All my friends had cousins when I was a kid. They had aunts and uncles and got lots of presents at Christmas time. They often lived in strange places my friends went away too while I had to stay at home and play with my sister. I did have some cousins in Canada, which, strangely […]
Month: January 2023
Old Photos
My friend Amos found some old photos I must have left with him when I left Amsterdam. He found them in a box he’d taken from Amsterdam back to Israel and hadn’t opened in years. I remember I left the photos with him when I came to Australia because I planned to go back. The […]
Pathology Services
The pathology collection point is about halfway along the Rocks Arcade in Ettalong, between cafes and a hairdresser. There might be a dentist there too and a shop that sells clothes. I go there every three months or so, so that the doctor can check by body is working like it’s supposed to, and the […]
Getting Fat
I first realised I was getting fat when a friend of mine, who writes his own fanzine, had decided on a nude centrefold and invited me to be his first one. I think he thought it was a compliment, a way of telling me I was attractive and sure to thrill me because being attractive […]
Cataracts and Plumbing
I was terrified for weeks before the first cataract operation. I would make jokes about not being likely to survive. It was either going to kill me or blind me, neither of which was an appealing prospect. People felt sorry for me and told me stories of survival, suggested methods of coping. “It’s such a […]
Adolescence
The first time a guy offered to pay me for sex I was 12. He came up behind me and offered me $10. I don’t think I had my periods yet. He was scary and I ran all the way home to ask my grandmother about it. Lots of men thought they could touch me. […]