Living Legends

Introduction

G'day. You are about to meet some wonderful people. People who all have a great story to tell. They'll make you laugh, make you cry, astonish you with their resilience and bravery – what they have endured – and endear themselves to you by the sheer fact that they have put more into life than they have received.

As you read their stories in the comfort of your chair, enjoy the many unusual and sometimes amazing adventures they have experienced during their long lives.

All have been through incidents that are fascinating, funny, frightening, just plain horrendous or absolutely hilarious! Some are ordinary people who have lived long, interesting lives, some are extraordinary individuals whose stories are often shocking or simply breathtaking.

From highly diverse backgrounds, they have one thing in common: they are all young at heart!

For example, Dot, still pretty at ninety-seven years old, laughs as she's pulling on her bowling shoes, telling you about the time she got shot in the face on her dairy farm. 'Dusty', a 94-year-old larrikin livewire, is revered in many circles for surviving thirty missions as a rear gunner on bombers in WW II, and still helps his community. Entertainer Terry, who's toured all over Australia singing and telling jokes for half a century, is still on stage and still lovin' livin' on laughs. Neville the naughty auctioneer and retired stock agent still raises eyebrows with his devilish wit at charity auctions. And then there's 'Winki', a bloody wag from Eulo whose yarns about her time as a bush nurse go back a hell of a long way, when hospital conditions were still positively Crimean! And that's just a few of the characters – variety is the spice of life, and of this book.

So make a big pot of tea or pitcher of daiquiris, settle back and enjoy reading the life stories of these lively, lovely people.



They've Seen It All

You can only marvel at the changes they have seen, from bullockies and steam trains when they were young and keen, to road trains, jets, computers and phones that have a brain, the world they knew in simpler days can never be the same.

Children walked 3 miles to school, along the dusty tracks; to clear the land or build a road, you swung a 5-pound axe. The laundry was a full day's toil, the woodstove blazed all day; once in a while there'd be a dance and everyone was gay*.

Their happiness in simple pleasures, to dance, sing or recite, 'round the campfire or piano, was a perfect Saturday night. And when a lad would court a girl, with rosy maiden's blush, they 'stepped out' till they were sure, with no unseemly rush.

Coarse language never reached the ears of the fairer sex; men tipped their hats in the street in masculine respect. They were all females' protectors, proud of being strong; a firm handshake sealed a deal, a man's word was his bond.

Yes, you can only marvel at the changes they have seen; since the Depression and World War II, how different life has been. They could never have imagined when they were boys and girls that it would be their generation who'd see two different worlds.

*happy (the original meaning)