Chasing the why

When the kids were little we played a game called ‘chasing the why’.
They would ask me a question, any question and I would give them an answer and they would say ‘and why’s that ?’
I would respond and they would keep drilling down with ‘why ?’
The only rule was that I couldn’t answer with ‘because I said so’.

It was fun coming unstuck bending my head chasing the why.

They’d use it on me with motive.

Dad why can’t we have an ice cream ?
Because mum and I are saving money
Why ?
So we can fix the Falcon
Why?
So we don’t have to walk everywhere
Why?
Because we live in the country and its 20 miles to anywhere
Why ?
Because your mother and I decided to try the country life and grow veggies.
Why ?
Because my city job finished
Why’s that dad ?
The bosses wouldn’t back our project
Why ?
I think they were scared it might fail
Why ?
Because if it failed they might lose their jobs
Why ?
Cos they have bosses too that can take their jobs away. No job means no money and we get nervous when we don’t have money
Why ?
Cos the way we live as humans means we need money
Why ?
Because money buy’s stuff like food and toys
Why ?
Because you can’t just have them for free, you have to pay using money
Why ? 
Jesus ! – cos we’re in a system where money rules; if you’ve got it you’re sweet, if you haven’t, you’re not. You can stop now.
Why ?
Because you’re NOT getting an ice cream
‘… but how much is an icecream ?’ says the middle one.

And then off we’d go down another file tree of why’s – loads of fun, sport with the kids, both of us tweaking the line of enquiry at will.

Bout that time my stepdad, a retired south island farmer said to me, 
“Why don’t you move to Oamaru ?”
Why ?
“Because you’ve got to get ahead”
Why ?
“because you’ve got a wife and 4 kids and you have nothing.”

Actually we had heaps. A great family unit gone rural, boiling up tough old yardbirds that the kids would never eat, and living the good life.
How moving to Oamaru was going to help me ‘get ahead’ was beyond me.

He suggested I get a nice teaching job at Waitaki Boys High, where house prices meant home ownership was doable.  

He did have a point. I’d just turned forty, with little material wealth save the Falcon and a couple of guitars.

My world of job gigging – literally, playing Elvis in the Waiuku and Pukekohe Cossie clubs, wigless, was barely covering costs.
Providing food and shelter was akin to surfing the cortisol.

But the rural packing shed we rented north of Waiuku was cool.
It had been made something into a cottage, running water and electricity, pot belly, some partitioning for two small bedrooms and a bathroom. When it rained heavily it flooded but it was home for a few yrs, rented to us by a chum.

Y2K came and went, I stored pails of rice in the adjoining barn just in case (the potatoes got blight) and that shitty old Falcon all mags and spoiler, died an eventual death when we moved to Waiheke.

That car man – what a pig.
Never tracked properly, wandered all over the show, choosing open road blind corners to conk out. Lpg cylinder in the boot, bunch of kids in the back. Cap’n Cortisol rides again.

Oamaru never happened, but I did start hanging out with the Auckland motorway cops and busting people on camera.
I hated that job, but the money was better than playing Elvis in bars. I was getting ahead.


Various of my cop mates were trying to get out. One had applied to the Queensland police so he could wear a gun, another bailed to sell real estate, yet another landed a desk job at Central preparing papers for the prosecutors.

I felt for them. 
It’s lone wolf stuff out there where the rubber hits the road, and you can feel a bit Nigel no-mates as a motorway cop.

Back at the packing shed, the kids were at it again.
‘Why are you going out tonight dad ?
To video people breaking the law
Why ?
Because it’s my job at the moment
Why ?
Cos it pays better than playing music
Why ?
Because people like seeing video of other people coming unstuck more than they like music
Why ? 
Because it probably makes them feel better about their own lives
(I’m grabbing my keys off the table)
Why ?
Because lots of humans aren’t well, and seek hope in strange places
(I’m walking out the door)
Why Dad ?
Because …. I dunno, ask your mother.




Comments

  1. Unknown11 September 2017 at 00:21

    Dear Bazza,They just wanted to hear your voice. I remember you even made Economics sound like music..you were the only economics teacher that sang 'Stairway to Heaven'. Love your Blog.

    ReplyDelete

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