July 1992

THE GRIMMS IN AUSTRALIA - VOL II. CHAPTER 26

      Yes, we're still alive in the outback. The dingos have not crept into our house and carried us off.  We're still here, so you, who are on our distribution list, will continue to receive the infamous Grimm form letters from Australia.  Believe it or not, this is my 26th form letter during this tour (which began in June 1986). Yes, I have copies of all of them and you are free to read all of them if you come visit.
      This is not a trip report.  Some of us have not traveled since January.  But, I'll bring you up to date.

Dwight finished his junior year at Stanford in June.  His mother was in a slight state of panic when he was due to go to L.A. for a seminar the weekend of the riots, but the seminar got canceled at the last minute.  He tried unsuccessfully to find summer employment, and so he came home for the summer.  The newspaper's photographer went to Perth to be with her seriously ill sister, so Dwight is filling in for her (four weeks so far).  Among the things he has covered was the recent visit of the cast from a nationally televised comedy/variety show, 'Hey Hey It's Saturday!'.  Dwight had a nice chat with the star, Daryl Somers of the show and talked with others of the cast.
     I guess if the photographer comes back and puts Dwight out of work he'll just relax and maybe play some golf.  He may have to go back to Stanford a bit early.  Dwight was living in a house that was leased from the university as a local fraternity (no national ties). When it became obvious that the fraternity did not have enough people committed to live there next year in order to meet their financial obligations to the university, the day before Dwight left campus the university announced that it was taking the house back to use as a regular dorm.  Consequently, the people who were to live there next year have been evicted.  There is a slim chance that Dwight will get a place to live on campus next year, but it is more likely that he'll have to find a place to live off campus.  Oh well, he is well ahead in credits and may finish after the winter quarter.
      Toby has been the busy one since we got home.  He made the Northern Territory junior bowling team in the tryouts in January. In April he spent a couple of weeks in Darwin, where he bowled in the state championships.  Although he didn't do well himself, in part because he got sick, the Alice Springs kids won the state title, the first time in the 10 years of the championship.  He also attended the training camp for the N.T. team, in preparation for the national titles which were held in Townsville in late June.  Again, he didn't do all that well (despite bowling one 234 game), but the N.T. team placed second in the nation, their highest ranking to date.  He is back in Darwin again this week, at the expense of the N.T. government, for a sports excellence camp, a combination of lectures on all aspects of sport, training sessions in their sport, and other activities.  Dwight told me he called a few days after he got there and was complaining about the fact that he has to eat healthy foods.  (Usually when he goes away, he manages to find a McDonalds or our equivalent of Burger King, Hungry Jacks.)  Then in August he will return to Darwin, as one of only two individuals selected from his school to attend a week long math seminar.  (Some may find such an event boring, but I think Toby, who likes math, is looking forward to it.)
      Update on Toby's participation in the Sports Excellence Camp. He returned lighter (eating only bread - whole meal at that - and butter at a number of meals).  However, he enjoyed the camp and was one of four participants, two boys and two girls, to receive an award.  Since he didn't get a piece of paper to indicate what the award was for, as I understand it from him it sounds like it was for
striving to do well.  He was pleased and we were impressed.  Maybe I should try giving awards for picking up his room, etc.   

      A friend of Toby's and the family, came to visit us for almost two weeks.  Elizabeth used to live here but moved to Adelaide in 1989.  We told her she could come visit anytime, so she did.  She thoroughly enjoyed her trip and we were able to experience for a short time what it would have been like to have a teen-age daughter. I'm not sure we could have survived.  Elizabeth is a character -probably not unlike what a daughter of ours would have been like, (is Jack wishful thinking out loud,? I'm not - Dorothy)
      The same day Elizabeth arrived, one of my best friends, Jeff, arrived.  He and his wife currently live in Papua New Guinea, not a nice place to live, so he was enjoying the peace and safety of Australia.  After telling me about needing to travel in a convoy to a town 60 miles away for safety reasons, I would be reluctant to visit him as he'd like. Dorothy continues to be a conscientious reporter.  She did a good article on the scientists who came here to launch research packages on the very large balloons that I think I have mentioned before.  The head of the NASA team here at the time complimented her on the article.  The same week, the editor of the paper who barely acknowledged her existence, publicly thanked her at the opening of an art exhibit for all she does for the arts in Alice Springs.  She also is still playing basketball with the newspaper team, and Dwight
     While I haven't done much since I returned, I did have an interesting weekend some time ago.  On Friday evening Dorothy and I attended an outdoor production at the Yipirinya Aboriginal school. The kids had spend months and months put the production together, between learning the dances, fashioning costumes and some very impressive props, including an eagle with a wingspan of about 10 feet.  The numbers progressed to stories from the Dreamtime (Aboriginal myths) to modern numbers, the last of which involved all of the kids dancing to Michael Jackson's latest hit.  These little Aboriginal kids were thrilled to be performing and in the semi-darkness (the area was partially lit be a few spotlights), you could see large grins on many faces.  I couldn't help but smile and laugh along with them, and at the end of the performance, I was ready to see it all again.
      The next day, Dorothy wanted to travel to the Aboriginal community, Hermannsburg, about 75 miles from Alice Springs, about 25 of which are on a dirt road.  She wanted to attend a combined celebration of the 10th anniversary of becoming an Aboriginal community, rather than a Lutheran mission, and the opening of a new art gallery.  The drive out to the west of Alice Springs, towards Hermannsburg, is very scenic.  The road runs along the MacDonnell Ranges, and while you might think the outback is all the same, it isn't.  The scenery changes from flat areas with little growth, to dry river beds lined with white and red gum trees, to hills dotted with spinifex (a nasty weed, the stalks of which when they are dry can go through a shoe - Dorothy note: but spinifex serves many purposes including providing combustible material for Aboriginal people).  Even the colors of the mountains change.  It's interesting that the Aboriginal artists use a purplish color in their water-color scenes of the area.  People who have seen their watercolors, but not the area must wonder about their use of colors. But that afternoon, on the way home, the lighting was such that the mountains did indeed seem to be purple.
      The visit itself was fascinating.  Although there is a modern church there, the service that morning was held in the smaller old church dedicated in 1897.  By the time we got there the church was full, so we sat on one of the chairs set up outside.  A sound system was set up with large speakers outside so those outside could share in the service.  Eventually, there must have been over a hundred people sitting on chairs, on the ground, and anything else available, to hear the service.
      The service was in Aranda, an Aboriginal language with comments in English by a white clergyman.  The hymns had been printed on sheets for the service, in both Aranda and English.  During the service there was constant motion as people, kids and dogs roamed in and out of the church.  Numerous dogs lay in the aisle so the men passing the collection plates had to step over or around them.  Some kids were playing football in the open space behind us. After the service, the choir, all Aboriginal ladies wearing bright red sweaters, came outside to sand and I got what I thought were some beautiful photos of them against the white church. Unfortunately, the film turned out to be black and white.   
      After the service, we attended the opening of the museum and then went with some ladies to the building where the local crafts women produce their distinctive pottery. One of the nice aboriginal ladies who does some beautiful pottery gave Dorothy one of her pots. Finally, we decided to leave and drive back to town.  I was glad I had gone with Dorothy (Dorothy note: must be a first).
      Well, Dorothy has reviewed this and couldn't think of anything to add, so I guess that is all for now.