Hello everyone so its dad’s 90’th birthday celebration today with a family lunch at the Wonthaggi club,

Im in two minds about the event as I remember well back on dad’s fifth birthday party,
That It was dads first birthday party ever in his life ,

It his mates and a few beers made him emotional .

it was really hugley memorable for me as a young adolescent that I actually thiught that Isaw my father cry tears that day,
For the very first and basically the only time.

He is ,
So old school.
So ,
he was human after all.

I and my sisters never thought that he would ever even make it to fifty ,
When we were kids if you could hear him cough in the morning while sitting in the toilet the first thing in the morning smoking a white ox rollie cigarette,
you would have easily thought the exact same thing.
He is absolutely doomed .
So ,
he has proven to be quite resilient.

We ,
me and him ,
never ever had much of a close father son relationship as dad was always working and mum then had to do the dad thing with me instead ,
transporting me to all my sports and activities.

So things now have changed dramatically in the last few years with me and dad ,
as i have obviously spent more time with him then ,
than ever before ,
and nearly then quite accidentally we have surprisingly became sort of good mates ,
we even have now even shared quite a few special adventures together,

To see dad get to the age of ninety is just incredible,
He had ,
Two goes to blow out two candles on his birthday 

 cake with mum telling him not to spit on the cake .
He cant be trusted  with the knife either and cutting the cake because at his 50th he used the bread knife like a hacksaw blade on the cake and reuined it was with dad just leading a merry dance to the party just like Wazza playing the group a tune on his beloved piano accordion .

Mum held his hand tight this time with the knife so there was no reapeat of his party cake cutting anticks and behaviour .
She hasn’t forgotten.

It’s something as a child that I didn’t really expect to ever see and  just like the actual clock of life it’s just been looming above him since those early toilet days just  like the sword of Damocles and its definitely right here hanging down right now.

The thing that erks me about everything is that a few years ago dad has told me that all he wanted to do was to actually reach ninety and that he will be satisfied then with his life , and because of him saying that ,
Just as a joke me and the girls we all pretended that it was his ninetieth birthday last year. 

So he could go.

He found that quite amusing.

But this year its real ,
He is ninety and good to go ,
That makes me a bit emotional,
A bit reflective ,
What we were
What we are
And its not over just yet .

Its just reslly the circle of life .

But for the record if it was
Pop would be a proud free man
And the long time influencer of the Gardner Clan .

So lunch was that exciting a family gathering that dad actually managed to get in two quick siestas between courses.
So nothing there has changed he always throughout history he as a retired truckie manages to get in a nap wherever we were .
Even standing  up .

So hopefully for dad its a really nice time now in his twilight years and he feels the love 

 of the staff and his new and old friends that are also at Rose Lodge ,
And all around him .
And learn new things.

Its a Pity though for the Wonthaggi Catholic Church as this week they will be a bit miffed and short in the collection plate ,
At least of the tenner that dad slipped in there on his  last recent church visit.

So happy ninetieth birthday Dad ,

The sun shines a bit differently every day but just to think it is possible old man that even on the dark days and nights we can still create solar energy.
With the tiniest little bit of light .

The thing is we are all supposed to learn lessons in life and learn from our mistakes ,
It just seems that now in the world especially Australia its like the end to all humanity .

We as a human race havent learnt anything  yet as we have not got past the greed stage  ,
And we are fast running out of time to get our shit together .

Its all just a bit like the Victorian State Goverments reaction to the Inverloch Surf Lifesaving Club and the shifting sands problems ,

Whats put here today 2.3million will be spent on making sand castles and administration ,
Then thats all just gone and washed away tomorrow .
With no solution at all to the problems .

And so may the funding also follow.

What awaste of taxpayer funds and of an opportunity  to rectify the problem maybe with recycled wind turbine blades .
But the government has heaps of your funds to borrow and waste .

I wish i had the lucrative  sand castle job at inverloch

Just work between  tides and go surfing .

Mind the blades at the bottom of the steps , they are prety cool hey .

Cheers xxx