Home is a warm place, a hearth of fire, flames and bodies gathering to swap stories as they cross into each other's lives. And so, with the fallen and the risen again, the extra long weekend sees the north eastern chunk of Australia rally to lead home 20 for dead in Easter.
From their measley fourth place of last year, Queensland hit the bass tempo to treble the score to 6. One more than the total days spreading the laconic nature of a back-to-back slamming of Easter and Anzac Day public holidays. Bountiful are the bodies, the numbers do follow. Even as another state goes for the double bag, it was all the sunshine state's record to bust.
Grasping the misericordia and twisting itself a spot of tainted silver, New South Wales once again the bridesmaid. Falling just short of their neighbours, casting a set of bananas to pocket 5 in their dark blue sleeve.
Victoria and Western Australia holding together on the bronze, 3 a piece for the states. The former adding one from a VCR player stuck with fuzz. Between the challenge of a slow-moving truck and a man trying to stunt his growth, the winner of that match invariably following the laws of competitive mass and that even a plod is enough for terminal velocity when going horizontal and across bitumen.
South Australia gets 2 thumbs up in number of body bags by the side of the piebald road. One down from the year before. Will scorch the earth again.
Squeezing one at the top of the hill, a young woman in a Nissan Skyline flys a single run into the charts for Tasmania. The only one for the state despite coming up in the middle of the road toll period. Opportunity at half.
And there, on the sidelines, the territories. Feeling no love in the game between the states as they grass each other to the Grim Reaper. The Northern Territory and ACT both sitting square on zero. The latter losing their touch. Rusty metal chassis of previous losing its shine.
Thus ends Operation Crossroads.
Written on Friday, 29 April 2011