Catching up with old school friends

One of the things I have done since deciding to leave my career job is get in touch with old school friends. There was a reunion page that put me in touch with many of them. It also meant I had to get a Facebook page for the first time. This was interesting in itself because I have always stayed away from Facebook, and was rather proud of my prior invisibility.

So anyway, this morning I caught up with, going round the table from left, Gerard, Stephen, moi and Colin on the end.

They have all led interesting lives.

Gerard was a chef originally but later became a policeman and now teaches weapons and tactics at the police academy. He lives off the grid near Bungendore, with Tracy, another old school friend. I have known Gerard since first class. In our early teens we spent a lot of time together after school having Huck Finn adventures around the Georges River at Como. We had the place pretty much to ourselves, along with Matt Somerville, who sadly passed away very young but is not forgotten.

Stephen worked at Channel 7 and then joined the Federal police. Because of his knowledge of video - it was in the eighties - he became a police crime scene photographer and later a senior police administrator. In his late forties he suddenly chucked it all in and set up his own company providing training to government departments. He is now pursuing acting jobs. I have known him since fifth class at high school.

Col grew up in housing commission houses at Jannali. He briefly worked at a clerical job in Sydney before moving to the south coast with his parents and becoming a mechanic. He still has the workshop but spends his quality time acting and composing songs. He has appeared in several television commercials, the latest being this one for Aldi:

Varied lives, Col's acting career perhaps the biggest surprise. He plays knockabout Australian characters, which he is.