I couldn’t resist reposting a exert from a letter which popped into my inbox this morning. My Druitt, in Sydney is viewed by some in the same manner as Compton, Los Angeles. My first ever job, in fact, involved selling encyclopaedias door to door out there. A challenging task, to say the least.
Dear Inner Circle,
Wayside’s leadership is passing into good hands. Jon Owen and I were in Mount Druitt this week, helping to make a documentary about our succession. We stopped at multiple locations and always someone recognised Jon, embraced him and tried to catch him up on as much news as they could in a few minutes. Each time we jumped back into the car to head to the next location, Jon shared something of the story of the journey he’d shared with the person we just met. After the first couple of these, I was impressed by the compassion of a man who’d shared the worst of human tragedies with people, without for a moment thinking he’s achieved anything special. In one location, we stopped long enough to hear raised, cranky voices. A woman jumped into a car and before our eyes, ran it into the bloke at whom she was yelling. The car knocked the man to the ground and I’d wondered if he might have broken a leg. He quickly jumped up to his feet in time to kick the bonnet of the car before it sped off down the street. I was momentarily in shock. “In this part of the world,” Jon said, “that was just a negotiation.”
Richmond Road 
I often think there are worlds within worlds and then there’s my world. Being confronted by other worlds so different to our own can be confronting. The man ‘Jon’ in your letter excerpt appears an amazing man straddling all worlds.
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Yes …. I know a little about Jon but have not yet met him. Apparently he is amazing. But he has big shoes to fill.
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the Mount hasn’t changed since you dumped mum and me there then …
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Somebody had to look after the booming encyclopaedia business
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yes yes money was always more important than family …
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I was only looking out for your future. That you chose not to go into the encyclopaedia business yourself (and, my God, don’t you meet some fascinating people in there!) was your decision, and I refuse to be held responsible.
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you’ve avoided responsibility all your life, why change now 😦
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Is your mother this cruel? That is not how I remember her.
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you always wore rose coloured glasses where she was concerned, heavens knows how she coped alone …
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It’s true. I did. I wear those glasses still. I found no fault with her. Nor with you. But lately I am beginning to wonder ….
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you never did explain why you didn’t send money and why you waited this long to contact me .. just as you’re gearing up to leave this life? or for the states, the andes or hong kong … difficult to keep up with pops!
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Everything will be made clear at the reading of the will. I haven’t actually set a date for that yet …. it’s possibly a bit early to organise the catering, but feel free to be order up big on the champagne. It’s important to me that people are more thankful for my death than they have proved to be for my life.
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daddy that’s very cruel when you know I’m highly allergic … and my brothers told me you wasting our inheritance with all this flying back and forth, staying in five star accom, paying for women, etc. So we know how it rolls …
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It’s not all about you and your allergies, Kate. And I am just a little bit hurt that, despite my oft and clearly expressed love for you, you choose to focus on my (admittedly) expensive taste in prostitutes instead of my overriding dedication to family. And, just so you know, I have run this past your brothers. It turns out that they have a weakness for large breasted blondes as well. Go figure.
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