Postcard from Sydney By Dennis Sodomka
G'day mates,
I promised myself I wouldn't use that phrase, but everyone around here really uses it all the time, so I might as well try to be authentic.
Aussies (Oz-ees) use a lot of other colorful phrases that I'll fill you in on in the coming days. They also seem to like to use rough language, but nothing that would make you blush.
On my first day in the land of Oz I went to famous Sydney Harbour with my partner, Tim Guidera, of the Savannah Morning News. There were street performers everywhere, with throngs of tourists and Sydneysiders all around them.
We heard that the local government had made the street performers buy licenses, except for the tarot readers and musicians. They must have had better unions.
This bloke pictured here is J.P. and he said he was forced out of Darling Harbour during the Olympics. He took turns insulting the audience and juggling dangerous objects like knives and medieval axes. He saw I was a Yank and said he would make me feel at home. He approached me with a large knife and said, "Give me all your money." All the Aussies laughed. Great reputation we have around the world.
Still, this day was a beauty.
Dennis