two. After that, I told her that she wasn't
welcome back but still she came. We played that game for a while
then I gave in because it didn't matter enough, it was a battle
that I was tired of fighting.
Christine rolled the dice once too often and
the heroin took her life as it always seemed it would. She died in
another sex shop down the road, someone else's restroom, someone
else's problem. The police came in that night and asked me to
identify her body. Apparently, somebody had told them that we were
friends because she was always hanging around on my shift. They
couldn't find anybody else so I went down a few days later and made
the identification. I thought at the time that I'm not sure how
hard they looked, but then she probably was not the highest of
priorities for them.
It turned out that I was wrong; the police
managed to track down her mother and they sent her over to me. The
story from her was that Christine ran away from home as a kid,
never to be seen again by her family. I didn't know what to tell
her. The police had already told her that her daughter was a
prostitute and that she worked the streets to support her heroin
addiction. I didn't have to break that to her, but it was tough
just the same.
That incident clinched it for me, I needed to
get out, The Cross can be such a depressing place at times. Who am
I kidding, it's depressing all the damn time but when you live it
every day, you just close your eyes to it and make another
buck.
A Decision Made
Living with Melissa had exhausted me mentally
and made me feel a little claustrophobic. It was always about money
with her; Melissa’s one constant. For me, living life was more
important and a little cash in my pocket made that a little easier
but if I was broke today then it didn’t make me sweat but with her,
it was an obsession. I understood it because of her addiction but I
found it incredibly hard to relax around hard core users like
her.
It wasn’t just Melissa, it was everything. On
my shift one night, I found a body, an overdose and the needle was
still in his arm. In the darkness, I felt the syringe before I saw
it. As I knelt down beside him to check for life, I looked up to
see two people having sex and the whole scene was just so fucking
normal. I walked downstairs to call the Police and then occupied
myself with the mechanics of dealing with the situation upstairs.
The next day, Trevor seemed more concerned with the fact that I
closed the club for an hour while they removed the body.
The Cross has a way of wearing you out. All
of my adult life had been spent surrounded by sex and drugs...
violence and death. It was time to leave. Not a break, not a
vacation. It was time to walk away from the life and close the door
for good.
I started thinking about when I ran away from
home and the traveling that I did. With that in mind, I made a
decision that I wanted to see some more of Australia and breathe
some country air. I wandered around the country for a couple of
years, taking a job for two or three months, building up some cash
then hitting the road again. I had a ball learning about life,
about myself and about the Australia that most people in the city
never really see.
Charlie
I had never been to Western Australia and
decided to do the trip. I hit the road taking the long way around.
Starting in Sydney, down to Melbourne then across to Adelaide and
finally, the long straight run to Perth. I spent a few days
renewing my acquaintance with some favorite parts of Melbourne then
after a lazy morning, headed out of town. Driving out through the
suburbs, it hit me that I probably should grab a late lunch before
going too far. The little fish and chip shop caught my eye so in I
went.
Have you ever had one of those moments in
life that when, looking back, you cannot figure out why you just
didn't turn around and walk away? It was a dirty little place. The
owner was a dirty old Greek with a three day growth and looked like
he had just woke
welcome back but still she came. We played that game for a while
then I gave in because it didn't matter enough, it was a battle
that I was tired of fighting.
Christine rolled the dice once too often and
the heroin took her life as it always seemed it would. She died in
another sex shop down the road, someone else's restroom, someone
else's problem. The police came in that night and asked me to
identify her body. Apparently, somebody had told them that we were
friends because she was always hanging around on my shift. They
couldn't find anybody else so I went down a few days later and made
the identification. I thought at the time that I'm not sure how
hard they looked, but then she probably was not the highest of
priorities for them.
It turned out that I was wrong; the police
managed to track down her mother and they sent her over to me. The
story from her was that Christine ran away from home as a kid,
never to be seen again by her family. I didn't know what to tell
her. The police had already told her that her daughter was a
prostitute and that she worked the streets to support her heroin
addiction. I didn't have to break that to her, but it was tough
just the same.
That incident clinched it for me, I needed to
get out, The Cross can be such a depressing place at times. Who am
I kidding, it's depressing all the damn time but when you live it
every day, you just close your eyes to it and make another
buck.
A Decision Made
Living with Melissa had exhausted me mentally
and made me feel a little claustrophobic. It was always about money
with her; Melissa’s one constant. For me, living life was more
important and a little cash in my pocket made that a little easier
but if I was broke today then it didn’t make me sweat but with her,
it was an obsession. I understood it because of her addiction but I
found it incredibly hard to relax around hard core users like
her.
It wasn’t just Melissa, it was everything. On
my shift one night, I found a body, an overdose and the needle was
still in his arm. In the darkness, I felt the syringe before I saw
it. As I knelt down beside him to check for life, I looked up to
see two people having sex and the whole scene was just so fucking
normal. I walked downstairs to call the Police and then occupied
myself with the mechanics of dealing with the situation upstairs.
The next day, Trevor seemed more concerned with the fact that I
closed the club for an hour while they removed the body.
The Cross has a way of wearing you out. All
of my adult life had been spent surrounded by sex and drugs...
violence and death. It was time to leave. Not a break, not a
vacation. It was time to walk away from the life and close the door
for good.
I started thinking about when I ran away from
home and the traveling that I did. With that in mind, I made a
decision that I wanted to see some more of Australia and breathe
some country air. I wandered around the country for a couple of
years, taking a job for two or three months, building up some cash
then hitting the road again. I had a ball learning about life,
about myself and about the Australia that most people in the city
never really see.
Charlie
I had never been to Western Australia and
decided to do the trip. I hit the road taking the long way around.
Starting in Sydney, down to Melbourne then across to Adelaide and
finally, the long straight run to Perth. I spent a few days
renewing my acquaintance with some favorite parts of Melbourne then
after a lazy morning, headed out of town. Driving out through the
suburbs, it hit me that I probably should grab a late lunch before
going too far. The little fish and chip shop caught my eye so in I
went.
Have you ever had one of those moments in
life that when, looking back, you cannot figure out why you just
didn't turn around and walk away? It was a dirty little place. The
owner was a dirty old Greek with a three day growth and looked like
he had just woke
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