A few years ago (BB ie, before babies} I took a trip out to Alice Springs for a month of working in the Hearing Centre in the town and doing various remote trip to Aboriginal Communities. On one trip, I was to meet an Aboriginal Health Worker at the airport where we were to board a plane for Warburton, a very isolated town in the north west of WA. She hadn’t shown up when it was close to boarding time and I was getting a bit stressed out.

The plane was a 6 seater, and we had to be weighed and all our luggage weighed to make sure that the plane wouldn’t fall out of the sky. I had my turn at the weighing in and checked my name off the plane passanger list. I sat down and was half listening to the crusty bloke behind the counter who was checking in an equally crusty farmer called Frank. Frank was going on a different plane in the other direction to me. My ears perked up however when the counter guy looked down the passanger list and said”ok, Francis Freeman, shit Frank weve got you on the Warburton Flight. Lucky I noticed that, better get you off that list and onto the right one”. I jumped up out of my seat, already freaked out at the fact that I might have to make this trip alone, and then further startled that I might be shoved off the plane altogether. I ran over and said “no wait, I am Frances Freeman, and I am supposed to be on that Warburton flight”. Well they looked at me, the stupid city girl with no idea, had a laugh at my expense and then commented how funny that it was theat we both had the same name. I was not laughing on the inside!!

In the end, Maryanne the Health worker turned up, we flew out to Warburton and I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. One day I’ll write about that here.