...and THAT, my friends, is Australia

It's Saturday, November 12 and although my next post isn't actually due until next Wednesday, there's something I have to share. Today is the 5th anniversary of the day I arrived as an immigrant to Australia. It's a very happy day for me, a day of great significance.

With that introduction... here's the story:

Stephen and I decided to have a quiet little celebration here at home this evening. We bought steaks (and a fresh tank of gas for the BBQ), and this afternoon headed to Dan Murphy's (a chain store that sells beer, wine, and liquor) to find something special to drink with dinner. Coming out of the store, Stephen realized that the left rear tire had gone flat - VERY flat.

He managed to get the spare out, and get the rear jacked up, but the bolts on the tire were so tight that he couldn't budge them. I was thinking we'd be stuck and have to ring the RACV for roadside assistance.

Just then, two men walked by and stopped. One said "Oh, now THAT is interesting..." and commented on the design of the jack. They saw Stephen was struggling with the lugs, and asked if they might help.

The elder of the two men (possibly mid-fifties?) knelt down and picked up the wrench, tried it and said "ah, yeah, these have been put on with one of those air-gun things. I hate 'em!" Then he leaned in on the wrench and gave it a powerful crank to loosen the lug. The two men chatted with Stephen about the jack and the car - talking as if they were great old friends who'd known each other for ages. Their remarks made it clear that they work with cars a lot (possibly professional mechanics), AND that they were clearly pleased to be able to assist us.

"Thank you," Stephen said, and I added, "This was very nice of you!"

"Nah," the younger man replied, "we didn't have anything better to do".

Stephen is perfectly capable at changing a tire - and I'm sure would completed the task unassisted. But it would have been very hard and probably taken quite a while to get those four lugs loosened. We weren't in any distress, and certainly not in any danger there in the car park outside Dan Murphy's. But the kind, neighborly offer of assistance from strangers, well, it's very, very "Australian" - esp. since it was carried out in a way that would not embarrass the person being helped. In less than 15 minutes the tire was changed, our two helpers were strolling into the store, we were on our way.

It's a lesson for me, a reminder of the spirit that makes Australia a great nation.

So if, some dark and stormy night, you are stranded on a dark highway with car trouble, when you see headlights coming in the distance, pray to God that it's an Australian at the wheel. If it is, "she'll be right, mate! No worries. No dramas."