One of the meanings of a "rev head" is, in Australia, a car enthusiast. This is not exclusively tied to males or females. Some blokes I know couldn't care less about their vehicle of choice, as long as it gets them from A to B and some girls understand more about the mechanics of a car than I know about our artists in the East End Gallery.
And just because I have absolutely no clue about the workings of any vehicle doesn't mean that I am not in awe of rev heads and their glorious obsessions. Listening to rev heads wax lyrical about the four-wheeled loves of their lives is as surprising and absorbing as the first time I experienced one of Michael's many stories of the history of the Goldfields.
There are people who just make their passions come to life. Michael is one. Adam Ward is another.
We have known Adam and his wife Gem for a number of years now. They bought their dinky little doer-upper during the last Great Flood here in Heavenly Beverley. They were not in the least perturbed that the garden was actually under water. Gem is cheerfully open to her lack of a green thumb, so a flooded yard meant she didn't have to water for quite some time.
Adam is a big cheerful boof of a man with a kid's face and curly black hair. Gem is exotically gorgeous, given a cocktail of different nationalities in her bloodlines. They divide their time between their unit in suburban Perth and Windward Retreat, high above the Avon River on the edge of town. Their cats Boofhead and Ranga travel with them backwards and forwards. Boofhead is the spitting image of his Dad.
BORMSA (Beverley Off-Road Motor Sports Association) is an institution. Previously the enclave of older blokes, BORMSA is currently attracting younger rev heads such as Adam and Jarrod, a seventeen-year-old who tore up a very good time at last years final Khanacross. I think that BORMSA's future has to be secure with the next generation joining up.
Adam's current joy is the Festy AF (As Fuck), a modified Festiva with a low centre of gravity, painted an iridescent purple, plastered in appropriate stickers, with groovy tail lights and an awesome back spoiler. Adam has spent many many hours in his quest to bring the Festy Festiva to its crowning glory.
Given that Gem has declined to remain as Adam's navigator, Michael has enthusiastically stepped into the breach. Ever since Michael gave up all his hair-raising activities, particularly riding motorcycles, he has yearned for an opportunity that takes him out of his comfort zone. Being in the Festy AF with Adam will be another of his dreams come true.
BORMSA operates during the cooler months. So, I have another four weeks or so to hyperventilate before Michael climbs into the navigator's seat and begins another adventure. On that wonderful day, I know he will be grinning from ear to ear.
In honour of all...
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