Chapter 6
Transition Period – CONTINUED.......
In the immediate day following their departure customers proved a scarce
resource. It was as if the previous owners paid people to stop and buy
conveniences and petrol whilst they were still there, to give the appearance of
a booming business. But at the time, the lack of trade was not a great concern
to Ted or Rene because the excitement of owning a home and operating their own
business on land of their own and in such peaceful surroundings gave them
mammoth satisfactions. Sadly it was not long before reality established a
conventional view of the situation. On the third day of closing which was never
before ten at night, the gross revenue came to three shillings and two pence,
the lowly sum being for the sale of a pack of twenty ‘Craven A’ cigarettes. Although
this was more than they took in the previous two days, the financial gain was
not very inspiring and they soon realised they were not on the road to
‘millionaires’ row’. The sort of income earned was nowhere near enough to feed
the family, let alone pay the mortgage or re-stock the shelves, or cover
ongoing costs. Their will to survive was assisted by adopting the attitude: ‘We’re here now. We have to make the best of
it and do whatever it takes to make it work or we will become even more
destitute’.
Don did not have to worry about all the financial hassles, all he was
concerned about was having fun. Over the next few days he explored most of the
property. Through eyes so young the abode was huge and space in ground mammoth.
Behind the shop stood five acres of bushland, adorned with large ‘Spotted Gum’,
‘Stringybark’, ‘Wattle’, ‘Blue Gum’, ‘Eucalypts’, ‘Paperbark’ and ‘Ironbark’.
It was thick with saplings, ‘Black Boys’ (Xanthorrhoea), and in other places
fresh green lucent tufts of grass spread amongst sparse ‘scrubby’ vegetation.
The property was not fenced, probably deemed unnecessary as there were no
cattle or other livestock to keep safe from the foxes or dingoes roaming
freely. The kangaroos were in their dozens and made welcome by their human visitors;
they were not a pest in any way and later exploited by way of an attraction for
the tourists. Other wildlife consisted of a multiplicity of bird type, such as;
magpies, swallows, starling, kookaburras, parrots, hawks, owls and eagles.
Other native species sharing this parcel of land involved many type of animals
and insects; spiders such as the red-back, funnel web and trapdoor, and snakes,
and wombats and porcupine, to name a few. The only pests were vermin, including
a few big rats Ted soon disposed off . He bought two large bottles of ‘Arsenic’
and left baits throughout the cupboards and around the shelves in the shed; it
was quick and efficient. The Scotsdon’s adapted instinctively and quickly to
their surroundings and integrated accordingly, forever respecting the territory
and its natural wonders.
Zoe had nearly turned seventeen years of age and much to her parent’s
delight she began to settle in a compliant and happy manner. Her line of
logical reasoning through syllogism relieved her from further school
attendance. She argued on two points; one, she could stay at school and earn
her ‘leaving certificate’ but suggested it to be a waste of time going for
another year because there was no work in the area anyway. And the primary
point of her deduction was; her labour was required in the business full-time
or it would be necessary to employ someone to help out. She knew they could not
afford to pay wages and used both her reasons in a coherent and logical defence
for argument to skip education. It was sad in a way because out of the three children she liked school the most and could have acquired a decent vocation.
But it was soon apparent to her parents the business was not yet going to
support its-self let alone a paid employee, so they considered the decision of
Zoe helping in the daily workings as one of a requisite desire. This decision
was partly due to the strength of verity in Ted now being devoid of options but
to seek employment elsewhere or suffer the consequences of bankruptcy. He
admitted to himself; ‘Another source of
revenue was vital to supplement the meagre income so far earned, and to date
from the consistent lack of sales future patterns did not hold hope of change.’
It improved slightly but with the passing trade passing by all too often it
became evident, if there was no immediate improvement in clientele numbers, or
without outside financial assistance the outcome was definitely failure;
insolvency was a threatening reality and Ted was not accustomed to defeat. He
concluded, if he could not stay home to help Rene then the best option was to
employ Zoe, free of wages for now. She would be allowed to stay and work with
her mother for security, company, and to attend to normal daily operations
while Ted looked for work.
Don escaped school for a short period and remained home in the care of
his mother and sister. His role in life was to play and became a general
nuisance while they toiled, but his brother Tim was not so lucky. Tim was
fourteen years of age and attended ‘Naretha
High School’ .This school was about ten miles north of where they lived. He
would transit by bus carrying a mixture of passengers comprising of the older
public going to work and primary and high school students. It stopped out front
of everyone’s house and took around forty minutes to reach the school. Tim did
not mind the daily journey, he said it gave him time to think and talk to
friends.
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