There was no shortage of company on the river though, with campers spread along the banks, fishers trying their luck from a procession of boats on the water — and three thousand corellas wheeling around above the trees at dawn each day to wake us up.
Our furry cousins from Melbourne turned up, along with lots of little people, so The Boss tried to make the best of it with a fire on the river bank Saturday night where they could toast their marshmallows.
It didn’t take long for them to work their way through a huge packet of pink and white ones and The Boss quickly slid back inside to watch the Tigers snatch their second win of the season, which made him tolerable company for the rest of Easter.
“Staying home has some advantages, General,” he confided. The Bombers won as well, which cheered up more of the family, and finally the Cats came home, too, so it took the pressure off the dogs and there were plenty of treats and pats to go around.
About that time, the news broke that the Pope had died and we had the feeling the television networks were ready for it after his recent illness, quickly wheeling out footage of his visits to impoverished peoples and countries over the past 12 years.
The day before, Easter Sunday — the most important day of the Christian calendar — Pope Francis had blessed the faithful crowding into St Peter’s Square. He also met briefly with US Vice-President J.D. Vance, whom he had previously taken to task over his views on migration.
Easter Sunday, of course, commemorates the resurrection and has come to be celebrated as a time of renewal and hope. The Boss pointed out that the Easter egg he held in front of me represented new life, although it’s not something I was thinking of as I tried to snatch it from his hand.
“You’re not alone in missing the point, General,” he said, pulling it away. “And no chocolate for you anyway!”
But he reckoned the messages of Francis — the first Latin American Pope and the first Pope from outside Europe — would continue resounding over the next several weeks as a new Pope is chosen and a coterie of lesser world leaders line up to be seen at his funeral.
They will include The Donald, of course, who clashed with the Pope several times during his first term: Francis first criticised Trump’s separation of migrant children from their parents, then criticised his roll-back of environmental protections.
Later in 2016, Francis — long a defender of the poor and dispossessed — suggested the building of walls instead of bridges was “not Christian”, which The Donald immediately described as “disgraceful”.
But at the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday, The Donald announced he had signed an executive order for US flags to fly at half-staff in the Pope’s honour.
“He was a good man,” the master of the shameless backflip told reporters. “He loved the world and it’s an honour to do that.”
And of course he’s heading to the funeral. He must be hedging his bets for heaven. Woof!
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