Pat Ritter. Books

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'Awesome - OMR - Stories' - Page 15:

Wait For Me.

Stanley stood on the dock to see the ocean liner pull away from the port. Sophia stood on the deck waving good-bye. It was a chance meeting when Stanley met Sophia. Friday night Stanley didn’t have much to do and decided to visit a nightclub in Brisbane. He wasn’t a nightclub person however after what his mates had told him it was the place to meet the opposite sex.
People were dancing when he arrived so he decided to go to the bar and have a drink. ‘Pot of beer, thanks mate,’ he said to the barman and handed over a five dollar note. As quick as a flash the barman returned with a pot of beer and a few coins in change.
Why he was at the night club he didn’t know. He’d rather be at the top pub at Nundah where his mates hung out but they reassured him he would meet his dream girl tonight at the night club in Fortitude Valley. Did they know something he didn’t know?
His eyes scanned the audience in hope he may sight this dream girl. What a stupid thought, he didn’t know who she would be or what she looked like. It was a pig in a poke to use a term he often used when unsure of what he ever wanted from life. Take a chance; he told himself, you never know if you never have a go.
As if the sea had opened up to let Jesus walk on water, a beautiful blonde stepped into his sight. Perfume tickled the hair in his nostrils, his eyes glued to the sight of her. What a woman, he thought. She wouldn’t be interested in me, he pondered. Without glancing away she approached him and stood beside him at the bar.
‘Hi there,’ he muttered almost too frightened to say anything.
‘Hi there yourself.’ An American accent flowed from her lips. Stanley couldn’t believe this person spoke to him.
‘I’m Stanley.’ He stuttered and shoved his hand out to shake her hand. Their eyes met for the first time, hers ocean blue, his green.
‘I’m Sophia.’ She whispered close to his ear. Stanley felt an instant shudder go through his body.
‘Can I buy you a drink?’ He asked gaining more confidence. She nodded. ‘What do you drink?’
‘Whiskey and water.’ Was her reply.
Stanley ordered the drink and before it arrived they were in deep conversation. Sophia was on a world tour and stopped over in Brisbane.
They talked throughout the night. Stanley had never met anyone like Sophia before and now believed his mates were right he went to the night club. As the dawn broke the horizon, Sophia said to Stanley, ‘Wait for me.’
Stanley was in love for the first time in his life.
Word count: 473
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'Awesome - OMR - Stories' - Page 17:

Between A Rock And A Hard Place.

No son of mine is going to be a copper, my father spat; you’ve got to swear to arrest your own mother or father. Ever since I can remember all I ever wanted to be was a policeman, not only a policemen but a detective. I was half way through Junior in high school and wanted to apply to become a police cadet in the Queensland Police Force.
Without my parents consent there was no hope until I turned twenty-one years of age. In the day and age of parental control there was no way I could convince my father otherwise. I was in between a rock and a hard place. In those times you did exactly what your parents told you without argument. They were the law.
From that faithful Sunday afternoon when I approached my father about my request the matter was never mentioned again, either by him nor me. Without his consent I was up that proverbial creek without a paddle.
My ambition to become a policeman didn’t waver the least over the following six years. In my dreams each night filled with creations of being a law enforcement officer. At last I turned the age of consent and eagerly presented to the local police station. At first when I sighted the officers in uniform little bubbles of hope almost burst with pride to serve the community.
In those days to join the force one needed a grade eight (scholarship) pass, 20-20 vision, healthy and a need to want to become a police officer. I thought, that’s no trouble – I’ll pass with flying colours. Not only did I fail a spelling test by obtaining 3 out of 20, I also failed an eye test. An officer advised me to see an eye specialist and purchase a grade 8 spelling book and memorise the words. Alas, I was again between a rock and a hard place.
For three months I memorised each word in the spelling book. An eye specialist cleared my sight by issuing a letter of approval, so I again fronted for another entrance examination.
On this occasion I passed with flying colours and was admitted to the Queensland Police Barracks as a Probationary Police Officer. After four months of training I was officially sworn in as a Police Constable.
At the swearing-in parade my parents attended and I didn’t know whether to arrest my father but reassured him if he broke the law he would be arrested.
Throughout my career spanning twenty years I did become a detective and many times I was in between a rock and a hard place but somehow escaped.
Word count: 449
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'Awesome - OMR - Stories' - Page 18:

Charlie’s Ghost.

