Ray Martin, our grandfather

Ray Taught Us To

Grow tomatoes

To love compost,

To eat grapes, including seeds

To eat apples, including the core,

To shoot watermelon pips

That fruit is even better with cream on it

To lick your plate at the conclusion of a meal

To drive a car

To back a trailer

To ride a billycart

That getting bogged every weekend is fun

To ride a horse

To kayak in white melt water

To kayak in rough surf

To jump into deep, muddy rivers

To skip stones on a lake

Blow up a bullant’s nest

To shoot snakes

To love dogs

To build a campfire

To whittle a toasting fork

To lose it completely when pitching a tent

To tell a good yarn

To enjoy a road trip with no stops for any reason

Play a gum leaf

To milk a cow

To milk a goat

To love a cold bath

To fast

To hate authority

To use a powertool

To conduct a choir

To laugh just because somebody hurts themselves

When in doubt, hoe in the Vitamin C

To rebel

To tease

To never give in.

(Aggie Dimitriou)