One day in one city
78Every action in life causes ripples
One day with Julia...
One day in one city,
mystery abounds,
as you discover information
that you previously missed.
Or perhaps
someone
tells you
something
in strict confidence.
The question is,
can you keep a secret?
Julia from Western Australia
can keep a secret,
and her 8 years old son,
can keep it,
as well.
Her name is on everyone's lips,
she shares it
with the Australian Prime Minister,
and also red hair,
her age,
and she had an important job within an immigration department,
she had a partner,
until her breast cancer came in a way...
“I have a busy day,
today,
you have to stay
in after school care
until late,”
she told her son
when they left
their little house
tucked in Kalamunda Hills.
“ What is that?”
Her son points at a black bag
at the front seat
covering something
of a strange pear shape.
“Can you keep a secret?”, she turned her head
to wink at him,
when a kangaroo jumped in front of her front wheels.
She stopped
checking the damage
while her son carried the small kangaroo to her car
placing it gently into back seat:
“Mum, it is still alive.”
They stopped at the Wildlife Rescue Centre
hidden in a bush two streets away.
“In few days will be 'World Animal Day'
to celebrate the world's unique species,”
Astrid from the centre talked to them,
while examining its injured leg:
“Perhaps it should be called animal exploitation day,
we destroy their natural habitat
to feed and house every year
more and more people...
anyway she will be fine,
just needs few days to rest.”
“It's her,” her son patted her back:
“I used to keep a few lizards in my room,
I might keep her until she gets healthy
and then let her go...”
He turned to his mum,
who shook her head in a silent disapproval.
Astrid sighed and tucked her in a pre-sawn pouch:
“Don't worry, Michael, she will be fine here with others...”
He looked around,
at injured bush animals
covering every space in a small house.
“When I was young, I didn't like seeing anything,
killed or run over on the road,
so that's where it all started,”
Astrid caught his gaze and smiled:
“Can you keep a secret?”
He nodded and she whispered to his ear:
“I don't like keeping any animal in captivity any more,
I'm not saying that they shouldn't be kept but for me,
personally, no.”
Michael was sulky
all the way to the school,
once she stopped the car
he jumped out
without saying goodbye
running away from her.
“Michael, be reasonable, we can not keep kangaroos in our house.”
Julia shouted after him,
but he did not turn and she knew him well enough
to leave him be.
A silver haired man standing by
waved at her and she waved back
leaving the empty school car park
and her son at the gate.
Convicted pedophile Gilbert
approached the boy before he managed
to reach the school.
“Can you keep a secret?”
Michael nodded and followed the man to his house,
just few steps up the road.
In an email sent to a pedophile chat room later that day,
he wrote: 'My little 8-years-old loves to come here
to be cuddled, when he is researching kangaroos on my computer,
he always wants to sit on my lap where he stretches right out
and melts right away back into me...'
Julia drove to the Canning Vale Markets,
her hero was there,
Joel 'the Bird man's' passion for collecting
leftover fruits and vegetables for the needy
caught her eyes,
she came to help and get some free fresh produce
in return.
Joel had taught her many things,
mainly that anyone can be generous,
that opportunities for acts of kindness
present in our everyday lives,
we only need to notice them.
“Can you keep a secret?”
And he started to talk without waiting for her response,
once she approached his 'Cocky's Corner'.
“Julia, I have been asked either to pay for the bay or leave this space,
you work with department, you know the regulations,
there is no room there for charity, I am packing up today.”
“What are you going to do?” She asked evidently upset.
He piled her last box with fresh fruits and vegetables:
“Do not worry about me, Julia, people like me always find the way.”
Julia carried the box into the car and drove away,
tears appeared in her eyes when looking back
she saw Joel, the old man pushing his overloaded trolley
out of the market's gate.
She called her insurance and took her car for repair,
walking to her working place,
an administration role within her department,
with reduced hours and reduced pay.
“Can you keep a secret?”
The girl at opposite table approached her with red eyes,
“ I have been sacked, something to do with overstaffing,
you will be next.”
She called her ex partner
on her lunch time break
and he picked her up to take her
to some prestigious restaurant.
'The Rock Pool Bar & Grill
this year's Good Food Guide Restaurant of the Year '
The big sign greeted them at the door.
“ Perth diners love nothing else more
than dressing up for a good night out,” her ex partner remarked
watching a couple of formally dressed young men
with girls in their arms partying in a corner.
The one in a bright red shirt picked up a glass and smiled at them
when they choose the table to sit opposite.
“Some of us are lucky,” Julia smiled back
and picked up a glass full of water:
“starting partying about lunchtime.”
“They work at mines and are loaded with money,”
the young chef who appeared next to their table:
“Congratulation, mate,” her ex partner said pointing at the awards.
“It was a tough year with staff shortages, you see,”
he smiled: “I have to serve and cook, if I want to survive.”
Their ordered their favourite steaks
and ate in silence.
He offered her some money,
but she pushed them away:
“Michael needs his Father.”
“ How is he?
The Perth Royal Show is on, I will take him to pet pavilions,
is he still such an animal lover?”
“Worse than before, listen you should move back in, I am better now and he...”
“Can you keep a secret?” He continued without waiting:
“ I met someone, she is pregnant,
we are getting married, but don't worry I will pay...”
“I don't want your charity.” She stood up and went to look for toilet.
On the way she peeped into the busy kitchen.
