Arrival

Have you noticed the sudden influx of incredibly handsome young punks to the island, accompanied of course, by their gorgeous young handmaidens? I may be old but not too old to take an interest. They certainly make different christmas decorations and a vast improvement on inflatable santas at that. Yes, school is out for our grade 12's who have had the most torrid final year in scholastic history and i, for one, wish them all the best. That rite of passage known as schoolies has begun.

REGULAR FEATURES This year I am taking more than usual interest as my own grandson has gone up the Sunshine Coast with nine of his mates to celebrate. What a year he has had! The stress of assignments, exams, part-time work, school when possible, homeschooling, worry about his final marks and what next year may bring, learning to drive, managing his social life and more, he certainly deserves a

week or so to let his hair down and relax, responsibly of course. It was amusing to watch his mother go through all the same concerns that her father and I had gone through with her at a similar time in her life. I think her older boyfriend, now husband, thought that we were being somewhat irresponsible to give her permission to go down the Gold Coast for her Schoolies. He solved the problem by taking a week off work and went down to join her and to keep an eye on her doings. I cannot remember if this made Don and I worry more or less. The following year it was her brother's turn to fly the early stages of his academic coop and he too, flew south to the Gold Coast, again with a flock of his friends. Not that he entirely escaped family supervision as his sister and boyfriend decided that they had had such a good time the previous year that they paid him a surprise visit lasting some days. It was fortunate that they all got on so well and do so even to this day. I do remember that my son made an excellent forgery of an identity card, saying he was eighteen so he could gain entrance into clubs not so much for the purpose of drinking but dancing! We did stop the young lad going into business and selling similar cards to his mates many of whom were still only seventeen years old in those days. We were sad to squash such enterprise but did point out that it was highly illegal and paying a heavy fine was no way to start his holiday. My grandson has no such worries as the vast majority of his friends will already have turned 18 years and not even COVID can subdue the dancing, at least not in outside venues. The other worry is alcohol. You know what they say, too much and the boys fight and the girls cry. Hopefully, they will not over-indulge and think they are Superman and attempt to leap tall buildings in a single bound, nor will they waste a single day of their precious week by being confined to bed by that dreaded punishment of the over-indulgers, the hangover. As for S-x, the least said the

A Rite of Passage A Rite of Passage

Arrival

better. My daughter did attempt to give some well-meaning advice on the matter but was rewarded by the rolling of eyes and a quick exit. No, we will leave them to their own devices, they already know it all, and just pray that they enjoy themselves as they deserve to do so and return safely to their families, ready to start on the next stage of their lives journey.