Gary and his bright yellow kiyack

It was early Monday morning when the phone rang " good'ay Gary How are you ?" The answer came " I'm  on Shark Island having a break from paddling my kyiack "
I had not seen Gary for over a year, so its a good opportunity to get together for coffee " He said I'll be there in an hour.
It turned out Gary had parked his car at Neutral Bay on a 4 hour meter,offloaded his Kyiack and paddled through the mist to this island in the middle of Sydney Harbour.
We met 25 years ago on the Hume and Hovel track walking 377 k's from Woomargama to Yass.
He originally had thought  I was a schoolteacher,which is a bit of a joke,not being scholastic.
On the walk we had struck up a very relaxed,fun friendship,sleeping under the stars and fantasizing what was out there.
He told me he had trained as a glazier,but was saddened by the glass cutting his fingers,so had tried different jobs over the years,including being a census collector with a big bag over his shoulder.He had also done a stint of fine dining which intrigued me.
Over the years we had met up for swimming at the Glenbrook dam in the Blue mountains and cycled round the headwaters of the Nepean river.
Fortunately he did not take me on his numerous trips across Bass Strait, but his stories have excited me
with his discoveries and adventure.
For a period he left his kyiack in my yard so he could practice his canoe roll, the ability to right oneself if your kyiack turns upside down in big seas.
On the hour there was Gary at the front door,removing his wet socks and rubber boots.
On went the kettle,and within minutes we had dispensed with the weather,and were on to family matters,showing me photos of his mum Sheila and dad  Des enjoying a family get together with their grandchildren.
I told him I had become a story teller,as my physical ability had deminished.
This was always a high spirited exchange,he had been disappointed with his present boss disregarding his complaint and ignored attending to it.Causing Gary to hand in his notice, WoW !
But his big news was,planning to ship his kyiack to Iceland,and flying to Scandinavia,catching a ship to Iceland via the Faeroe Islands. Gary had found out the Iceies have high paying incomes. I'm not sure if he planned to find a bride while there.
His present female friends insist he take them on cycling tours or Kyiack adventures.
By this time we had downed our coffee and prison food,biscuit and cheese and preparing to paddle back to his car before the 4 hours time elapsed.
Its not often you have an adventurer in your kitchen telling tales of excitement,which puts a smile on an 85 year olds face.
But he left his calling card,a large pool of salt water on my tile floor,this was not incontinance Gary's only 49, next year is the big 50 time to celebrate.!
(C) T.M. Williams