COMMENT
Years ago, while we were making our way through a never ending series of security checks at Sydney Airport, my elderly mother following two paces behind me set off one of those doorway type alarms as she walked through.
Now while most people would do that maybe once in their
lifetime if they were unlucky, for the members of our clan it is quite a regular occurrence.
So much so that in Sydney back on that fateful day Big Mama had already "assumed the position" - arms outstretched and legs shoulder width apart - before the security guard with the manual electric wand thing had even asked her to do so.
Then as he tried to explain what was going to happen, she sighed one of those "heard it all before" sighs, said 'It's all right dear" and launched into a full-on explanation of how our family has been setting alarms off since they were invented.
There's a feeling among my kin that its down to our fondness for trying different foods (rather than gulping down a handful of mineral laden dirt) and somewhere along the line our ancestors have ingested some metallic element that makes us particularly sensitive to those sensor-type alarms.
Anyway. The other weekend I needed golf stuff. There's a big tournament coming up and they didn't have any at the mall Mrs P wanted to visit.
So, the night before, we planned our approach.
We'd take two cars. I'd go to my mall, get my golf stuff and have a look round and meet her later at her shopping centre.
Next day, in typical Sunday lie-in mode, Mrs P was still dreaming about Rod Stewart as I headed off.
