08/05/2026
Shopping Day..I am at Woolies doing my weekly routine of shopping. I hear 2 guys next to me talking rather vociferously...one big fat guy, louder than the other..guessing both about 18 years old. You could hear them in any aisle you were shopping..loudmouth bastards I thought.Convo ends when they part...the big fat guy yells out to his mate..See ya Digger. I pulled him up and asked him why he called him Digger..My mate he says. You have no right to call him Digger big fella I said. Diggers fought overseas and died so you could have a better quality of life mate..They earnt the right to be called Digger..look up the meaning of Aussie Digger sometime mate..you may learn something. What would you know about Digger anyway he says to me. I did 12 months in the dirty stinking jungles of Vietnam as an infantry rifleman along with thousands of others..1967/8 to be precise. The next thing came as a shock..he extended his arm out to shake my hand..I received his gesture. What he said to me, I wil probably never forget. He said, I am truly sorry for the way I addressed you..I had a great uncle who fought in Vietnam. You guys in my eyes are all heroes for tolerating the way you were treated by both pollies and civillians. I am truly sorry for offending you and I wish to salute you..no need to salute me mate, I said. I was just a baggy arsed private doing what he was asked to do. As he left, he turned around and said,,great to meet you Digger..nearly tore me in half..so there, the fat boy with the loud mouth did have a heart. Just tone your voice down mate..you would wake up the dead..let your mate know about our convo..then I said..enjoy life..he smiled and walked away..
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