Good Gracious

Clyde Adams – Perth Western Australia 2002

As I’ve mentioned before, we always had a close relationship with our second cousins in the Luckman family. In particular, as a child and later too, I had a fondness for Grace. She was much older than me, never married and largely stayed at home in Welbungin.

From an early age I always greeted her with a word-play on her name…. “Good Gracious”
She liked that, and it was a kind of theme throughout my childhood.

As so often happens, I lost contact in my early adult years. Then I heard the bad news that she was in the Charles Gairdner Hospital seriously ill with cancer. I hurried out there one afternoon, to check if I could see her. I was shown into her private room by a very caring nurse, who warned me that Grace was unlikely to awaken because of the effects of her treatment.

There she lay, on her right side, turned away from me and apparently sleeping peacefully. I sat beside the bed for several minutes, unsure whether or not to stay. Then, very quietly, I murmured “Good gracious”. After all those years, despite her physical suffering and without turning around, she said “Hullo Clyde. Nice of you to drop in. Haven’t seen you for ages”.

Yes, she was clearly very feeble, but she turned and we reminisced happily for some time. Then it was time to go….. and I never saw Grace again. She died shortly after. Do I still miss her after all these years? Good gracious, yes I do!