A matter of time

When it comes to keeping in touch with family in other time zones, it’s always better late than never.

- PAT McDERMOTT

According to the World Clock on my phone, New York City is 16 hours behind Sydney. So, Sydney is 16 hours ahead of New York City. Ruff Red, who lives in NYC, has no time for time.

It’s not his fault. It’s a McDermott thing. In Lismore, NSW, where the MOTH (The Man of the House) grew up, the whole family is still known as the “late McDermotts”. No movie, church service, football game, school prize giving or wedding (including my own!) began until all nine McDermotts had arrived and been seated. The family motto is: “We are many but we are late”.

Now that Ruff Red lives in the “city that never sleeps”, he doesn’t sleep either. He works long hours and pays no attention to what time it is, calling us in the middle of the night or by “dawn’s early light”. The phone rings when we’re in mid-shower, mid-snore, or fumbling with a face mask in the supermarket. But when we hear his cheerful voice across 16,200km of sea and sky, all is forgiven.