by Jack Sunn
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Investigation into the early break-up of the reunion party drew to a rapid close when Sledge and Alf were arrested for armed assault and public nuisance and no mention was made by either of the lady in the dark slacks.
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I had not seen her for 13 years, and 13 years ago, I had bullied a short and tubby girl named Jill for nearly three months. At the party I had not had an opportunity to speak to her. She obviously had become taller and leaner than I remembered as well as dressed and groomed very smartly. She had also been athletically agile at the party, dispatching two thugs in quick succession. My interest in Jill had peaked.
Her business card provided no address, only the contact number which indicated she was probably 3-4 hours’ drive away. I rang the number and spoke to someone other than Jill. When I explained I was a policeman who had been at the re-union party, a time and date for a meeting were agreed upon and I was given an address near Clunes in the Northern Rivers district of northern New South Wales.
The rolling terrain of the countryside near Jill’s address was one of the pleasant allures of parts of northern New South Wales, and indeed a pleasant relief from many a dreary suburban police station in Brisbane, my main area of operation. A visit to the local beaches of Lennox Head and Byron Bay was also a possibility. I set off. I had no idea of how life for me was to change, and how Jill was going to be the main person responsible for that change.
With an updated GPS map, finding Jill’s secluded residence was free of miss-turnings. When at last I found the road number, no residence was visible. A narrow gravel track curved away into the property, with both sides near the end lined with neatly trimmed flowering ornamentals, bamboo hedges and fences. I turned in and slowly drove along the track. At the end of the track a parking area appeared and a small hut was visible. A hedge abutted the hut leaving only a door clearly visible. Above the door was a sign ‘Welcome to the CrossRoads’. Below was an attached note: If you have an invitation, please enter and knock on the door inside. I entered and knocked. The door was opened by Jill and I was escorted into a simply furnished room about 5m across with two chairs and a low table. A plain tea setting sat on the table, one pot and two cups. Windows on opposite sides of the room provided views of enclosed gardens, one colourful with flowering gingers and Heliconias, the other with what appeared to be unkempt weeds. A glass windowed door leading outside lured my eyes in another direction, suggesting ventures to come, unseen sights to be seen.
Jill poured tea for both of us and suggested we should enjoy the moment and refresh before proceeding further. The peacefulness of the setting combined with her quiet but controlled suggestiveness, cast a spell over my usual push and rush of police investigations. Her place, her rules, why not? Moments of serenity are often distantly placed in our lives, and the setting added to my intrigue. The tea was indeed pleasant and restful.
After the tea, I explained to Jill that Sledge and Alf, my – our, previous classmates were under arrest, were both in hospital, and that no other arrest or further investigation was likely. I also said that I wanted to talk to her in an informal capacity as I was intrigued with the events of the party. I explained the injuries sustained by Sledge and Alf and that they were in a state of general incapacitation for about six weeks. Jill’s facial expression gave absolutely no indication of emotional reaction to news of the injuries she had inflicted. She remained silent. So I changed the subject by complementing her on the neatness and simple beauty of the driveway hedging and reception hut in which we were seated and quickly followed with a question of what lay beyond the door leading outside. She responded by questioning me as to what I saw before coming into the hut. I thought what sort of question is that when I am used to people answering my questions, not them asking me.
“Jack. You are a police officer are you not? Are your observation skills well honed?”
I explained what I saw, driveway, hedges and fences, hut with signs, and a mirror in the entranceway.
Jill said, “Jack, did you not see your own car parked outside?”
“Well, yes,” I said.
“What did you see in the entranceway?”
“A mirror,” I replied.
“Anything else?”
I said, “What is this? What is this place? What do you do?”
Jill responded calmly as ever, “Did you not see yourself in the mirror?”
I replied with sharper tone, “Oh what is this?”
“Jack. I suggest that you return the day after tomorrow at the same time as today if you wish to proceed further.”
I asked about tomorrow but was given no response. With the grace of a sleek short-haired steel grey cat I was summarily shown to the door with a total absence of malice, anger or heightened emotion by Jill. I left wondering what had transpired and why was I leaving having resolved nothing, and with an invitation to return at her convenience, not mine. Intrigued, I spent the rest of the day at the beach, thinking, but not swimming. With my laptop computer I tried in vain to find any threads into Jill’s life during the past 13 years.
CHAPTER 5
Two days’ time: The offer. No return.
“Good morning Jack. Please come in and take a seat. I have arranged for a light meal to arrive shortly, in anticipation that you will be staying a little longer today. But first, let me ask what it was you saw in the interval between opening the outer door and coming through the second door. I ask you this not to be smart or to make you feel embarrassed. The same question was asked of myself nearly 12 years ago, and by someone you know, but more on that later.”
