It only occurred to me recently how important the number 21 was in my life. From about two years of age, I lived at 21 Mayneview Street in Milton, Brisbane. Here is a link to photos of the house and its interior.
I lived there uninterruptedly until I was 21 years of age. A couple of weeks after my 21st birthday on April 3rd 1970, I was conscripted into the army. That was a hugely significant event in my life.
Prior to my conscription I had been completely aimless, dropping out of University and then out of a teachers training college. The experience, a brief nine months, was transformitive and I emerged from it with a renewed sense of purpose and direction. The time span of nine months of course is suggestive of a gestation period.
By my 22nd birthday I was out of the army thanks to my recently won conscientious objector status, I was employed full time as a high school teacher thanks to my uncle's assistance and was studying part time at the University that I had dropped out of in 1968. Turning 21 proved to be a pivotal year in determining the future direction of my life.
Looking forward to 1995, this year's number factorises to 3 x 5 x 7 x 19 or 21 x 95 and this was another pivotal year for me. My father died midway through that year and then later in that same year my then wife and I made the decision to leave Australia, marking the start of my adventures in Singapore, Jakarta and Shanghai.
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