Rosemary Crowley

was a former Labor Senator in Downunder's national parliament. She was also a friend to me and to the Senior Cat.

We first met during the International Year of Disabled Persons. At that time she attended a number of activities as a doctor interested in the activities which were taking place.  We talked in the casual way people do at such events. I was aware of her political interests but, having always avoided membership of a political party, I was not particularly interested. 

There were times however when she would pounce on me and ask an abrupt question. "What do you think about that Cat?" was something I came to expect...and sometimes dread. If she asked it was because she wanted to know. Rosemary did not ask questions lightly.

We lost touch again for a time because I went off to another state and we had no reason to be in contact. When I returned I eventually joined a craft group of which she then became Patron. Patron? Oh yes, a very active Patron. Under Rosemary things happened. People who had been coasting along for years quite happy with the status quo suddenly found that they had a Patron with ideas. They were ideas she was determined to see realised too. She was good for the group.

And yes, she recognised me and remembered me. "Hello, good to see you here. What have you been doing?" she asked. I told her briefly. There was a pause and then, "We must get together. I want to know more."

And we did get together. I came home from a meeting one afternoon and found the Senior Cat chatting on the phone. He had obviously been talking for some time. "She's just come in," he said and eventually passed the phone over to me. (This was before most people had mobile phones.) "Rosemary Crowley..."

The two of them had been talking for well over an hour before that. They had never met and they were political opposites but they were chatting away like old friends.

Rosemary and I organised the first of many meetings together. I was concerned at first because my political leanings, if I have any, would not be in the same direction. They are much more cautious than hers were. They have had to be because of my own work. 

In all the time I knew Rosemary I was very, very careful not to let my personal views be known about any very political issue. It was sometimes difficult but she was someone who was fiercely loyal to her party and it was not my business to question the worth of a recently retired person's career. She respected my reluctance sometimes. At others she would say things like, "Oh come on Cat! You must have thought about it."

We would have lunch together occasionally. She would sometimes arrive at our home and sit at the kitchen table chatting to the Senior Cat. It was often about education and educational methods. They would sometimes discuss religion - a topic on which they surprisingly had much in common. There was gardening to discuss and theatre. The Senior Cat taught her how to do a simple conjuring trick one day. 

I sorted out knitting problems for her and they were many. She was making a pullover for one of her three boys and we pulled apart three times before she managed to get it right. Part of it was sheer impatience to get on with the job but I was becoming aware that there was another issue too. 

Yes, there was the occasional halt to her once fluent speech as she searched for a word. There was her confusion about arrangements which were made. One day she phoned and asked if I would visit. We had seen one another the day before but she sounded a little agitated. I sorted out the problem she had encountered but it was something that confirmed my concerns.

By then I felt I knew her well enough so I asked her if she was worried about her ability to remember and organise. She admitted it with relief but asked me not to say anything to anyone else. Eventually though it became too obvious to ignore. One of her children arrived and plans were made to move her closer to them. Rosemary pretended it was all part of a long term plan but she knew what was happening to her. 

"Don't try and contact me Cat," she told me, "I want you to remember me now and not as I will be. You've been a good friend, a very good friend."

I hope I was because, despite all the companionship she found among her like minded political friends and her committee work post politics, I think she was a lonely person.