The last days and a new begining

      Christmas came and went, it would be the last Christmas eve I would spend guarding prisoners, instead of playing with my children. The factory had ground to a halt weeks after our return to Australia. The father in-law just could not get to grips  with the whole idea of buying rubber for less than we sold it. I had expected the worst, he had only lost $1,000, by paying too much or buying bad rubber. then he gave up. The trees we had opened were doing well, though the dormant period was fast approaching. The results were promising , I had calculated that next season we would have 3,000 trees ready to produce. It would be enough to live,  time to prepare for our escape.
      In Australia they have a thing called long service leave, after 10 years you are entitled to 3 months paid leave. Now I had lost most of my service by resigning the last time, but while trying to stay awake one lonely night shift, I found a clause in the employment agreement that said, I could be credited previous service. Including the time spent as a casual Prison Officer. It was like winning the lottery, money to leave. On the next day shift I spent most of my time filling in forms, sending e mails and making phone calls. It would take 2 months before the leave was credited to my service. On that day the first rains fell on the plantations,  awakening the trees. I typed up my resignation and submitted it. It was made very clear to me by the big boss that if I went again, there would be no coming back. Too late for second thoughts , there would be no more prisons in my life, unless I ended up a prisoner.        
      One month later I spent the day saying goodbye to my co workers, handed in my ID  and some uniforms. I was no longer one of the boys and had to be escorted out the door. Some people believe that they will be missed or the work they do is noticed. I have found that once you walk out the door, it is just like taking your arm out of a bucket of water, that's the impression you leave, nothing. The water just fills in the hole, as if  you had never been there. We were on the plane one week later. cashed up and ready for a new begining.


      Home, if you can call a 3 room hut, home. We were still living in the in-laws up market shack. there was now runing water, but still a cold shower. Our bedroom was a concrete block, with a flat tin roof. When the sun rose in the mornimg the heat was unbearable and you had to move  outside to a hammock. Things would have to improve, but time is different here, it would all happen in Thai time.
      On the first night back I sat outside drinking beer from an ice box. The village had changed, there was the flicker of TVs, more concrete block houses and cars. Rubber had brought money, the village was no longer a place that time had passed by.
      As you do when you sit alone drinking beer, I pondered life. It was 2010 I was now 53 years old, with 2 young kids and my working life was over. As long as the rubber flowed, the wifes would never begin. 8 plus years had passed in the twinkling of an eye. Bell had been stoic through it all. Never once did she complain that we lived in a hut in Thailand, nor that all her friends in Australia lived in big houses and drove new cars, I had been lucky. I thought of all those people who adivsed never spent more in Thailand than you can affort to lose. I couldn't afford to lose anything, but invested everything. We had made it, now there would be time to play with the kids, time to swim, picnic and enjoy living. We were far from rich, but there would be money enough for food and beer, life was good. As often happens , I had turned a page and a new chapter began.