ANZACS

and when he came home from the war at 21, walked back to the familiar laneway between his little cottage and the factory in Trembath Street Bowden dad left a lot back in New Guinea. he married the woman he loved became a cabinetmaker had two boys and lived in a redbrick war service home in Richmond

never worried about the RSL the marches the reunions rarely spoke about those years would rather do a crossword than have a cross word or drink with old soldiers preferred reading a book to joining an anzac march when I asked him why he said that was then and this is now

and when my grandpa came back from the so-called great war with an ugly stomach from shrapnel and only one wheezy lung from mustard gas he went on a TPI pension because for the rest of his life he could only ever do Light Duties and when I asked about his wartime experiences he said war’s bloody stupid.

so I don’t understand how anzac day has grown into a quasi-religious celebration in 2014  and all the talk of Sacrifice and Honour and Respect is used to justify subsequent wars and invading other countries or in the same week that our prime minister sits in a fighter jet beaming like a boy with a new toy he says 145 million will be spent next year on the centenary celebrations and by the way we may have to cut pensions.