Sunday, March 8, 2020
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What do you know?
Anyone who knew my father would know one of his greetings as “what do you know”. To the unsuspecting, this greeting would politely set you back a little before blurting out a hurried response or stay awkwardly silent until you formulated your reply.
What do you know! Often I think about this and ask myself, what do I know?
I got to know my father much more in his later years where we would chat about his youthful days racing his BSA dirt bike in the 1950’s, working with Farv building their wrought iron gates business, or his days as a Diesel mechanic, each time bantering on about then and now, just before he’d look at you and express a cheeky remark followed by a short laugh.
On many occasions, he wanted to hear how Belinda & Kyle, Wayne Jr, Alexandra and Ellen were all going and what they were up to with their Uni or career choices. He would also ask about Mathew and Christian, and how they were going.
We would talk about rugby league and sometimes agree to disagree on what player did what and how that should have been a penalty or a try. When I told him Wayne Jr is a Parramatta supporter, well, that was an opportunity for him to give a cheeky remark followed by that short laugh again.
One occasion I won’t forget is when he met his Great grandchild Johnny. It was the first occasion where I actually saw him smitten with the little tiger. It was so humorous to see Johnny and Great grand father struggling to get their selves into an amicable position whilst sitting down for a series of photos.
“What do you know” I guess I grew to know my father quite well in his later years. Now that he is asleep, anytime I hear someone greet me with the phase “What do you know”, I will always respond quickly with “I know him well”.
Wayne Pearce Snr & family
