farmdoc's blog post number 46

I once read that films are of two types – those you disappear into, and those you grow out of. Lars and the Real Girl, which sweetheart Vivienne and I watched last Sunday, is definitely in the latter category. In it, because of their affection for Lars, members of his small community play along with, and perhaps enter into, his delusion. Mole Creek, where I live, is a small community. Some families have been Mole Creekians for generations, and they exude a perceptible air of xenophobia. Maybe they resent the newcomers’ values and aspirations. I don’t know. But though a member of Mole Creek’s Fire Brigade and Progress Association, I don’t feel part of the community here. That’s okay because my priorities are elsewhere: living a decent, respectful and productive life; and being a loving, available and dependable relative and friend. I view friendship as a mutually participative process. In other words, unless my expressions of friendship are substantially reciprocated, then it’s not a friendship. Last Friday, when I was in Melbourne, some trees fell and blocked my Mole Creek driveway. Sharon – my sharefarmer and neighbour – phoned her friend Harvey who brought his chainsaw, and together they worked for a couple of hours to clear the driveway for me. That’s what friendship and community are about, eh Lars.