my childhood page 3

If I fish through my life looking for themes and things that have been a comfort along the way, I find lots of animals, wild country and adventure. I grew up in Greensborough, a northern suburb of Melbourne but we didn't shop for pleasure, we caught eels at the creek and lizards and butterflies and kept spiders as pets. Mum and Dad shifted us up to Yinnar South when I was thirteen and even though I missed my mates, I soon found more friends and became even more feral. Shifting up the bush was the best gift Mum and Dad ever gave us.

Yeah, and if I fish through my life, I find lots of fish, too. I tried being a vegetarian for a couple of years as an adult, just to see what it was like. I enjoyed it and it made me think about my place in the world. I didn't miss meat and I realised I'd never been sentimental about other creatures, even though I could see the beauty in any living thing. I could kill something if I was going to eat it. A fish, a chicken, a lamb, a cow. That probably sounds gross but it's just honest. There would be a lot more vegetarians on the planet if every time they wanted to eat meat they had to kill it.

Life is a continuum - I do my best to live right now, this moment, this minute, but I'm a product of my past and I have dreams, goals, fears and aspirations that shape my future.