The young chef winked at her:
“Can you keep a secret?”
He continued without stopping sizzling the stakes:
“When you cook from the heart,
you create this wonderful magic.”
“I try to remember that,” she smiled suddenly feeling much better.
One day in one city,
mystery abounds,
as you discover information
that you previously missed.
Or perhaps
someone
tells you
something
in strict confidence.
The question is,
can you keep a secret?
After work she stopped at King Edward Memorial Hospital
in a geriatric clinic
where her father was on dialysis
for kidney failure for diabetes.
Doctor Walter stopped her:
“Julia, we have to sent him back
to the Nursing Home,
if he likes it or not,
look around,
the number of geriatric patients we have...”
“ I will talk to him,” she sighed
opening the door to his room
ready for fight.
“Go and call your mother, she will take me home, I have enough of this shit,”
He shouted from bed
even before she closed the door behind her.
“Dad, you know that Mum is long time dead. You have to go back to the Nursing
Home.”
“Over my dead body, do you hear me!”
“Can you keep a secret, Dad?”
She tiptoed to his bed and whispered to his ear:
“ I have what mum died from, my partner left me
and maybe I will lose my job...
I have still Michael to look after
and you know Kelsey is in hospital too...
please Dad I can not take care of you.”
He was silent, but a big tear rolled over from his left eye.
Next day he moved back to his Nursing Home
where he,
in few weeks,
quietly died.
Julia went to see Doctor Barry,
an obstetrician at King Edward Hospital:
“Kelsey is doing well but she doesn't want to stick to her diet,”
He sat down at his desk and looked at her seriously with his tired eyes:
“ I saw today more than twenty older expectant mothers
with medical problems,
just like your sister,
diabetes, high blood pressure...obese, unfit
and they are bloody hard work
and they don't do so well in pregnancy.”
“I will talk to her,” she sighed and left his room.
She found her younger sister on her hospital bed
stuffing herself up with creamy donuts.
“Can you keep a secret, sister?”
She tiptoed to her bed and whispered to her ear:
“If you don't stop eating your baby will be born premature or stillborn,
your partner will leave you,
you will be too ill to work,
and you will loose your sister forever.”
She left the box of fresh green produce next to her sister's bed
and through the window
secretly,
she watched her sister swapping the creamy donuts for celery,
one by one.
Outside the hospital she went to pharmacy
to buy her pills.
28 years old Fay smiled at her
and wished her good day.
Julie went outside a
and breathed in the fresh Spring air,
an young dark guy pushed her
passing by,
she left without looking back.
A robber held a knife to Fay's abdomen
warning her
not to say anything
demanding drugs
and money.
But Julia has already
disappeared behind the corner.
She passed a court building
in front of it
stood Nyoongar elder
Mingli
shouting
that Aboriginal youth
out there are lost,
dealing with 200 years of racism
and disadvantage
much needed to be done
to turn the situation around.
Not far away loomed Banksia Hill Juvenile Centre
grey and threatening with high protective fence,
behind it dark angry faces
of young Aboriginal men.
She avoided their doomed stares,
there were no secrets hiding there.
On other street the Curtin Detention Centre
locking their numerous gates,
a row after row of immigration guards
entered the yard
worried
that detainees could take them hostage
or even stage a mass suicide
asylum seekers
increasingly desperate
about their plight.
Julia looked around but could not spot any of them out,
there were many secrets hidden there,
behind those thick walls,
on one side nameless, faceless people
and on other side HER....
One day in one city,
mystery abounds,
as you discover information
that you previously missed.
Or perhaps
someone
tells you
something
in strict confidence.
The question is,
can you keep a secret?
She returned to her working place
where an immigration official laughed to her face:
“What do you want me to say?
There are regulations we have to follow...”
Julia picked up her note she left at his desk:
“Having grown up in a country town near Perth,
in the 1960s,
where half of my classmates were Aboriginal or refugees,
it doesn't take long
to understand
how 50 years later
the divide between white and indigenous Australians
as well as boat people is still just the same.”
“Can you keep a secret?”
He winked at her:
“ We would be much better off without those
Aboriginals and refugees
messing up our way of life,
I can tell you that.”
Julia packed her things and left the building.
Passing a majestic modern building of a prestigious bank,
her eyes locked in a desperate eyes of poor old homeless man sitting in a corner.
She collected some coins and threw in his battered hat.
“Hey Miss, I don't want your dollar,
it has been devaluated, it has no value any more,”
he laughed opening his toothless mouth.
Julia stopped in a shock and he continued:
“ There is a reason I sit next to a bank,
I know what is happening,
can you keep a secret?”
He winked at her and said in a quiet voice:
“What you have now, doesn't mean you will have tomorrow.”
Then he started to laugh again.
Julia quickened her steps
and entered quickly the first door
to the public building.
It was the exhibition at the Hole,
in the Wall Gallery in Adelaide Street.
A surf art exhibition
dedicated to the adventurous spirit
of shark attack victims
of the Perth shores.
She suddenly thought about her son.
She called in to enquire about her car,
but it was not ready yet.
She had one more trip to make before she can go home.
Julia stopped a taxi passing by
and asked the young driver
to take her to the Sir Charles Gardner Hospital.
He introduced himself as Omar Didan,
an pharmacist from Lebanon,
who couldn't find a work.
“Can you keep a secret?”
