Most people are familiar with the quote from “A Streetcar Named Desire” – “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”. In a quite radical way Bon was a kind stranger to me on several occasions but the occasion that stands out is the time he invited me to get on the back of his trail bike for a ride along a beach near Adelaide. I was my usual depressed, introverted, screwed-up self but Bon had a radical course of action that ‘snapped’ me out of it. We rode at great speed through a wide tidal stream that was flowing across the beach. Water blasted me like a fire hose and I was totally soaked. We then rode headlong into the side of a high sand dune and we were both thrown off the bike as it stopped suddenly in the sand. I was thrown down the hill and Bon was thrown further up the hill. He was grinning down at me and I burst into laughter. Bon said “I knew you would either laugh or hit me”. Such was the Bon Scott cure for depression and paranoia and all forms of mental illness. I am most grateful to have known Bon. Happy 75th birthday Bon!
John Bisset (Fraternity)
July 7, 2021