived and I met another set of wonderful people. They were introduced to me as Oma and Opa. John's father was quite a talented creator of stained glass windows and he had an amazing loft area over the garage. There were all sorts and colours of glass. All organised and in their correct place in racks. The lead bead and solder and soldering irons and burners all in  their place too. A couple of projects were laid out. One being fabricated, and the other a full scale paper layout.

All members of the family that I met were all even tempered and they all took a genuine interest in others that they met. I felt very warmly welcomed every time I visited any of the family.

When John's sons grew up, he got to travel Victoria extensively with his wife in a campervan and they particularly enjoyed their time on the banks of the Murray River fishing.

A sea change to a 4 acre property with a shack and no electricity on it meant John could turn his hand to being creative once again. The shack became extended and extensively renovated and an idyllic life in the country followed for fifteen or so years before failing health forced them to have to sell up and move closer to medical facilities.

In his last years, John developed Alzheimer's Disease and interestingly forgot that he smoked.

Passed away in 2005.