Over The Rainbow, part 1

Or ... I kissed a girl.

When I was young, I was a very curious person. My mother was 45 years old when I was born. My only sibling, a half-sister, was 20. My father died when I was seven. Whether it was the fact that my mother had no clue what to do with a child at that age or that she just didn’t give a rat’s ass, I’ve never been able to figure out. I was never punished for any infraction. I was never “taught” what was proper or improper. As a teenager, I had no curfew or rules. Through my curious nature, I learned what I could and would do and what I wouldn’t. I also read a lot. I watched television and movies. I asked questions, not of my mother or sister but from people I met or teachers. I experimented. Although I was willing to do most anything, I always let my head be in the lead and not my heart. Oh, my heart was there, it just was never in charge. As I grew older, the curiosity and free spirit waned and I became more of a shell of my former self. My heart became like the Grinch’s before the Who’s got to him.

During the last few years when everything around me was falling apart and menopause hit, out of the roiling, boiling mess that was my brain, a little spark flew out. That spark was lovingly tended by a wonderful friend and it reached out for more friends, more knowledge, and more life. The tiny, charred kitten of curiosity was reborn in me. Still more head strong than heart strong, but dammit, it was alive and my heart was growing! As the kitten began its first steps to becoming a cougar, I decided to go to Australia.

Amelia was a cyber-friend. We met on a Nickelback message board. She was in a miserable marriage and was in the process of leaving her husband. They’d been married a long time. I was trying to decide about leaving Mulder. Her life was similar yet totally different than mine. We were alike yet opposite. We became soul-friends. Amelia lived in rural Melbourne. She asked me to come and visit. What I thought was an impossible dream became a reality as my interest in living again grew. I wasn’t going back to the person I’d become, I was going to be the person I was supposed to be. I booked a flight to Melbourne, Australia for August of 2006.

I HATE flying. Seriously. But I packed my bags, got a ride to the airport and boarded an airplane to Los Angeles to hook up with my flight to Oz. I was going to fly for 24+ hours, alone! It actually turned out beautifully. Delta sucked but Quantas was awesome.
I arrived in Melbourne in one piece and totally calm. Amelia was standing outside as I stepped out and into the cool Australian air for the first time. We hugged, laughed and cried all at the same time. I made her laugh like crazy when I went to get into her car on the driver’s side and subsequently had great difficulty with a revolving door that I tried to get it to work the American way. I had told Amelia that I didn’t want to do tourist things; I wanted to see Australia the way Australian’s do. She did get me an Australian to do but that’s another story. We set off to have fun, explore and drink. Oh, Lord! We drank a lot.

I absolutely LOVE pubs. There is no comparison here in the States or at least I’ve never found places like pubs. They are the REAL “Cheers.” I also learned how to “shop like an Aussie.” We went into Melbourne for a couple days, we went into a store, looked around, then found the closest pub for a beer. After that we moved to the next shop, the next pub, and so on. It was the best shopping trip I ever had! We did do one tourist thing when we went to the Melbourne Aquarium. It was so amazing, probably ‘cause we were more than a little drunk. Who knew that a few days later Steve Irwin would be killed by a sting-ray like those in the aquarium?



Amelia took me to Agnes Falls and Walhalla, an old mining town in the mountains. We went to Sale where they had a Target! I ate all kinds of foods even Kentucky Fried Chicken. No coleslaw in Oz, you get two different kinds of potatoes. I never saw a single kangaroo or koala. I am probably the only American who went to Oz and didn’t get to see either. I did see an incredible amount of dead wombats. I love the word “wombat” and was sad I only saw the tits-up ones. Amelia is truly an amazing cook. Amelia is also one of the two women that I am lucky enough to know that just exudes SEX.

Both men and women are attracted to Amelia. She isn’t fabulously beautiful but she’s beautiful. She loves life, men, beer, women, beer, fun, music, animals, wine, beer and men! She loves me and I love her. Not the same love as I feel for Mulder or Art or my kids or Vincent, but I love her and she loves me and we were able to show each other that love when I visited Oz.

One night, after a visit to the local pub, Amelia asked me to cuddle her. I did.



(To be continued)