What is it about comedy? Naturally its there to make us and when I view the television programme Two and a Half Men, I can’t help but . Its stupid comedy however there is something that tickles my funny bone and suddenly my stomach tightens and ter explodes from within me.
Over the time I’ve been watching the programme, probably about two years, each week I’ve seen Charlie Sheen, the main actor in the show, progress from a likeable character to one of disgrace as evidenced by his off-screen antics. It’s disheartening to see an actor of his ability and stature fall from grace. Who could forget the disgraceful display he exhibited in his well publicised one man shows.
Now the produces of the show Two and a half men have sacked him – ‘his show’ as he called it. ‘It will not succeed without him’ he commented or shouted at the reporter. We’ll see!
Ashton Kutcher replaced the character in the show. He’s the husband of Demo Moore who was once married to Bruce Willis. What a tangled web there is in Hollywood.
Before I watched Charlie Sheen in ‘Two and a half men’ he was a fine actor performing in movies, television but for a reason only known to him, he changed. He went off the rails and crashed. Could it have been the money? For one session of Two and a half men it was reported his earnings was $1.5m. His notable father, actor Martin Sheen, showed disgust how his son behaved this way. He almost disowned him at one point.
I look forward to seeing if Charlie’s Ghost appears in future episodes of Two and a half men. Or, can Ashton Kutcher emulate Charlie Sheen on screen and make me . Both men are different actors. Perhaps Demi Moore will get to be a surprise special guest in the show – who knows.
Although Charlie Sheen is no longer in the show, in my opinion I don’t think the show will be the same without him and there will always be in the background Charlie’s Ghost.
Word Count: 354
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'Awesome - OMR - Stories' - Page 19:

Shadows.

‘We going to the movies?’ my cousin stated.
‘What’s on?’ I asked.
‘Cliff Richards and the Shadows in ‘Summer Holiday’, it’s supposed to be a great movie. Anyway, I want to see Cliff Richards.’ He replied in an excited voice.
Danny was twelve years old and I ten. Cliff Richards was top of the charts on the local radio with hits from his movies. His band ‘The Shadows’ played electric guitar, base and drums.
Cliff Richards was the major actor in the movie with members of his band playing cameo roles. The movie was initially set in London. Cliff Richards played a mechanic and wanted to drive a double-decker bus with his friends from London through Europe on a summer holiday. Throughout different stages of the movie Cliff stopped the bus and started to sing. Miraculously his band ‘The Shadows’ were like a shadow followed him around the countryside. They appeared from behind trees playing their instruments.
These were the days when ten year old boys, such as me and many others enjoyed rock and roll music. I remember reading about Cliff Richard when I was that age. His music interested me and I would feel comfortable listening to songs sung by him. They were sweet and innocent.
Before ‘The Shadows’ began their career they were known as ‘The Drifters’. Cliff Richards changed his name from Harry Webb to Cliff Richards and his band became known as ‘Cliff Richards and the Shadows’. The reason they changed their name from ‘The Drifters’ to ‘The Shadows’ was because at the time in America was a group named ‘The Drifters’ and they didn’t want confusion.
Who could ever forget when ‘The Shadows’ released ‘Apache’ an instrumental by Jerry Lordan, which topped the charts for five weeks? That year I commenced High School and everyone I knew who played a guitar tried in vane to play ‘Apache’.
Another great hit Cliff Richards performed with his band ‘The Shadows’ was ‘Bachelor Boy’. This song must have been an omen for him because at the ripe of age of seventy plus he remains a ‘Bachelor Boy’ and ‘The Shadows’ remain his shadow.
Word count: 360
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'Awesome - OMR - Stories' - Page 20:

The Bomber.

