Unintentional comedy and canned fruit
I am hurt that the Bracks government has not yet approached me to contribute to their “making it happen in rural Victoria” campaign, but as part of my coping strategy I’m going to frequently blog about those two rather curious years I spent in Thick Forest, a small town in the Goulburn Valley. After all, this blog is nothing if not obsessed with unintentional comedy and canned fruit, which are the two things the Goulburn Valley does best.
One of the most amusing things I saw in Thick Forest, and I saw it frequently, was a sign outside one of the local churches, which said “Thank God for rain”. The region had been in drought for a year (the same drought that is still going) so it was not so much a statement of gratitude for present circumstances as a statement of faith and gratitude in anticipation of what this church encouraged us to believe God would do.
Theologically, I have no problem with that. Provided that we allow for the fact that God is in no way required to do what we want when we want it, then hoping and praying for the best and being grateful in anticipation is fine.
So why did I find this so funny that five years later I just have to blog about it? One simple reason:
THEY WROTE IT IN CHALK
This can only mean that:
They did not actually believe it was going to rain any time soon; or
As soon as it did, they planned to immediately cease to be grateful.
I asked one of the local farmers whether this sign was an example of “that famous Thick Forest sense of humour”.
He looked at me blankly and said “What famous Thick Forest sense of humour?”
I suppose it was inevitable that I would move back to Melbourne sooner or later, but it’s impossible not to look back on those two years in Thick Forest with at least a small degree of fondness, as well as genuine gratitude for the wealth of blogging material they provided.
Stay tuned for future posts reminiscing about my years in the Goulburn Valley, which may include the Thick Forest Hoedown, and my personal favourite, Banana Sculpting Night.
One of the most amusing things I saw in Thick Forest, and I saw it frequently, was a sign outside one of the local churches, which said “Thank God for rain”. The region had been in drought for a year (the same drought that is still going) so it was not so much a statement of gratitude for present circumstances as a statement of faith and gratitude in anticipation of what this church encouraged us to believe God would do.
Theologically, I have no problem with that. Provided that we allow for the fact that God is in no way required to do what we want when we want it, then hoping and praying for the best and being grateful in anticipation is fine.
So why did I find this so funny that five years later I just have to blog about it? One simple reason:
THEY WROTE IT IN CHALK
This can only mean that:
They did not actually believe it was going to rain any time soon; or
As soon as it did, they planned to immediately cease to be grateful.
I asked one of the local farmers whether this sign was an example of “that famous Thick Forest sense of humour”.
He looked at me blankly and said “What famous Thick Forest sense of humour?”
I suppose it was inevitable that I would move back to Melbourne sooner or later, but it’s impossible not to look back on those two years in Thick Forest with at least a small degree of fondness, as well as genuine gratitude for the wealth of blogging material they provided.
Stay tuned for future posts reminiscing about my years in the Goulburn Valley, which may include the Thick Forest Hoedown, and my personal favourite, Banana Sculpting Night.
posted by I'm not Craig at 10:25 PM
4 Comments:
Written in chalk? Is that like say, signing a marriage certificate in pencil? (Not that I'D do that!!)
And banana sculpting! A rather expensive artistic pursuit these days.
Looking forward to the Banana Sculpting blog then!
Do you know, there's not many images of men having *ahem* intimate relations with fruit on the internet. Just thought I'd mention it, while on the fruit topic.. ;) Don't ask how I know, tho..
Meva, you are right. That particularly fruity debacle will never happen again for economic reasons.
Snoskred, surely you just have to know where to look. Or so one would imagine.
INCraig,
They need to remake all the signs for towns in the Goulburn Valley with that precise slogan.
Then they can re-do the Great Ocean Road with
"Home of the Twelve Apostles and yes-I'm-waving-at-YOU-by-raising-an-index-finger-while-driving"
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