“And how did you answer?” I asked.
“I was young and naïve, and my attempt at answering was ineffective. My questioner helped me out by suggesting a line of thinking. Would you like me to share that with you?”
I agreed to this and Jill proceeded.
“Do you remember back in school how you used to try tormenting me and why you did it?”
Feeling now embarrassed at what I had done I tried answering as best I could. “In short you were a newcomer late in the school year. You were smart, but also overweight. In today speak – a fat smart newbie. My apologies please, if they be accepted at this late stage 13 years hence.”
“Good answer. Apology is not required. We all must let go to be able to move on. Yes. I was above average academically, but the education system in which you and I were a part of – or passed through – somehow had lost the true meaning of education. The word education comes from the word educere, meaning to ‘draw out’, not ‘stuff in’ merely for examination recall. A great thinker of the name Edward De Bono said education is obsessed with literacy and numeracy, and yet operacy, the skills of doing, are shamefully neglected. And this is where many of us become unstuck in school, unless learning a trade or a precursor for one. De Bono is largely right, and this is where my teachers, the ones I have had since leaving school have assisted me.”
“Firstly, did you see a fit and healthy person in the mirror outside, or one showing signs of delayed maintenance? Let me ask you another question which will help you think about this. Have you ever rented a car and not expected to pay for repairs needed at the end of the rental period? Not much choice is there. And yet we take our bodies for granted. Reality is our bodies are like one-off life-span rentals. We only get one, and if we do not look after it, it fails, or costs us dearly. Do you think it ironic that many people spend more time cleaning and polishing their cars and clothes, than they do maintaining their bodies? A car we can trade in if we so choose. No such luck with our body though. I digress. In short, I was shown my education was lacking, my operating skills were neglected, and I was long overdue for body maintenance. The choice, however, was mine, much like it will be yours soon to take, if you wish it.”
“Your card - Jill DD. What does DD signify?”
“Your observation and memory skills are alright Jack. It is a play on words and an abbreviation. Certainly not Doctor of Divinity or
some other academic acronym of limited worth. DD stands for door decider. I decide which door you are allowed through next.”
Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of refreshments. My eyes lighted up and my nostrils flared. Colour, lots of it, an enticing aroma and carefully considered presentation – the words exquisite and fastidious presentation came to mind. I later learned that the dishes were prepared by an amazing lady known as Sarim, who had been briefed by Jill on what she thought was my constitution and possible needs. The dishes included a multi-coloured salad with a lime based vinegar dressing, a small accompanying rice and fruit pilaf, and a mango lassie with a hint of mint and rosewater. Summertime lunch heaven. Wow. Jasmine tea was also brought out. We ate in silence punctuated only with the sound of pleasurable eating. Jill asked what I would see in the mirror if I looked again.
I replied with a beaming smile on my face, “Overweight out of condition fat guy who thinks that if the next door is offered to me I will accept.” With that Jill simply smiled.
The first door opened. There was no turning back. I had left the day of the lunch invigorated by what Jill had said and explained to me. I was on leave from work and due to return to the CrossRoads in a few days. My mind was clear and bright, a little like a small child awaiting presents at Christmas time or a birthday. I was excited. I was not going to a resort spa but something akin to a whole care school. I would have brief but intense training sessions that would give me sufficient, actually lots, to work on before returning to repeat the process many times.
When next I entered the hut, I was greeted by Jill and another lady. I could hardly contain my surprise. The other lady was Miss Fitzgerald, my English teacher from school.
“Jack, you look … may I introduce you to my friend and mentor Claire Fitzgerald.”
“Yes, yes, I remember well. It is a pleasure to see you again Miss Fitzgerald, though I must say I did not particularly enjoy English classes.”
“Perhaps an age thing with boys Jack. Also a reflection of the curriculum we were using. Jack, Jill has told me of how you both became re-acquainted. I believe you have an overview of what we expose our recruits to. I do so dislike the word student, since we are all students of life. After all, our purpose in life is to learn life’s lessons. It is our intention to place purpose and direction, and especially focus in what we believe to be an all-round education in operacy, ideally suited to adults who have experienced more of life’s challenges and also its disappointments than younger folk. The program is both physically and mentally oriented. I trust Jill in her approach to you. Though let me ask of you Jack, are you prepared to change through challenge and determination? But before you answer, let me say that we offer not a curriculum where if you turn up you get a piece of paper at the end. We have no such pieces of paper. Instead, when you leave after your first session, the choice to return is yours and yours alone. However, that said, progress has to be evident before further training is offered.” Miss Fitzgerald paused and looked straight at me. “If you choose to say yes and commence your first stay with us, I and others welcome you and hope you enjoy the challenges ahead. Now please excuse me. I leave you in the most capable company of Jill.”