He was a true blue Aussie – red hair with freckles and always carried a bright smile. Johnny Reid was his name. In 1974 he commenced the ‘Bomb Squad’ being the only member. At the time I was Plain Clothes Constable with the Armed Hold-up Squad. The Bomb Squad office was next door with a single desk and what appeared to be rubbish scattered around the room. Each piece of rubbish was useful to the only member of the Bomb Squad. It meant nothing to anyone else.
Before his appointment, Johnny undertook rigorous training with the army bomb disposal unit. He was dedication with his position always uppermost in his mind. At his home he had a police radio. As soon as he’d hear of any bomb threat, he was on the job.
On one occasion I had the unenviable task of attended a bank hold-up with him. A radio message broadcasted across the police channels about a bank hold-up in progress at the Bank of New South Wales.
‘I’ll drive,’ he screamed at me and off we went at a speed far in access of the sixty kilometres per hour allowed on the road. We arrived as the Bank Robber was making his escape. He threatened staff he would let off a bomb if they didn’t hand over the money. Shaking from the drive in under eight minutes, I was relieved when Johnny bought the Police vehicle to a screeching halt in front of the bank.
In the meantime the Bank Robber escaped but not far enough away from the bank. What happened next should be recorded in the annuals of police history as a sign of not what to do.
Johnny saw a male running from the bank and assumed it was the bank robber. He gave chase calling out to this person to stop. This person kept running. Johnny discharged a couple of rounds of ammunition from his police revolver into the air. The person seemed to run faster.
The chase was on with Johnny gaining on the would-be robber and myself trying to keep up. The hunted person stood behind a lamp post and called out to his chaser, ‘don’t come any closer, I’ve got a bomb and I’ll blow us up.’
By this time Johnny secured a position on the opposite side of the lamp post to talk with the man to get him to give himself up. My position at the time was one street lamp post away but I could see and hear what was happening.
‘Don’t come any closer or I’ll pull the plug.’ I heard the man behind the lamp post call out.
Without blinking an eyelid Johnny said, ‘if you’ve got the guts - do it.’ There was an explosion. Money and body parts spattered everywhere. And that is how Bomber Reid got his name.
Word Count: 478.
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'Awesome - OMR - Stories' - Page 21:

A Long Long Time Ago.

A long, long time ago a baby was born on the 16th June 1903. Hannah Francis Gibson was her name. She was born in Cunnamulla, aboriginal name stretch of water because it was situation on the banks of the Warrego River.
This baby was the eldest child of Joe and Hannah Gibson. Joe was a shearer and in 1891 was one of the major instigators in the well known ‘shearers strike’. It was during this time Joe changed his name from Ryan to Gibson in order to continue his shearing in the area. He’d stolen the identity from the person Gibson who was employed as a shearer. How he did this, no one knows.
Joe and Hannah had another three daughters. After the birth of the final daughter, Hannah died leaving Joe to cope with raising their four daughters. Hannah Francis was ten years old when her mother passed on giving birth to her baby sister.
Joe couldn’t cope alone with his daughters, especially the recent birth and gave his daughters away to the folk of Cunnamulla ‘like a litter of pups’. Mary, the most recent baby was taken by relatives to live in Warwick. Hannah Francis would never see her sister again.
Hannah Francis went to live with a family who owned the local drapery shop and there worked from dawn until dusk, minding children, washing and ironing, looking after the shop and any other chore her fostered mother would care to give her.
When she turned fourteen years old she left Cunnamulla to work on a sheep and cattle property named ‘Wirrigin’ an out-station on the massive station, Dyvoner Downs forty kilometres west of Cunnamulla. Here she worked as a kitchen maid tirelessly scrubbed wooden floors until bleached; boiled clothes in a copper; ironed with a pots iron heated on the huge stove, provide wood for the stove and the many chores required as a kitchen maid.
When she became an adult she left ‘Wirrigin Station’ to return to Cunnamulla. World War 1 finished. She met a handsome returned soldier Daniel Thomas Wilson and after a short romance they married. Tom, as he wanted to be called was a shearer. Together they raised seven daughters. When the daughters completed school, Tom and Hannah decided to leave Cunnamulla and move to Brisbane for the sake of their children to give them a better life.
Their lives were happy until World War 11 arrived. They were living at Ascot, a suburb close to the airport of Brisbane where the Japanese planes flew over and threatened their lives.
After the war Tom contacted cancer and passed away. Hannah and Tom were married for thirty years. Hannah decided to return to the country and there fell in love and remarried. She outlived this husband after another thirty years of marriage. Hannah Francis Langley was a loving and wonderful human being, warm and considerate. I should know because I am her grandson.
Word count: 497
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'Awesome - OMR - Stories' - Page 22:

Waves.

