Posted by Mike Lathouras, 27th April 2024
The hero, I guess you could call him that, of One Mad Year, Steve Smith, has mates and one of them features strongly In the book as Bill Leighton.
‘Mates’ are central to the theme of the book, perhaps, just like in life. I asked this question as a Aussie bloke: ‘who are mates and why do they feature so strongly in our lives’? Sure in this instance I’m talking as a bloke. I’ve never been a ‘female human’ so I’m not competent to describe how they may view the concept of ‘mateship’. I mean, Steve Smith got married, so surely that’s most of the theme of the book, if he’s having a Mad Year, right? Well, no.
So who are our mates? Well I’ll have to speak personally because, of course, I’ve never been somebody else. I’m pleased to say I have mates. I have old mates and new mates and old, new mates. I’ve mates I went to school with, blokes I have known for over 40 years. Blokes who have seen me in triumph and tragedy, in good health and bad, with a full, a broken and an empty heart. Blokes who have saved my life and nearly cost me it. Blokes who I would do anything for and they for me. So it’s not time which is the key factor here, although, It’s important. It’s knowing, trusting and loving some bloke long enough that you’ve only got to say “get here” and they would, no matter where you are, no questions asked.
Then there are new mates and old, new mates. Inevitably the delineation between those mates and old mates comes in a relocation. In my case, it was relocating from Brisbane to Mandurah in Western Australia. Apart from leaving family there, I left my old mates, most of whom remain my old mates, because that’s what old mates do. Now, in Western Australia, I have new mates and old, new mates. Old, new mates are new mates that you’ve been around long enough to have shared a lot of life with. I guess, the only thing missing is the time factor. I’ve got old new mates very close with and trust implicitly and it’s a privilege to have them. And then there are the new mates. These are blokes I’ve met fairly recently but I’ve struck up a warm friendship with and would be happy to help them and be helped by them in any circumstance.
Okay I don’t have some bio-Rolodex (let’s say bio-database for those younger readers) in my brain where I categorise my mates. So why was it so important to describe mateship, as it occurs to me, the author of One Mad Year? Well, because Steve Smith’s mate, Bill Leighton, is an ‘old mate’ as they went to school together. Unlike the author and my ‘old mates’, they still live close to each other. Bill Leighton’s relationship with Smith, significantly predates that of Smith and his wife. They were mates when they were daring each other to do stupid stuff, more and more dangerous stuff, showing off to each other and to girls. and they survived, together. They got drunk, angry and ridiculous, together, at least two decades before they met their wives. Each watched with a little dismay, as those wives took them away to another life.
But guess what? The goading remained, the absurd stories stayed, and the feeling of justification in doing anything reasonable to mimic independence, became a new phenomenon, shared between them. Which might explain why, looking from the outside at an old relationship , stupid things still get done, irrespective of the presence of an adoring, critical or horrified wife (select one).
My new mates and my old, new mates didn’t know me before I was married, which is the same as in the book. I just wanted to let you know I have plenty of time to get some stupid stuff done, fellas.
No matter what type of mate they may be, I am privileged to have them.
Comments