Thursday, December 3, 2015

ON GOING TROPPO

Grumpy   blogger  turns  cuckoo ,  sees    flying   walking  sticks!!!*

If  you  have spent  about  half a century in North Australia , as  has this crusty  blogger , you  know  the symptoms  and signs  of  individuals  going  troppo.   As  a result , I did not  tell the  doctor  on  my latest  visit  to him that I had seen  several  flying   walking  sticks in  the sky as he would  have almost certainly have certified  me on the spot  and  men  in  back to front  white coats  with trendy  brass buttons  would  have  ushered me  away  to  a safe  and  comfortable place  for  the  festive season .

Just  told  the  doctor I was  not sleeping well , looked like Rudolf  the Spotty  Red-nosed Reindeer  because  of  the  ongoing reaction to antibiotics  and   detailed the assorted   hypochondriac  aches  and  pains . Apart from  that extensive list , I  was  a  fine example of  a  man   lurching  way  past  three score and  10.  

During  the  trying  build up to  the wet season many a person succumbs to what is termed Mango  Madness. They tend  to  drink a lot , do irrational things, become irritable . In my case , I  have daily  been drinking  several sydharbs of  cordial  to  flush  the  kidneys  and  overcome the impact of  the  antibiotics  which  made  me look like a leper  ;  ranted   at   TV ;  cursed  plastic  (Made in China ) clothespegs  which explode  and litter  the ground  with shrapnel, narrowly missing  eyes  in the process ; hurled  to  the  floor  several  (Made in China ) cheap biros  which  refuse to write. Who , I shouted at  the Curlews , is checking   the   quality of   imported  goods  flooding  this  nation?

Also showing signs of going troppo  is Little Darwin's resident  frog who lives deep  inside  a  downpipe near our sweaty den . We have had so little rain , he  falsely  indicates the drought is about to  break   by   croaking  hysterically  when  the  sky  becomes  overcast  or  the sun is momentarily blotted out by a cloud .

However, on the occasion we  did  have  some  rain  and  the  downpipe became  a torrent  for  a short time , he sounded like  an  ecstatic honeymooner  going  over  Niagara  Falls  in an unsealed  barrel .  How he did not  drown is puzzling.  A  mere  six  spits  of   rain  a  moment ago  and  the  frog   groaned  with  frustration .
 
SECOND  OPINION  REDEEMS  SANITY :

*Thanks to the  incredible knowledge of  Magnetic Island's Queen of the Jungle this mumbling   blogger  now feels almost sane , because she confirmed he  had actually  seen  flying walking  sticks in the sky-high flying , noisy Channel-Billed Cuckoos. Believe it or not , they are supposed to be an  indication of  the beginning of  the rainy season and have  been dubbed Storm Birds, Flood Birds and Rain Birds .  Importantly , because   they  perform  a cruciform  flight on high, they  have  been called  flying  walking sticks.  Saved  by the  cuckoo.  It  drives  other  birds mad  by laying  eggs  in  the nests of  crows , currawongs  and  butcher  birds .