What makes us as human beings excited to the point of ecstasy when endorphins rush to our brain and overfill it with joy? When I have a wager, my mind erupts into pictures of winning money. I see myself throwing my arms in the air, a huge smile on my face and a heart almost bursting from my chest. Throughout my life these waves of hope have happened each time I’ve place a bet either on a horse in a race, taking a ticket in lotto or even placing a bet with keno. My mind overflows with thoughts of what I would do with the winnings.
After a lifetime of wagering in the hope to win that BIG PRIZE, I continue to ride my waves of hope. Each week I’ve got to continue for without these waves of hope I hold no chance at all in collecting the BIG PRIZE.
Only a couple of weeks ago at the Cooyar RSL Club I placed my usual wager of six numbers on keno. Whilst sitting and watching each number light up – five of the six numbers were there. I only needed number 2 to win the huge prize of six numbers. Over and over in my mind I repeated number 2, number 2, and suddenly number 2 came up. All six numbers were there displayed on the television screen. All I could say was ‘yes’ and punched the air with my fist.
My heart pounded; my mind almost exploded when suddenly I realised I’d ridden my waves of hope and at last won a BIG PRIZE. In my excitement I instantly wanted to share my news with someone; I saw Pam playing the poker machines. ‘That’s good’, was all she replied and returned to playing her machine.
The game I play is six numbers at a cost of 10 cents per game with a keno bonus. Each game shows a bonus of either a standard game from two to a bonus of ten. This game was a bonus of two; I won twice the amount of prize money. It costs a total of $20.00 for 100 games. This win gave me a dividend of $360.00.
In this instant my waves of hope worked however in many cases it hasn’t worked. Do I give up – not on your Nellie? I’ll continue with my waves of hope and hopefully win the BIG PRIZE either in lotto or keno. You may ask why I continue to believe in my waves of hope to win the BIG PRIZE. Why not! Life is too short and I’ve been gambling using my waves of hope ever since I can remember from the age of ten years old.
In that time I’ve never won the BIG PRIZE however there are still many years left. My waves of hope will carry me through and it will come true just like the keno win.
Word count: 487
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'Awesome - OMR - Stories' - Page 23:

Never Give Up.

Napoleon Hill stated in his book Think and Grow Rich the words – Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit. Many years ago I was browsing a bookshop and a title of a book flashed into my zone. This book was titled ‘Never Give Up’. I purchased it and took it home to read.
The author wrote the book to help others who wanted to give up on life. It was a strong message of hope and resilience. His story began when he was a qualified barrister practicing law in Melbourne. It was during the early 1980’s. He owned his own law practice and the lion’s share of his clients came from the Melbourne underworld. More times than not he’d win their court case and they’d be exonerated.
One thing lead onto another and he became involved in money laundering. Members of the underworld gave him money to launder through casinos. Life couldn’t have been better; he had a wife and family, a highly regarded law practice, and drove the latest BMW.
Eventually the money laundering stopped and to keep up his gambling habit, he stole money from the trust accounts of his practice. On losing the trust account money he was arrested and sentenced to seven years imprisonment. He lost his wife, children, law practice and his BMW.
Whilst in prison he was protected by prisoners whom he’d previously defended in court and made several new acquaintances. On his release on parole, he and another prisoner whilst drunk armed themselves with a firearm and robbed a liquor store. This time he received fourteen years in jail.
One evening he was lying on the bunk in his cell and thought how his life had changed over the previous decade. His thoughts told him the only person who now was in his life was his mother who had never given up on him. He’d never spoken or seen his wife and children.
He was grossly overweight; depressed and wanted to end his life. Then a flash bulb went off in his mind; a spark of hope for the future he decided at that moment to run a marathon, a distance of forty-two kilometres, in ten years.
His attitude changed. In the exercise yard of the prison, the size of a tennis court, he commenced to walk. He changed his eating habits. He read literature about exercise and healthy eating.
Over the next decade he continued his regime of exercise and diet and eventually on being released from prison completed a marathon. Not only did he complete the marathon he became an entrepreneur and invited world leaders to visit Australia and speak. His story was inspirational in that he NEVER GAVE UP until he reached his goal of what he wanted to do.
Word count: 472
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'Awesome - OMR - Stories' - Page 24:

The Lady Killer.

