"Journalism is a young man's sandpit
And an old man's quicksand."
Anon
They bled tens of billions of dollars off the general population and made it impossible for the toiling masses to get ahead; and wonder why they are on the nose.
It's not the thousands upon thousands of stories that I have done; fascinated or in grim toil; but other scenes that recur in my haunted head.
As a teenager, 15,16, the same age as my own kids now, I would get bottles of grog and drink them till I was unconscious, passing out in the streets around Sydney. I looked young for my age; and my state would sometimes evoke sympathy from complete strangers. I remember once, have always remembered for some weird reason, up around the Coca Cola sign at the top of William Street, swaying, no doubt glassy eyed, on the edge of consciousness, and someone saying, cutting through the fog, "He should be at home with his mother".
I remember, too, one day, passing out in the gutter at Circular Quay, the major transport hub for Sydney Ferries. People in their hundreds, or so it seemed, stepped over me in the five o'clock rush home from their offices to their comfortable apartments and grand houses on the north shore. Eventually some old queen stooped down and helped me up, asking if I was OK. He took me home to his apartment on the north shore, gave me a shower and a feed and $20 for services rendered. Life was like that, back then.
THE STORY CONTINUES
"'Anything special goes on there?' he asked.
"'There are booths and a live sex show. Every now and then a bit of straight trade gets there, really spunky guys. Football players. They're gorgeous. So naive. So randy. They just love having their dicks sucked, their girlfriends won't do it for them. I've had some good times there, it's the luck of the draw.'
"So they walked on down to Love Art."
THE BIGGER STORY:
Fundamental shifts in the nation's psyche and expectations are taking place:
The Age Howard to win battle, lose war
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The Age Costello defends Howard treasurer attack
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Howard warns Work Choices could disappear
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The Age Howard, Rudd differences in spotlight
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 22 hours ago
... its economic management and national security credentials but voters like federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd more than Prime Minister John Howard. ...
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The Age Slip-up turns Howard into Rudd
Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia - 16 hours ago
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John Howard gets back on his feet
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NDTV.com No pressurea on minister over Haneef visa: Howard
Herald Publications, India - 14 hours ago
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