twenty two years ago i set up an organisation for people with intellectual disabilities, it was a kinda strange moment in my life where i had arrived in australia with my wife and a son on the way, i scored this weird job called a social educator, working for these north shore housewives who had put together a small group home for four clients. i was full of pride and responsibility back in those days, a different animal, i wanted to provide and bring in some money, and suddenly i was in a career.
i went along to the interview and there was a room filled with young girls, all about my age, looking at this freakazoid in dreads and sunglasses talking about his experiences in london with psychiatric clients and in america with children, they loved my accent, my strange fashion sense, the fact i was able to hold a conversation about anything and made them laugh, i knew i had that job as i walked into the room and i started work knowing i would love this job.
my first shift i was asked to train a client how to put a condom on a carrot and budget for his weekly visit to the brothel up the street.
'hey honey, what dod you do at work today?'
'dear mum, i got a new job in my new adopted country, it involves taking people to brothels...'
well you can imagine, it was peculiar but as it turned out i was very good at the parts of my job that dealt with challenging behaviours and soon i was asked to develop plans and for some reason sought out, eventually i was promoted and became the manager. during this time the house wives who ran the house had got funding to become an experimental organisation and the first of its kind in australia, a model which is only being used now, and is considered cutting edge even though it's twenty years old.
the idea is that clients get their money and use it to buy services they need, as individuals, its like brokerage and gives them control. we were pretty 'out there' i took clients on demonstrations, we explored sexuality, we supported marriages and integration and community education and got a lot of respect and recognition, and in the early days of the organisation a young elf like canadian started working alongside me and we became friends. actually we became more than friends but that was later on.
she was a genus, a maverick and had a very sharp mind and unique perspective which was similar to mine, she also had an amazing sense of humour. we became best mates after seconds, both being aliens in a new world, both being freaks. we shared a love for art but whereas i was always intellectualising she would cut through to the truth and nail it sometimes, although she could make terrible mistakes and assumptions.
anyway she went on and became the co ordinator and i helped her and eventually we became lovers and spent two years hating one another. she was my betty blue romance,  fuck it went from being good to bad real fast and very extreme, but all the way through while we worked i supported her and encouraged her and kept her on track, clients first.
after my seventh year there as a manager i left and disappeared for a while. i saw her briefly and it was all very superficial and a bit sad.
this morning i received a letter from her.
she thanked me and said i had been her role model through her career.
she attached a letter from the management saying, how wonderful she was and how she had made the organisation what it was today, which is very respected.
i was happy for her. she is unique, and as much as i was a role model for her she was for me in some ways. but what was nice is some acknowledgement.
i sent a letter back saying, 'i can't believe it took them 22 years to acknowledge your genius, i knew first week after i met you.'
anyway it's a life of surprises.
we will catch up soon and apparently she wants to talk to me about a proposal, i'm a little nervous as i have had a period of ex girlfriends contact me and make strange requests regarding children, but maybe this will be different.