It’s sometime in the 80s. I can’t remember when….. probably mid….

We’re on a crusade. Every time we go shopping, we dive into a record store with Dad. We run to the Pink Floyd section, and see if there’s any more albums we’ve never heard of.

He already had ‘A Nice Pair’ (Saucerful of Secrets & Piper at the Gates of Dawn double-album) in his collection. This is where we started - Astronomy Dominié, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun - we were hooked.

We’re kids, we don’t know. The chase is the reward, the adventure is in the discovery. And the real discovery, almost 30 years later, is that my Dad is awesome. He was with us - exploring and living the discovery. We picked up obscurities like Meddle, Ummagumma, and Obscured by Clouds. We shouted along to Several Small Species Of Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict. We loved these times.

I remember. Chirnside Park Shopping Centre. If you were there today you would find nothing of value - just Coldplay and Rhiannon, and bogans. I had a free keyboard lesson (which never went anywhere), and then we dropped in to the record store next door.

Straight to the Pink Floyd Section, flicking through - The Wall, Dark Side of The Moon, Obscured By Clouds. blah blah blah, got them all… And then - there it was. A cow. Just standing there, looking back over its shoulder at us. Jubilation! Eureka! A new, unknown album! BUY BUY BUY!

We bought. We went home. We played. 

‘If I was a Swam, I’d be gone’ - I had no idea what it meant, and I didn’t care. I don’t care. The beauty and wonder is in the link with my Dad.

He went on this crazy collectionist adventure with us. He is and was awesome.

Today I trawl through wikipedia, amazon, and sites like addall.com to find any obscurity he is after. I will find anything and everything he asks for. I owe him too many adventures, too many memories. There will never be enough years to repay him.

Pink Floyd - If

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