He asked and then he sighed:
“It is completely different culture,
Anglo-Saxon culture,
very white, you have to learn to survive.”
Julia gave him some tips
and wished him good luck.
Getting off the car she noticed
the two men in suits and their women in dresses
from the restaurant talking to the driver.
The man in a red shirt holding a full bottle of whiskey
winked at her
while taking her seat.
She walked towards the hospital
when the taxi made U-turn leaving in high speed.
Half an hour later
Omar Didan was attacked
and robbed
after confronting a man
who threw a bottle at his car
while getting off at Epsom Avenue.
He was hit on the back of his head
and knocked to the ground.
Girls hold him down.
His bone was fractured underneath the eye
and there is a hole,
the eye socket is out of place.
He lost his eyesight.
The attackers stole his takings and ran away.
One day in one city,
mystery abounds,
as you discover information
that you previously missed.
Or perhaps
someone
tells you
something
in strict confidence.
The question is,
can you keep a secret?
Julia rubbed gently the old leather case
she was carrying around whole day
and knocked on the door of her surgeon.
Roshi Kamyab opened by himself
still dressed in his green surgical clothes:
“ Just finished a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction, j
just like yours.”
“May I come in?”
And before he managed to nod
she sat down next to window and opened her case.
The old guitar appeared in her lap.
She patted it gently.
“I used to play a lot in my teenager's years,”
Julia smiled shyly and then she said more confidently:
“Grateful Perth mother has penned a song
inspired by the surgeon who helped to save her life.”
The most sublime music
created on the spur of the moment
played on an old creaking guitar
filled whole space.
Her voice as she sang her song:
“ We are products of yesterday
and hope of tomorrow,
present is a gift,
and you gave it to me
back,
you healed my body
and I came
to heal your soul...”
“Isn't the life wonderful?”
The surgeon quietly said
when the silence filled the room.
She stood next to him
and they looked down at the sun slowly setting,
covering in its yellow glory
the beautiful Swan River and the sprawling city below.
“Sometimes, it is,” she agreed slowly.
“Can you keep a secret?”
He smiled again and continued without looking at her:
“ I was just a boy when we came here,
into completely different culture
where equality of masses was something to behold,
a dark boy with a strange Bengali name,
only one with dark skin,
there is a certain comfort you miss,
you are slightly at edge
because you are on other people's territory
and if you cross the line the consequences are...”
“ And what about now?”
“ This is the first time I am completely at ease in your country.” He smiled at her.
“ In our country.” She smiled back at him.
When she finally reached the after school care,
her son was the last one waiting there.
She ran to him and hugged him tightly.
He started to cry.
“What has happened to you?”
She asked pulling up his chin so she could see his eyes,
but he avoided her gaze:
“ It is a secret, I can not tell.”
She hugged him again:
“No more secrets to keep, do you hear me, no more secrets between us.”
“Do you mean it, really?” He asked wiping his tears.
She picked up his bag and get hold of his hand:
“ No more busy days
and no more after school care,
I promise,
and you know what?”
But her son stopped suddenly
noticing the silver haired man on the other side of the road.
“Can you keep a secret, mum?”
She watched his gaze and looked him straight into his eyes:
“ No more secrets, Michael,
you can tell me everything
I am your MUM.”
He looked scared and ashamed,
so she hugged him again:
“ You know what, if you tell me
everything,
we may take our injured kangaroo home to get better...”
Michael squeezed her hand
and told her
the secret of the white haired man.
One day in one city,
mystery abounds,
how many secrets
our city hides?
Only how many
we let it to hide...
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Ha,ha,ha...caught up in my own thoughts...nothing new, still surprised that people usually are able to follow the thread of my thoughts...maybe the better title would help: 'ALL ABOUT PERTH'...the first story line is based on the short announcements from our daily newspaper...'What has happened in Perth in one day'...so I made up the fictional character Julia and send her to investigate:)...the other storyline just complement the images, the scattered images in my mind about the future of our city Perth and people in it, who are resisting the change...:)...hopefully my explanation helps:)
All I can say is WoW such a powerful story I loved how it flowed into each scenario. It just kept transforming itself manifesting a powerful message.
Awesome
Yes, it helps. I still say the story is really a good one. You seem to capture Julia's entire life in one short story.
I was simply mesmerized by this amazing piece of writing. And terrified that it was true (I mean true for you, it's obviously true of many). I lived in Perth for a year in 1989. My friend ownes the multi cines in Albany and Geralton, his name is Ron Seimiginowski. I loved it there and saw an echinida (spell?) in Kings Park. You could publish this in booklet form...Bob
Ms. Beata, my Aquarian sister, when we first "met" on these pages, you mentioned footsteps in sand. I followed them today through your city and your psyche, winding, going forward and turning back on themselves. This is a brilliant piece, Beata, on so many levels. Thank you for sharing it, and for the emotions you have evoked. *huge hugs*
I loved this story! You are a good writer for sure. Vote up!
@Beata Stasak: Despite the twist and turns or maybe because of them this piece grabs the readers interest and refuses to release it until the very end. It is and excellently woven tapestry of the myriad of experiences one faces daily.
Your choices were of course from your perspective and rightly so, Beata. Why? Because it is you viewpoint and we are looking over your shoulder and seeing things from your unique perspective.
Well done both with the choice of pictures and the topic!
I voted it up and pushed all the buttons that applied to it, Beata! This was entertaining and illuminating.
