"It's good luck..."

Once upon a future, a latter day archeologist unearthed a fragment of ancient writing. This was a puzzle of the past. The boffins studied the language in their think tank. The epistle was deciphered by eager scholars of antique heritage linguistics, but some of the actual meanings of the bard's phrases might very well be misinterpreted. Still, the mere humans tried to do their best, competing to achieve universal and evolutionary accolades for uncovering their ancestors' strange habits.

One eminent student of human endeavours from an undated time shared her gold medal translation, with some limited commentary. It was presumed to have been scribbled in a stage in the pre-dawning of the modern age.

"Well, hello there, to all the over-sixties demograph reading today. Reading is the best food for the brain. Here is a nostalgic vignette to read, as Ava the scribbler wishes to lighten all our days. As we have matured, we are still glowing. We hope we spread the magic of love and happiness along our path."

"Footnote: Experts in these modern days do not recognize the expressions of 'love' and 'happiness'. These concepts occur frequently in ancient tongues and literature. Currently, humans do not experience such esoteric nonsense.)

"In the mistst of once being carefree honeymooners, we drove all the way across this great continent to Perth, in the middle of summer. No air-conditioning in the wheels, naturally. The noble Valiant leaked oil all the way there and back, somehow we arrived in Fremantle one hot day, full of sunshine."

"(Footnote: Previous commentaries have highlighted the primitive notion of humans binding themselves a duo, in ritual ceremonies. The word 'Valiant' means to be brave under duress. 'Fremantle' is a previously unknown term, perhaps a fictional setting, as the use of a capital is noted here).

"Visiting there, we planned to see the mighty, then state-of-art, metallic grey battleship when the American fleet was in port. This noble pride of the Yankees was nuclear-powered, a prototype of its kind. Free guided tours were offered. My husband, Gareth, was then a civil servant in the Department of Defence, where we met."

"Our American escorts were a classic pair, as they proudly showed us their ship. They were two young males were God-fearing lads from Idaho and Nebraska. They had enlisted to see the world, and serve democracy and freedom. A rapport was soon established, especially when we shared that we had only recently been married."

(Footnote: What will happen next? This commentator is fully engaged in pursuing this tale to read its conclusion. Prior annotations do embellish the references to a fantasy concept known then as 'democracy'. Later historians and scholars have discoursed that there was never any such notion. From its early inventions, there was no such thing as a true western liberal democracy. It was a noble fantasy, as slavery, armed conflict and corruption are inherent to our human nature, with its diverse control mechanisms. (Men!)

Ava's epistles continued. (The latter day commentator read on. What comes next in this chance encounter, a cross-cultural interaction?

"Ah!" The Yankee mariners grinned, "It's good luck to have a beer with newlyweds!" They marched us off to consult someone superior. The commanding officer listened. He gave them both a day off to see the sights of Australia in the seventies. We agreed to take them to some long forgotten hotel in Freo there, to see how good Aussie beers could be. Exploring West Australian ales with the newlyweds was going to bring them incredible good fortune, as well as their battleship, and all the naval personnel who sailed the seas."

"Footnote: Ales and beers were global intoxicating liquids, fermented in historical times from plants, so could be classified as salads. Plants are vegetables substances, largely extinct currently, now replaced by our superior synthetic substitutes, as farming is obselete. Unsound farming practices took too much of the planet's topsoil, contributed to dust storms and failed to adequately regenerate original habitats for all creatures. Agriculture could not survive excessive droughts, adding to international malnutrition).

"Never being much a drinker, I had one beer, as we toasted the carefree honeymoon of such bonhomie. I drank pub lemon squash, as my husband and the Yankees drank many a beer, many a beer .The kindness and alcohol kept on flowing, as they soon acquired a distinct taste for us Aussies and our welcome to our land."

(Footnote: Rapport created bonds and bonhomie, or instant friendship bonding.)

"After a while, a counter meal was thoroughly enjoyed, the freshest of seafood, as Fremantle is a seaside town. Best of hotel chips, cooked perfectly, plus salad. That preceded a long afternoon, as the lads kept on drinking many a beer. My husband soon had a taste for West Australian beers. The conversation flowed, comparing and sharing about some similar social customs from America to Australia."

(Footnote: The commentator kept reading, and overlooked the commentary for a few verses of this letter to an audience).

'These intrepid mariners arrived in Oz with some preconceived stereotypes. One of them was that they were visiting Australia to see our great kangaroos hopping up and down the main streets of every town in the land. My old man scoffed at such a notion."

"However, I can say that I have once seen a mob of kangaroos hopping in front of a car I was driving in a rustic jaunt some time later. I had to hit the brake, not the kangaroos. That would have been a fender bender. These days, I reside in a civilised suburb, with an arterial six-lane highway, where cars and traffic keep flowing busily quite nearby. On our local noticeboard online, there are almost daily cautions that there is one, maybe more, large grey kangaroos, bounding along our main, busy street. Spot the stereotype right here! It is good luck for motorists and the local Skippy that no one has flattened it. Maybe he or she fur pal has good road sense."

"To summarize, dusk approached on that evening for the carefree honeymooners and the now ancient mariners. These brave lads expressed their plan to meet some ladies of the night. Full of beers, my husband found them good luck by driving them to meet the local lassies, ready to welcome the Yankees when the fleet was in port. I suppose those two lads had good luck there too."

"I must say that all those beers and other grog did not bring our marriage much good fortune. It was not easy being married to an alcoholic with anger management issues. Many a beer, many a beer. But we did enjoy a love and happiness along our way. So, if you meet newlyweds, have a beer with them, and bask in the glow. Hope it brings you all good luck."

"Final footnote: These annotations of Ava's epic epsitles may highlight more of some futile optimism of the ancient world, well before the dawn of this enlightened currrent time).