Detective Bundy Quicksilver peered at the elderly lady found dead in the hallway of her home. He absorbed each small detail to piece together the jigsaw of how this tragic homicide happened. Around her neck a thin cord, obviously used to strangle her. Congealed blood was on her right hand on the webbing in between the thumb and forefinger. Her mouth open indicted torture suffered at the hands of her killer, gasping her final breath.
Money was stolen from the cash register from the store, how much was not known, because the only person who knew was now dead. How was this killer to be found? It must be someone who knew her, or a regular customer at the store. With part of the jigsaw puzzle worked out there were many pieces yet to be discovered.
By chance, or could it have been great police work, a male person was apprehended while spending fifty cent pieces at a hotel. Detective Bundy Quicksilver commenced to question the suspect. They drove to the suspects home and there discovered a travelling bag and on searching the bag found many more fifty cent pieces and other coins.
After hours of interrogation the suspect admitted killing the woman. How he did it was another story. He admitted he went to the rear of the store and found the lady in the kitchen. She had her back to him. Silently he stole past her and went to the cash register. When he pushed the key to open the till it made a loud ring sound. Before he could do anything the owner stood behind him and recognized him by name.
He swung around and punched the elderly lady in the chest forcing her bodily back past the open toilet door. When she landed on the floor her head struck the pedestal and knocked her unconscious. The killer thought he’d killed her and returned to the cash register to empty the contents. When he was about to leave he heard murmur sounds coming from her. He knelt down and grabbed her around the waist and as he did so she swung her arms around his waist.
In his right hand hind pocket in his trousers was a knife with the blade sticking out. Her right hand pieced the blade and blood spurted from the wound. In his haste to finally kill the woman the killer pushed her to the floor. Above his head was a cord hanging from the ceiling to switch the light on, he cut the cord with his knife, placed the cord around the neck of the woman and strangled her.
When he appeared in court, headlines in the local newspaper read, ‘The Lady Killer’ was caught.
Word count: 458.
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'Awesome - OMR - Stories' - Page 25:

His Or Her Misfortune.

Saturday night became one of those nights which I dread to think about. We attended a birthday party at a hotel to celebrate the seventieth birthday of a friend. I didn’t mind going to dinner at the hotel, it gave me an opportunity to play my favourite gambling game – keno, but my mind wasn’t fixed on celebrating the birthday; instead I wanted to win the major prize in keno.
Whilst waiting for our birthday girl to arrive, I pondered the likelihood of myself celebrating seventy years and wondered if my family would take me to a hotel to celebrate the occasion. We waited for the other guests to arrive. I asked my partner, ‘do you want to play keno.’
‘Knowing you – you’d probably put it on anyway – put on a game for me then.’ She filled out a gaming coupon. My usual game of keno is to select six numbers, at a cost of ten cents a game, also include the keno bonus and play the same numbers for one hundred games. This gave me five hours of entertainment for a cost of twenty dollars.
I placed a similar game for my partner. She played six numbers at a cost of one dollar per game for twenty games for an investment of twenty dollars. She has no keno bonus and the games play for one hour.
The guest of honour arrived with the remainder of the family and we got to chatting about family things, the weather and how everything else in this wonderful world was going.
When I play keno I always place myself in a position at the table to see each game. My numbers are fixed in my mind so if at anytime one of these numbers appears on the scene my mind takes an excited jump of ‘come on’! In one game, five of my numbers appeared on scene and I was waiting for the number 5 to be drawn to make it six numbers. The bonus game was showing five times the amount. If the number 5 appeared before the conclusion of the game I would win nine hundred dollars. Alas number five didn’t appear so instead I won forty dollars.
A couple of games later my partner turned to me and said, ‘all I need is number eleven to win.’ Her eyes glued to the monitor she wished for number eleven. It didn’t appear. Because five numbers came out instead of six she won eighty dollars. She missed out on eighteen hundred dollars.
Instead of winning a total of twenty-seven hundred dollars between us we won one hundred and twenty dollars. It was his and her misfortune.
Word count: 450.
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