Regards Mike(Aka Professor M) ;D
it will take some deep reading to do justice to this great story
Beautiful and evocative story with a powerful meaning behind it. We all need to wake up to the fact that we are all connected and that nothing is trivial or worthless.
Excellent work. Great photos.
Rob
wow! beautiful story..thoughts around every turn and bend...
Wonderful read, Beata.
You've captured a theme emerging on a much wider scale than just in Perth. "No more Secrets."
All around the world, the curtain of lies is falling, exposing those who abuse for personal profit or selfish desire. From politicians to pedophiles, the light is penetrating into the darkness they thrive within.
No more. The people say, No More Secrets.
so many secrets...it's so sad how much we're destroying the society we create...our society is built on lies...lots of lies...
'Never underestimate the reader'...one have to say as a reply to all your meaningful reflections on my story in words and images. When I start to write, I never know where my writing takes me...so the idea behind it or the message I want to get across comes naturally at end of the story...just like you my dear readers I am not sure what is all about until the very end:)...it is confusing, surprising and mind twisting for me so I am very grateful you are willing to follow me on my writing journey ....it is never ending story...each of you have already added to it ...new thought, new interpretation...let the story continue in your own words....thank you for following my threat and let the story keep going...
yes, that's the beauty behind the talent of a writer...we will just allow the flow of emotions take us wherever it wants to go...i like the way you present a societal situation...i'm a teacher so i'm well aware of what is happening in our society...thanks for this...
thank you my fellow teacher for your valuable input...teachers are always on the receiving end of the changing social dynamics...good luck with your important and yet priceless work you do:)
Beata, I like the way you weave your story with the beautiful pictures thrown in to compliment the words. The social message you give through this hub is important. Thanks.
With warm wishes,
MAKUSR
Thank you my dear 'makusr' for your beautiful response...with warm wishes back...Beata
There is a story, a message, emotions and passions all blended into words and pictures. Your choice of expression is just wonderful.
Thank you dear Vinaya, we all have our own way to express ourselves, your stories are full of beauty of high mountains and deep valleys and mine are full of emotionally displaced people lost in a city...I bet life is much more poorer in your mountains but on other hand also I believe it is much more spiritually uplifting...or is it only our dream?
Wow this was really something and I enjoyed the pictures too, they really added to your work. Great hub.
wow, you must have 10,000 words of art here. I only read the first 1,000- they were interesting and pleasant.
Wow!Love it..Voted up ;D
thank you my dear fellow hubbers for stopping by on my latest hub and leaving me so encouraging comments...hope you come back again:)
Amazing!
Some secrets should never be kept.
Voted up, up and away!
Dear Sue, thank you for coming back to read my latest hub and I am very happy that your time was not wasted...all the best with your hubbing and come back again:)
Wow! this is a great hub. The words and the pictures just made me enjoy reading this. I like photography, It is wonderful to take the pictures like yours. And your concern for nature is greatly appreciated. Vote up!
Loved this...it really kept my attention, wanting to see how one thing was connected to the next...voted up and awesome!
Beata - this is completely different from anything I can remember reading for a long time. The interwoven narrative of finished and unfinished threads, a mix of questions and answers, an encapsulation of life itself. Very nicely done :)
Mindblowing ! Back-shivering and all the rest,
thank you Beata,best from jandee
what a kick in the kangaroo story-- I actually loved it.. bookmarking it to read it again thank you for sharing this hub :)
Thank you my dear fellow hubbers, it is different and sometimes even challenging to follow the stories in words and images that are joined together by a common thread...I am very happy that you persevere in your reading and your journey was worthwhile:)...hope you come back again my new hub friends and all the best with your hubbing:)
Oh you are a great story teller beautiful lay out keep up the good work
cities are so scary and beneath the surface lies so much we do not know.i was reading the hub with an increasing sense of unease and dread not knowing what would come out next.it sent chills down my spine friend. very well written
Thank you my fellow hubbers, my story has really came alive with your beautiful and insightful comments...yes, our cities can be scary places but only if we keep our eyes and ears shut to the suffering of others...:)
This one left me speachless Beata. Beautiful story and so poignantly written.!
Thank you Teresa...two sides of one coin...that how I perceive the world around me...warm kindness hand in hand with unbearable cruelty:)
Tremendous, kinetic! And it all comes down to the last two lines someway. Intriguing expression of 'one day'!
Hello, Beata,
This is a brilliant display of writing and my eyes were glued to this piece from beginning to end. This is a powerful and accurate description of all the twists and turns that life consists of.
Thank you, my fellow hubbers for your kind comments...I am so happy that my short story in a poem touched so many..and it all started with once ordinary morning when eating my breakfast I started to read the daily newspaper from my part of the world...sound too familiar to you all...
Yes,We should protect ourselves from other races..That's really great point
You really are a great storyteller. I had a great time reading this hub.
Good story! Wow!
Dear 'htodd', I don't believe there are 'other races' and 'us'...I believe it is only 'us' and we should learn that we live in time of 'one people of different cultures living together', not in the time of 'one culture dominating all other cultures, the way how we lived in past'.
Thank you my fellow hubbers for your encouraging comments, I am very happy when people find more meanings and interpretations in my poems, but when this interpretation is in opposition with my beliefs I feel I need to get my point of view across..thank you so much for your understanding:)
A beautiful story Beata I think I must go it over again, one cannot do them both at the same time, the pictures are great , nature gets me every time.
