Vox Pop - Stuck in Ettamogah

Vox Pop

In 1990, I was traveling with a group of agricultural exchange students in Australia. We circled most of the eastern half of Australia in a car we bought for 600 Australian dollars. As we passed through one of the more remote areas, we came across an establishment called the Ettamogah Pub. A kind of tourist trap really, with a sign out front that says, 'Free Beer Tomorrow.”

The joke part of that is that you can look around and think that noone has actually ever been here “tomorrow.” There's not much more there than the pricey beer they are serving today. I bought a shirt and we continued on our way.

It is entirely possible that our 600 Australian dollar General Motors product could have left us stranded at any time, any place. There were times and places. We could have been left stranded at the Ettamogah Pub with the opportunity to see if the beer was really free tomorrow. There was not much for services there and there was no telling how long it could take to get a car fixed so we could put the Ettamogah Pub behind us.

Maybe that is where we are as a country now. Stuck somewhere with our ever pricier beer, limited services, and a proprietor that insists that it will definitely be free tomorrow. Funny thing about the proprietor is that while he extolls the virtues of what he is serving, you never actually see him drink the stuff. Some people came to the pub with enough money that they don't seem to mind the prices. I'll stick to my water, and wait to see how the 'free beer tomorrow ' thing works out.

On the bright side, there's a lot of company here at the pub and even the ones drinking the beer are easy enough to get along with. We might as well make the most of it. It's just 3 o'clock in the afternoon and it looks like it's going to be a long night. I hope people aren't too disappointed when the sun comes up.

— Kevin Paul, Medford