Reference :- After an absence of many weeks , The Sky Reply is preparing to return .
The lads out here in Kooralya have been suffering through the cold winter . Nobody has put pen to paper for a long time , and it occurs to me that they have all come down with a malady that the shrinks call Seasonal Affective Disorder , or SAD .
Even Dog has fairly copped a dose of it . The other morning a cheeky hare appeared in the back yard , bouncing up and down like the Dow Jones Index . Ken junior saw it through the foggy kitchen window as he put the kettle on the stove for a cuppa.
"Hey Dog , that hare is back . Go get him boy ! " , Ken junior said .
Ken junior opened the kitchen door and pushed the rusty fly screen open .
" Go get him boy . Look boy , look ! " , Ken junior said .
Dog lifted his head from his blanket and looked . He looked at the hare . He looked at the fog . He looked at Ken junior's knitted beanie and fleece jacket . He looked at the steam departing Ken junior's mouth as , hunched over , he shivered and rubbed his icy hands together . Dog let out a feeble whimper , lowered his head between his paws and closed his eyes .
Well , the lads all feel like dog does lately , especially when Ken junior opens the door and let's the cold air in .
" Shut the bloody door before we all freeze ! " , Monte said
" Bugger this , where is the hottest place on earth ? " , Gabbo said .
" It's 52 degrees in Saudi Arabia right now , thanks to global warming " , Ken junior said .
" Well I am moving there . " , Gabbo said .
" Idiot . Last summer you said you were moving to the Antarctic . " , Monte said .
" Calm down lads , who wants a cuppa ? " , I said .
" Calm down yourself . " , Monte said
" Look everybody , there is a lot in the news lately that we should write about ", I said .
" Is there . " , Ken junior said ( question mark deliberately omitted )
" Both the war in Ukraine and the genocide in Gaza could trigger a nuclear war " , I said .
" Great , bring it on . " , Monte said .
As you can see , a nuanced analysis of world events by The Sky Reply team has not been possible so far this winter .
I would get heaters installed , but we are a bit short of funds due to the cost of firewood . Besides , the electricity bill would be extortionate . Quite a catch 22. Ken junior did cut up the timber from our old chook pen , but we have burned it all , and a ute load of firewood cost us a king's ransom .
I don't know how much longer we can go on like this , everything is utterly miserable and pointless .
But at least I don't have Seasonal Affective Disorder like the lads .
Your comrade , Ken