I can't keep that secret
Beautiful
Bless.
This is a wonderful story Beata Stasak. I'm so glad you shared this with us. Now I'm more confident (thanks to you) to publish a short story I wrote about a woman with breast cancer. I voted you up and interesting.
What a riveting story. I had to read it from start to finish! I love how you keep the reader engaged through the whole story. Excellent work! Voted up and beautiful.
I think the picture poem is a hit
Thank you my fellow hubbers for taking time to read my long, long story about my city and life in it:)....happy that you managed not to get lost in its dark narrow streets and find me where nature meets the fringes of the city:)
One city so similar and yet so different to all other cities of the world:)
Wonderful/terrible?
Sublime/in your face?
Many more like the above...
Thank you
..our bitter and sweet life:)...just like you said, dear fellow hubber...thank you for stopping by:)
So my impression was spot on. You, however, turned it into an art form!
Thank you!
What beautiful writng!
I'm sorry that I didn't get to Western Australia when I visited your country. The farthest west I traveled was Uluru (Ayers Rock).
Wow! What a breath taking story. I was dizzy trying to keep up with the pace and the thread. I enjoyed the pay off at the end though. There were a lot of really great pix too. How long did it take you to write this story?
Beata, this was a great read. Thank you!
This was amazing, and very thought provoking. It really tugged at my heart. I loved all the photos you shared also. I like that...no more secrets.... I was so hoping things got better for the little boy at least.... very very special. thanks for sharing it.
Thank you my fellow hubbers for your encouraging and very friendly comments, all your comments are very special to me:) As I said before one morning I had little bit more time on my hand so I ate my breakfast reading the daily newspaper from our city and just reading the headlines the story emmerged in my mind...that night I have quickly written it down and then edited it few days later...I am very impatient writer I write on a spurr of a moment whenever I find enough time do so:)
With the images it is a different story, I usually take a picture and reflect on it straight away...each of my photos has a story to tell:)
Oh My this is so good.. I sat spell bound the whole time I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen.. excellent story and excellent writing.. Love the story,, I book marked it and I am following you .. I vote up and awesome...
Dear my Deborah, thank you for your visit and your encouraging comment, it means a lot to me..and come back again:)
I love your artistic mind Beata. Your hubs are so full of theories and questions. Gorgeous pictures as well.
Happy you liked it Caroline, yes, I see my poetry as a platform for questions asked, discussions started and maybe some answers found on the way as well...
Beata, I loved this...I held onto every word throughout the entire story. Fantastic!!!
Dear Susan, love you for that:)...THANK YOU...
Very good thanks! Excellent photos!
Wonderful story, and enjoyed it. God Bless You Precious Heart.
Thank you Hendrik, happy your visit was worthwhile and come back again:)
Dear 'stars439', my heart just shines when it meets similarly shimmering heart somewhere else...and it met you:)
What a beautiful hub...I so love your homeland photos, just beautiful...thank you for sharing, and you're poetry is perfectly balanced with your photos, as well..loved it...very nice, indeed, ....
Happy you enjoyed my combination of words and images, the things I enjoy to spend my pastime with the most...all the best my fellow hubber and thank you for visiting my page:)
I agree with BB all the way
voted up and sideways
he's a good follower also
bless
kimberly
I'm very good at following one true love...hmmmmm, Kimberly....
Although I'll never be so bold as to speak for my own incredible Ms. StrongWill here, Beata, we're both obviously pleased to meet you (K's the brains, by the way) and we do enjoy your work...thanks again...
Happy to meet you both, K+B...you are both incredible:).... I have now two 'incredible followers' one can not ask for more, of course K is the one with brains, SHE IS THE WOMAN after all:)
Thanks for COMING UP with A BEAUTIFUL POETRY.. It portrays many things about people...
I will be reading your hubs and learn from it...
Thanks!
You truly have a flair to join words and images together by a common thread. You kept me hanging on to each and every word throughout the mesmerizing journey.
You are such a talented writer. Bless your creative mind!
Thanks!
That was very well done, and held my attention intently all the way through.
Thanks my fellow hubbers for your encouraging comments wish you great time with hubbing wherever you are and looking forward to hear from you again:)
Beata...Your words are a meditation of life in a big city anywhere...multilayered and rich in meaning...full of the multitude of emotions we pass thru in life as well as the emotions that live in the people that pass by us each day. Thank you.
Australia's population might be growing, but it is still tiny compared to my state, California. We have 38 million people.
I know SweetiePie, and it is like this almost everywhere around the world, Australia was the last empty land until now...it doesn't mean it is a bad thing and we need to help when other places are already overcrowded, it is just that we are not prepared to share...not yet anyway....and also we have no infrastructure, not enough water, we live on sand...especially on the West:)
Thanks Scribenet for your kind words, all the best with hubbing and come back again:)
Awesome way to tell a story. You made the words become images immediately in my mind -- that's talent!
Welcome on my page, dear escapes and happy you find if worthwhile...looking forward to hear from you again:)
Thanks. This is a strange poem which I do not quite understand (having just work up on Sunday morning).
I have not published any of my poetry. Music lyrics, actually. Would like to record....
