In my book
RAGE there is an entry about a night where my friend Jan and I spent the
night in a park in Reservoir. We met two sharpies boys at Eastland and we
were going to cut their hair, so for some stupid reason we decided to go with them to
Reservoir. Which was a loooong way from Croydon for a couple of thirteen year
olds. It wasn’t one of my better ideas and was probably the most uncomfortable
night I have had in my life.
20
January 1977
Jan and I
spent last night in a park near the halfway house. We got bored so we drew a
moustache and eyebrows on a statue in someone’s front yard with eyeliner and
stole milk after the milkman came round. It was freezing. I ended up sleeping
face down on the ground and Jan curled up in a ball on my back trying to keep
warm. We wished we were home in bed.
Last week I
received the following message on Facebook
Hey Julie hope
you’re well. Today was a nice day to sit on the bean bag, sun shining on my
legs, with your book in my hand reading away. Until I read something that has
totally spun me out. This may be a huge coincidence or a freak of nature so remember
you wrote while in Reservoir you got bored and drew on the angel statue after a
night of sleeping in the park, after spending the day with a guy from the boys
home.
Well as you
know I was brought up in Reservoir and I remember a boy’s home in Broadhurst
Ave and the wog family, (I can say that cos I am a wog as well haaa), that
lived across the road had an angel statue out the front, they also had a white
ballastrade brick fence, and it was around 1977 that it ended up with a moustache
and a made up face, and me and my next door neighbour mate Grant got the blame
for it, they were spewing on us big time.
I pissed
myself laughing at it and knew I didn’t do it at all. I suspected Grant for a
little while, but then thought naaa no way he wouldn’t get up to mischief
without me. I told my wife and teenage girls, they freaked, so I said watch
this I will ring Nonna, who still lives in same house with my Sis in Botha Ave.
Mum said ‘Yes David I do remember well, you and Grant were blamed’. Like my Sis
said, how fucking bizzare is that, after 36 friggin years, you are reading a
book who's author, who lived the other side of town has admitted to something
that you got accused of across from our house.
I’m freaked
out Julie, so if you remember that it might have been that house, with the
woggy white fence, plz let me know. How bizzare is that if it’s the same house,
your book, the skins/sharps site, FB friends and this connection of defacing an
angel statue have brought us together, I’m speechless. My kids spun out at this
story saying ‘how could it be true?’, well stranger things have happened, so if
it turns out that you were on the other side of Resa and maybe it was another
house and not the one across from my mums, well like Uncle Chop Chop says, ‘don’t
let the truth get in the way of a good story’, and that my friend, is a great
story Don’t you agree. Love the book too, well done, must get you to sign it
when we finally meet. If you would like to discuss this further I will give you
my number as I am heading off to work in an hour for nightshift and am curious
to see if I’m right. Thanks Julie from Davo.
When I
received the message, I immediately rang Davo and I couldn’t speak other than
to say ‘Hi, It’s Julie Mac, and then I pissed myself laughing. I managed to say
‘Yes! it was Broadhurst Avenue
Later Davo
messaged and Facebooked the following:
Haaaa, well
Julie Mac after a call to my sister just now, whom still lives with my Mum, I
asked her if the mighty angel is still standing, ‘Yes it is’ she replied so I’ve
asked for her to go across the road and take a friggin photo of this Reservoir
icon for all to see. Haaaaaaa. So in the coming days this Angel is coming back
to haunt you Julie Mac. Get your Rosary beads out and may the Lord be with you.
For the curious minded, RAGE page 52, 20 January 1977, this is the turning
point in my life where I have been freed from all evil of being strongly
accused of defacing a MESSENGER OF GOD. I’m sure my Mum wasn't totally
convinced at the time it wasn't me as I remember I couldn't stop laughing. This
has brought back a flood of fond memories for me, as I read the page yesterday
this friggin crystal clear image came to me straight away of this angel face
that looked something like Gene Symons from KISS, with a tiny moustache of course.
This is definitely a story for the grand kids.
Ohhh Julie Mac
I’m still in shock. You can just picture this well to do, prim and proper
Italian Catholic family waking to the sight of seeing their large pure white
angel statue sitting proud in the front yard with a black friggin moustache and
black eyes, and guess who got convicted, tried and hung. The little wanna be
sharpie who lived opposite, ME. The year was 1977 and I had wondered who would
have balls enough to do that, well it so turns out that after reading Rage, and
confirming it with a call to Julie Mac, it was hers truly who happened to visit
Reservoir that weekend. The mystery has been solved after 36 friggin yrs. I’m
still shaking my head in amazement on how freaky this is.
Later Davo’s
sister took this picture of the statue and sent the following message
Dear Julie
Mac,
Blessed art
though as I am your Guardian Angel whom has finally been delivered back to you
after a 36 yr absence. I’m sure you remember me as I have surely not forgotten
you.
May you now
kneel and say 12 Hail Mary's and 16 Our Father's as a penance for all that you
have sinned.
May the Lord
be with you Mrs Mac.
Signed yours
truly,
Angel
"Mascara".
I am not
Catholic so I can just do what my Pagan religion demands for penance, burn some
cleansing sage, then dance drunk around a bonfire (clothing optional).
And I have
this cunning plan, forcing its way into my consciousness. The voices in my head
are telling me to dress in black one night and go and paint the statue white,
to freshen it up.
I think this story
should have the heading ‘The fucken funniest thing I have ever done’. I still can't stop laughing. On the weekend I told mum this story, she laughed and said 'Oh you should have rung me that night if you were cold, I would have picked you up!'
