Australia Day 2019

It’s still a weird thing to celebrate Australia Day in California. Patriotic , I’m generally not , or at least I thought I wasn’t , that’s until I moved to LA. Living here you don’t expect to see much things that connect to home . We are in the US , the big dog . Australia’s just a little outpost at the bottom of the world ; over ran by kangaroos and deadly snakes . There’s koalas and crocodiles too .Once you settle in and live here you start to look for things Australian . There are products ; Fosters is sold here . That makes me laugh , as it’s pretty much not seen or drunk in Australia . Bunderberg Ginger beer is sold too and thank god , as dry ginger ale or ginger beer in the US is weak and very sweet . Our corner store gets in violet crumbles and bounty chocolate bars on occasion . At $4 a bar it isn’t cheap , but shit it’d be wrong if I didn’t buy a couple . Costco sells a strong tasty cheese called ‘Old Croc’ and a few red wines from South Australia .Yellow tail wine is sold in most supermarkets , but that belongs in the fosters category : ” we don’t drink it , but they can .” Occasionally the radio will play something Australian, it’s usually AC/DC or Empire of the Suns ‘walking on a dream ‘, they love playing that song . Every day I surf in the morning I see the regular 930 Qantas flight take off . ….. Shit , maybe I am patriotic . Aussies , we’ve found some , and thank god for that too It may have been a day late in the Southern Hemisphere, but it’s January 26 in LA . Where else would we be than Damo and Maddys joint . Blow up kangaroos , crocodiles , the Australian flag , sausage rolls Oh my god , sausage rolls . I had to contain myself and only down a dozen , I’m salivating as I write this a day after . Pavlova , Tim tams , caramel crowns , Australia shaped bbq shapes and even a hybrid style snags in unsweetened white bread . The music : Powder Finger , Tame Impala , INXS , Ice House , The Hoodo Gurus …… shit I miss those sounds , and to think this stuff is virtually unheard of here . They ( yanks ) are missing out . Best of all it’s the people . Your own kind , you yearn for them , collect them and drink with them … on Australia Day . Damo and Maddie , Kaz and Frank , Joe and Aliza , Chris , Jackie and Gerard . There’s some Aussie names in that lot . Cheers , to Australia Day