It is ok, Laura, we have all different style of writing and especially in poetry you rely heavily on your experience for the words to talk to you....maybe the experience of the city just like this one is foreign to you:)
Beata,
I understand this story like the back of my hands, I grew up in NYC, and things of this nature are common, as a matter fact I now reside in Delaware and things of this kind, are alsso common. These things, are things that are beyond my grasp of life. I always wondered, about the excuses? like I went through this or that as a youth, so now I do it to others. It absolutely baffles my mind, I would never mention what I would do if my children or grand children ever have an experience of such magnitude. For certain things in this world can be tolerated, however I draw the line right there. Than a part of me would be transformed into something from another demention.
Dear 'bolt', I have just finished reading 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith, the rich tragicomedy of life of three cultures of three generations living in North London and I realised that my city, where I live is still a 'safe heaven' comparing what's happening there:)
And that was the exact feeling when I was writing my poem, my city, where I live peacefully for so long is dramatically expanding and changing to be one of those megacities...which is not necessarily bad thing but are we able to learn from mistakes of London, Edinburgh etc ...is it really so hard to accept cultural and generational differences and live in peace next to each other?
Are some people just bad and they like the idea of hiding in a big city as it is so hard to spot them there?
Too many questions and not enough answers...but you made me thinking about it again..thank you:)
Wow, what a powerful story, writing at it's best.
voted up/awesome
You have a style that flows well. Makes it easy to read and therefore enjoy. Very nice! ..voted up...
I love your story. I can clearly see that you are an excellent writer. The pictures are beautiful too. love them. Voted up and interesting.
That was fascinating , I am originally from Wales then New Zealand so we were migrants so I am happy to have other migrants here & love mixing with people of every nationality .
Thank you my fellow hubbers for taking up on my invitation and finding your stay on my hubpage worhwhile, this last piece of my writing got mixed reviews from my fellow hubbers, as you see from comments, some loved and some just couldn't get it...I have a feeling that I should go back and re-edit, but I am just hopeless at that...what I love about writing is that hit of inspiration when you rush to put all your scattered images in your head down...I never look back, so I decided not to it this time around either...it is the best you get...like it or leave it:)....
Can you keep a secret? This piece was quite long, yet had me reading along to see what happened. Voted up and interesting!
Thank you 'hippiequeen' for your honest response, I have to learn to write shorter hubs, one of my writing goals for 2012, very hard one for me to achieve..just too many scattered thoughts and not enough 'paper'...ha,ha,ha
I love reading new stories. I have read a few of your other ones and they are very good. The pictures you posted in your article are really nice. Your hubs will be placed on my schedule for regular viewing.
Thank you, my dear Angela for so quickly responding to my invitation and finding your visit worthwhile:)...writer's words are dead if there is no one to read them...thank you for bringing my words to life:)
To my new found friend. You truly are a very special human being. A lot of people can learn many good things from you. I am so happy to have found you. Voted up and then some.
Thanks MP50, it is great to meet, here on hupages, your special words make me feel very special, although I am not different to other hubber out there...just sharing my 'scattered images in my head' all around...all year around...and happy it is useful for some:)
Wow! What a glorious effort you made
Thanks 'wholsbid' happy 'my effort' paid off...all the best from Beata
Excellent story. I love writing as well, and this story is very well written. Keep up the great work, and I look forward to reading more.
Thank you, my fellow hubber-writer, writing is sharing and becomes alive only by another reader stopping by:)
so many have secrets....but sometimes when shared there is power in the sharing...i am so glad you 'wrote on my wall'---i might have missed YOU. one of my dream places on my bucket list is Australia and I know now I would have to come to your part!!! WOW.
You are welcome with open arms my fellow hubber - dreamer and traveller, happy you have stopped by and looking forward to hear from you again:)
Beautiful story and very well written. Up and Interesting
thank you 'shwetha' for stopping by and leaving your encouraging comment...all the best with hubbing and comenting...looking forward to hear from you again soon:)
Beata, I love this insight that you derived from the transformation in your father when, although ill, he was more himself and more at rest than at any other time probably in his life:
"The right words said at the right time in the way for the right reason can alter perceptions, dispel fears, offer comfort."
You have really shown the gifts which each day offers, and your style perfectly communicates the insights and messages of the spectrum of life in its audibility and inaudibility, visibility and invisibility.
Another breathtaking journey! As I travelled along this exploration, I kept thinking of one of your other hubs, "Scattered Images"; these two complement one another and are like Siamese twins in their conjoining flow.
Thank you for sharing your imagination, which is skillfully unfurled here.
Kind regards, Stessily
thank you so much Stessily for your beautiful comment, I used to draw and paint before I have a carrier and a family to look after...I have missed my 'creative outlet' so much that I have decided to use pen and later key-board instead of paint brush and share my scattered images this way:) I paint with words and yet English is my third language so I am very happy when I get a good comment and I know readers are able to follow the thread of my thoughts...now I write expecting eagerly the communication...it is great to know that someone somewhere on the other side of the world understands and maybe fights every day battles similar to mine:)
Beata, You communicate abstract and concrete concepts equally well in English. That is quite an accomplishment in a language which, as you said, is your "third language"!
On the other side of the world, far from the land down under, I do encounter similar daily battles. Mine are often against principalities of thoughts (some of them my own, most of them firmly ensconced in the minds of others) which guard secrets and which seek to cover missed information. There are many realities in this universe but fear and greed establish their own distortions for their own ends.
It's a true creative talent to spin disparate threads together to clarify the beauty and peace which are often buried under chaos.
