GaryKelly

Yes, it's a fatal mistake to provide me with a soapbox. I'm an incurable yabberer. Prob is, I'm also a keen tippler and I tend to write these things in the evening when I'm... well, a tad merry. And I wake in the morning and say, "OMG! What the bloody hell did I write last night!" Yes, dear Breth, I'm a worry. Meanwhile, a visitor left a message asking "how's Ned?" For the uninitiated, Ned Kelly was an infamous and notorious bushranger in Oz in the late 19th century. He was hanged at age 24 and his last words were, "such is life" before the trapdoor opened and he departed this world. I've heard rumors that I'm a distant relative of Ned. However, I AM a distant relative of another bushranger named Jack Doolan whose name was immortalized in the song, "The Wild Colonial Boy". Yeah, so I'm a worry on at least two counts. The great thing about being of Irish descent is that one has three legitimate excuses for being who and what one is: a drunk, a writer and a poet. Ya know, two outta three just ain't enough. So, what's the point of this blog entry? Glad you asked. Um... well, lemme see... point... yeah... I'll think of something really profound in a tick... hang in there while I pour another drink. Okay, firstly I'm impressed with the general intelligence of contributors to GA; I admire thinkers as opposed to followers of some rigid agenda, and there's no shortage of thinkers here, even the young ones. Cerebral stimulus is lacking in the wider world. Just ask an expert like GWB. After three score and bit of wandering around, I've concluded, thus far, that the bod is simply transport for the pound of gray soup we carry around on our shoulders. You can talk about hearts and souls, but I believe that the essence of a person is contained within that ikky bit of goo. If you doubt me, check out somebody with Alzheimer's. Something profound? I think I'm too tired and... merryish, but here goes: Life is all about living for others so that others can make your life worth living.

Yes, I'm a thinker and a fossil. My best friend called me a fossil 10 years ago! Cheeky bugger. But, he also called me AOD (awesome old dude) because I called him OAD (one awesome dude). It was one of those silly mutual thingies. However, since becoming addicted to writing, I've discovered that thinking is like any other exercise... it encourages growth. Years ago, a friend accused me of thinking too much (I was 21). I wonder what he would say now. Ya know, I suspect that most people don't think enough. How else do you explain the abundance of sheep led by a minority of shepherds? And the perennial problems of the world? How do you explain the existence of shrinks who do the thinking for their clients? Could it be that most peeps prefer others to do their thinking and decision-making for them? Oh, dear... I recommend writing. It's the best therapy I know. Throw a few words onto the screen and they immediately demand scrutiny and analysis. They force you to think. Once your thoughts take on a physical form it's like a mirror that reveals faults. Eeeek! There's a hair growing out of my nostril! As to being a fossil, I don't mind in the least. A team of wild horses couldn't drag me back to my past. Wisdom (say I with all due modesty) is much more than adequate compensation for the wrinkles. And that's one reason I no longer iron my shirts...I like things with more wrinkles than I have. More importantly, I've discovered that if one presents oneself honestly and without prejudice or condescendence one can befriend younger people with ease. It's all about treating others as equals and making them feel worthwhile. Too easy. Yes, ladies and genitals, aging is cool if you want it to be. Oh, and don't forget my free books! They'll change your life. www.kellytrader.com

I have been known to wear funny hats. There's a restaurant in Darlinghurst (dunno if it's still there) we called 'The Hat Place' which we regularly frequented...'we' as in my lunatic mates who seemed quite sane by comparison to moi. The restaurant raided all the local op shops and gathered quite a collection of school hats, wedding veils, floral hats, large hats, small hats, hats of all descriptions and made them available to patrons. Mind you, it took several glasses of wine before patrons were sufficiently uninhibited to actually wear them. After that, one went from table to table offering to swap a hat for theirs. But that was when I was... whatever. Now, in my senior years, I'm demure, discreet and reasonably well behaved. It simply doesn't do to be mature and crazy simultaneously. BUT... there's an escape from the mundanity of compromise and that's why I write stories. Hahahahahahahaha! I can let loose on the world with my eccentricities and lunacy through my characters! Fear not! The characters do not leap from the pages, dear Breth. Close the book and you're safe and sound once again. :wacko: Seriously, I think if one is not a tad mad and eccentric, life would be insufferable. One might wrap a belt of explosives around one's waist and detonate oneself in a restaurant. Think of the carnage...hats everywhere. A sense of the ridiculous, I find, is the savior of sanity...relatively speaking. And you know something? Once you accept your madness you discover that you have a great deal in common with the rest of humanity...except for one thing...you're the only one who is aware of it. By this stage, you're either convinced I'm mentally deranged or a genius. Take your pick. Meantime, check out my free books in PDF format at www.kellytrader.com GA Kevin wrote a welcome note to me and said he was looking forward to knowing me better, hehehe. I wonder what he thinks now.

Well, here I go. It's late-ish and I've had a few tipples so it could be dangerous. I took a bit of a squiz around GA (first time today) and checked out a few interesting forum entries. Hey, we have some thinkers here! Good show! Cerebral activity is one of the few activities I can pursue these days without running outta breath. I'm writing a book at the mo titled 'The Inevitable Murder of Horace Fink'. It's quite a departure from the two books I've already written, which are biographies of a couple of teen friends of mine who endured the most extraordinary of experiences, documented in regular emails to me as those events took place. I became their mentor and 'fossil'. The books are free in PDF format from www.kellytrader.com And me? Nothing particularly amazing about me, folks, except that I have a habit of bumping into amazing people, which is very handy for a writer. One day, I intend to travel Australia in a car/trailer and keep an internet journal of faces and places I meet and visit. No particular interary apart from following the sun. A day here, a week there...just following my nose. And, yes, I'm not a bad photographer either. Consider this entry a brief introduction. I intend to update this blog on a regular basis.