Jill explained, “Our program equips you with a toolbox. The toolbox gives you skills to enhance all dimensions of your life. You will change yourself and be able to teach others to do the same. The tools change and tune you from the inside and extend out to your environment. Think of us as whole people trainers. We assist you to train your whole person. Briefly your education here includes comprehensive training in food, exercise and self-defence, use of your mind, language skills, meditation, relaxation, organisational skills, not only project and time management, but also importantly personal space awareness, home and societal environment, garden planning and use, survival and storage, strategies for dealing with extremes of isolation and crowding, perception of personal and group awareness, and importantly security. The importance of each of these aspects differs for each person who comes here. We arrange training in these life components centred on you, determining how important each aspect is to you personally. Take for example, diet. Diet is an overused and hackneyed word often conjuring up exclusion and timed duration. Rather than diet and exercise, we prefer to eat and train. Here we match your body type with the most suitable food range to suit you. My best or most desirable food range includes heating winter foods and cooling summer foods. This probably sounds normal. But if I eat excessive chilli in summer I am likely to get near uncontrollable dermatitis. For some people yeast products like bread or beer can cause all sorts of complications from indigestion to thrush infections. You no doubt have heard of people having food allergies. We try as best we can to assess as many of these as possible as well as degrees of tolerance to specific foods. We are not into boring foods or limiting your range, but realigning you and your environment for the best possible match. What we aim for is something similar to training elite performers. The training provides you with the capability of maximum performance to your ability for every breath of life you have. Training is threefold: personal instruction, self-tuition, and apprenticeship.
Personal instruction is usually one on one.
Self-tuition is comparable to guided homework for you to work through.
The apprenticeship component comprises on the job training with one or more of our associates in fulfilling contracted work here in Australia or overseas. Overseas contracts are becoming increasingly an important part of our business.
In effect, we offer a service of complete mind, body, environment and security improvement. Some of our clients, through positions of inheritance, power or wealth, already have highly developed skills in some areas, but have known or come to know that balance is not only desirable but readily accessible through our services. Think of us as complete management consultants. We provide services to individuals and families, as well as businesses and countries. Often our clients are very busy and therefore time challenged, so we must provide extremely precise and appropriate professional service. What we often find is that we come recommended by earlier clients. Never-the-less any scepticism on a new client’s mind must be lessened or removed entirely and as quickly and stealthily as possible. After initial introduction and interview it is imperative we make rapid progress to effect desirable change. After completion of the initial contract we invariably retain clients for ongoing work. We act discretely, barely being seen by our client’s associates unless referred to them also.
CHAPTER 6
Training begins. My first day of tuition at the CrossRoads began with Jill explaining the significance of my training, and started with a great biology lesson.
“Total body toning Jack, is where we start. Think of yourself as a nematode. That’s right, a round worm. Basically a tube from mouth to anus with a few twists along the way. Your body is only as healthy as the tube. And how do we ensure the tube is as healthy as possible? In short, appropriate input, appropriate movement, exercise or massage, and appropriate elimination. You will notice that your cabin has an adjustable bar under the front awning. This is your washing line. In olden days women often outlived their menfolk, and for good reason. Their lives did not end in retirement as many men’s lives did. They continued cleaning, cooking and washing. To re-incorporate some of their practice into your life, you will have a hand operated washing machine, and peg your clothes at the most acceptable highest height. To hang clothes at a low level and then raise them bypasses the opportunity of stretching every time you hang up a garment. Most everything you do will be part of your training. It is important to minimise short cuts. Movement of muscles, and especially movement and massage of internal organs is largely neglected by many in today’s information and computerised society. We will help you to balance that out. We’ll start with cleaning you both inside and out, body movement and food, before progressing into other disciplines.”
During the next six weeks I learned about things that I thought many people do
not even think about. Jill and Claire were not wrong about changing my habits and the way I moved my body. Washing clothes in a hand operated washing machine followed by hanging them up after stretching to a height was not what I was used to, but quickly became routine. I installed the same system at my Brisbane residence to maintain continuity. Another big change was induced in the flexibility and strength of my hip muscles and joints. Pedestal toilets are the norm in the Western World at the expense of our health and flexibility. Though easy to use, the bowel and elimination passage are poorly aligned for their function when using the raised seat position. Move to traditional Asia, and people maintain flexibility and readily use squat toilets. So guess what? The CrossRoads campus had adjustable pedestals. The height is lowered over time to make the transition less challenging. In summary, clothes washing to increase core and upper body strength and stretch, squat toilets for increased flexibility and healthy elimination. All part of a normal day’s activities.