Thank you for sharing your imagination.
Kind regards, Stessily
Truly awesome piece. You really convey a slice of real life. I could imagine being there. How can poor Julia cope with everything she encounters?
Awesome and up :)
An enthralling piece of excellent work. Voted up.
Thank you my fellow hubbers in behalf of Julia as well, although she is just a fictional character, but I believe all of us in diferent times and places encounter many of her misfortunes on regular basis...how do we cope?....by sharing and learning from each other:)
Loved it!
Thanks Dr Jez...all the best to you wherever you are:)....
Great! Love it!
Intertwining twists and turns that keep leading me further on; wonderful writing as always. You are truly gifted my friend! Don't ever stop letting your stories evolve as if they have a life of their own. That's what makes your writing so powerful, riveting and awesome!
Very interesting poetry Beata. I enjoyed it very much. I have a difficult time following poetry at times. Maybe that is because I am such a realist.
I was very surprised to see your name "Beata". I have an aging aunt named Beata and she is the only person I have ever know with that name. I love her dearly and when I saw your name of course it reminded me of her. She is in a nursing home now in Arizona which is 2000 miles from me so I don't get to see her. Her dimencia would keep her from knowing me, but that wouldn't stop me from visiting if I could.
Thanks for sharing your story/poem. Stay blessed!
Beata,
Once I got started with this, I couldn't stop. I was glued to it from beginning to end. It's thoroughly fascinating and captivating.
You've put so many things, places and people in this and yet kept all of them touching a central point.
This was sad, and still beautiful.
femme
thank you my fellow hubbers for your beautiful, enouraging and honest comments, I know I never stop writing because it helps me to become close to so many great individuals all across the world...creative writing is a very personal outlet, you need to open your heart and be honest with yourself and others, people respond to it and suddenly you know you are not alone...thank you again and looking forward to hear from you again...
Beata comes from latin and it means being 'blessed'...I am truly blessed to have so many genuine readers and followers:)
What a good idea for a narrative. Inspiring. I like the way two stories go side by side, pictorial with thoughts and descriptive with lots of different aspects. Great writer. Moving too. Voted up, beautiful and interesting.
Thank you so much for your beautiful fan comment and also for your encouraging approval of my writings...looking forward to hear from you again...
Really this is a hub like no other i have ever seen.Thanks for this precise articulations of facts and secrets.
Happy you liked it Felix and looking forward to hear from you again:)
OMG couldn't stop reading this nearly burnt our tea...riveting so many secrets, so much destruction...powerful words. You are such a good writer.
Sorry for the tea Leni, hope it was still nice, just as the genuine comment you left for me to read...thanks and come back again:)
A very powerful story. I seriously couldn't stop reading it. You are one good writer.
That's a big praise, dear Nessa, especially when I don't consider myself to be a real writer at all:)
This is amazing - very emotional and powerful story.
Thanks my fellow hubber, words are very powerful tool if used in right place and in right time:)
I just wanted to let you know that you write beautifully! Thank you for sharing your writing. I'm looking forward to reading more of your hubs!
Thank you Capric, hope you like another of my hubs too...looking forward to hear from you soon...
What an amazing writer you are. You deep provoking thoughts that make you want to read more and see what is around the bend! Voting up!
Lisa ~RusticLiving
The art of writing restores my equilibrium and offers me peace of mind when 'my world is in turmoil', I am very happy that it is useful for my readers as well, thank my dear new follower for your kind response and looking forward to hear from you again:)
This was one lengthy piece. But its captivating still and thought provoking. nice.
Hi! Beata Stasak Excellent work, I enjoyed the photos. Angie
Thank you, my dear followers for your patience to get through my 'lengthy piece' and still finding it engaging:)...there is nothing more I can ask for:)
I enjoyed your efforts you made here, and especially the imagery, as well as the commentary underneath each, I followed them till the very end, and feel for your views on humanity as a whole,
I sense you want things to return to a natural way of life where you reside, and I also feel this way, hopefully in due time, once humanity comes to realize they've been going in directions that aren't conducive to us all. Someday I hope, but until then is nothing wrong with self expression like this, awesome hub.
Oh I surely can keep a secret, but that pedophile part was kind of scary to think about. I hope the Kangaroo survived, how did that woman fair off who had her moms disease & was it cancer, and did the pregnant woman change her diet for good, so her new born wouldn't come out premature. All thoughts to ponder on I guess, cool technique & approach to writing about true life situations, we all go through.
So far I read half of it through and through, but I must return for a double dosage later, thanks for sharing & for being so real.
Voted up on all levels indeed.
This one is getting shared outside of hubpages for sure, wow. A powerful hub and awesome in every way, can't wait to finish reading it all.
That was an epic, but beautifully expressed. Thank you for such wonderful writing.
Hmmm, I really liked the way this story weaved it's way through the city of your mind:) Kept my interest!
Thank you my fellow hubber for 'a big dose of encouraging comments', it encourages me to write more and more...my head is full of ideas just time is an issue:)
Interesting, intriguing. . . I never seem to be able to stop to catch my breath!
Thank you for your kind comment dear Teresita, all the best with hubbing and happy to hear from you again:)
Thank you for not keeping this one a secret! I read top to bottom without even the time to look at the accompanying photos. I will go back to them now (at 0049 hours!) Your rugged individualism has an all encompassing empathy with all mankind. That is a truly Christian ethic. Fortunately your poem is a composite, for even one such day for any one person would be a lifetime of heartbreak for one with so much empathy as you obviously have. What are your other two languages? Beata must have the same Latin root as beatitudes. What a lovely connection to be reminded of each day.(Consummate bliss) It suits you well.
I have been born in Slovakia and spent my young adulthood years in Russia studying at prestigious University Russian literature and Art. Thank you for your kind comment, as I mentioned in one of my comments above, it is just a showcase from our modern time and in Julia (my fictional character) each of us may find little bit of self....the idea came to me after reading a daily newspaper from my city and realizing what has happened there in one day...one would think, tragedy is all around us, but maybe it is just because stories with happy endings do not sell...
Is it then a sign of the times that only tragic stories gain interest and ones with happy endings are passed over quickly and tossed in the corner? What a great idea for a story Beata
and such interesting twists, great work.
Thank you my fellow hubber, so true, there is much more happiness than tragedy in the world, but only the latest catch our eyes, just because we feel much more happier knowing that someone else is in bigger trouble than us...
Wow, Beata, My name is Michael. My wife was recently diagnosed with cancer,but thank the lord she is a survivor, and a fighter. I have had a hardeer time dealing with losing my friend, soulmate and lifetime patrner than her. but This is reaaly strange that I went to this hub first when I went to read your work.
Happy dear Michael, that you stopped by and that my words 'talked to you' and reached your heart. Sometime our actions are mysterious even to ourselves. Some words have to be written so they may be read in the right time by the right people who need to hear them:) Thank you for stopping by, my dear fellow hubber and happy your visit was worthwhile of your time:)
Very good story and photos, I am thankful that I found it and to you for writing it. Have a great day.
Fascinating hub - what a unique and compelling writing style! Voted up and awesome.
Didn't realised Perth have so many hidden secrets. I was there before and didn't see the windmills and Curtin Detention Centre (near Curtin Uni?)Great hub and nice photos.
Thank you my dear fellow hubbers for your kind responses and hopefully you come back again:) Dear 'greatstuff', all the stories in my narrative poem happened in our city, I have found the information about them in our daily newspaper, I have just wanted to highlight the issue to make up 'a fictional character' and let us all to experience 'the hidden secrets' of our city through her eyes...all the places exist, but tell you the truth I don't really know the exact location:) Our city is very, very spread out...so in reality it would be very hard for one person to travel all these distances in one day...it was jut more of a metaphor of our time and our place:)
I was just glued to the page. What an awesome Hub, my new-found friend. The prose is exceptional - the images are fabulous -oooooh yesssss! Voted up, naturally.
This is quite a unique story. I'm no expert on literature, but it seems to give a lot of different tales on what can happen to so many people's lives all in the course of a day. Even they create different events, each one of us is connected to their cause and effects in some way. Thanks for putting this together for us!
Thank you, my dear fellow hubbers, it was an experiment ...an idea to sum up 'my city in one day' with all its good and bad...happy you liked it:)
I live in a beautiful place full of hope for future and a dark history, I am one of new migrants who just embrace his perfect paradise as a perfect home for my children, but I also realize that 'First Australians' suffered enormously here in the past, 50 thousands of Aboriginal children under age of 5 have been removed from their families in order to be assimilated into white population, many tribes have been wiped out and killed...Today they still struggle to live up to white expectations...today white Australians struggle also with welcoming desperate refugees who are washed on Australian endless white shores...I have come to realize that I live in a bitter and sweet paradise...the best I can do is write about all I see and experience in my adopted city:)
What a beautiful story! And also the photographs! Really loved the hub.
Thank you, my dear Lex for stopping by and I am ready for a visit too:)
I can only echo previous comments. A brilliant hub tugging at all emotions. First class. The photographs are beautiful and add so much to your efforts. Thank you!
thank you for stopping by and leaving me so encouriging comment, all the best with hubbing and looking forward to hear from you again:)
Such a beautiful poem and the pictures are breath taking! Thank you for sharing such visual beauty.
Thank you, my fellow hubber, 'sometimes it requires a traveller, avid, child-in-herself awakended to highlight an aspect of landscape with a city in it, changing a local strangeness to commoplace'...the most remote capital city in Australia is no different to other cities all over the world....:)
You are incredibly talented my friend, glad to follow you.
Blessings
Thank you my fellow hubber for taking your time to stop by and very happy your 'travel with me through my city' fullfiled your expectation...there is nothing more a writer may ask for:)
You are incredibly great. I love your composition.. it is awesome. voted up!
Thank you, my fellow hubber, it is always great to hear such a positive comment, happy to write, if there will be always someone so appreciative to read it:)
Hello Beata, You have so many comments on your hub that I did not think I would ever get to the end to leave one.I kept wondering all the time how the little boy was and was glad at the end he had survived . Too bad there are so many men like that anymore .It is a lesson that our children are very precious and we have to be much more careful where they go and who they are with.I will be back later and read more of your masterpieces ,Bye now, clara
thank you, my dear Clara, that you find some time to stop by....'my so called masterpieces' are just little observations from my part of the world...by sharing our thoughts and experience we can keep each other happy and safe:)
tillsontitan Level 7 Commenter 6 months ago
What a riveting story, so many twists and turns that all lead back to the same people. Beautifully written. The photos are beautiful too but I'm somehow missing the connection. Anyway, voted up and interesting.