The true story behind the movie can be purchased at Lulu or Amazon. Excerpts will be posted in the home page from time to time.
Synopsis
‘Oddfellow’ was a rare bird. He came from a country of rare birds: New Zealand. He was also the author’s late father and remains etched in the author’s memory.
Returning from World War 2 on a Hospital Ship, Oddfellow, over 50% disabled, was told he would never work again, that one of his kidneys needed removing, and that he may only live two years. He ignored the warnings, and went on to raise four children and run successful investment and manufacturing businesses for thirty years, with one of his war buddies. He seldom visited a doctor, never smoked or drank, and when he finally passed away 34 years after the second world war had finished, his wife still received a war widows pension until her own death and burial in the same plot, 26 years later. Yet for her, it wasn’t the first burden of war.
David Zaccheus takes us on a roller coaster ride of his life with his eccentric father who, in his own quest for meaning, dedicated his life to the building of the temple within. By journey’s end Oddfellow had become a pillar of society and civic leader; who lectured at the British Institute of Pyramidology in London, travelled prolificly; and who basically re-defined the term ‘work ethic’.
All this from a childhood wrought with it’s own tragedy, but always so positioned that the hand of fate would provide the link. The headmaster that paid Oddfellow’s high school graduation exam fee was one of the first, but not the least, of the silent helpers.
Oddfellow was a hard act to follow, but what are we to take on from our parents, in the name of wisdom? Does the glory of our fathers, make war okay? David Zaccheus finds resolution within this very personal conflict, by examining the effect of war and conflict, within. David reveals the emotional effects of a distant war upon a small boy otherwise considered to have been raised in a privileged and secure envionment, in one of the most peaceful nations on earth.
PLAYING FOR KEEPSAvailable for purchase at Lulu or Amazon.
Journeys of self-discovery at Australia's easternmost point. A kaleidoscope of characters, fleeing mainly from the past, collide at the edge of an island continent, and confront the biggest challenge ever: The Self.
David Zaccheus the Author
David was born in Devonport, New Zealand in 1956 and was a teenager in the early 1970’s: “Everyone in New Zealand seemed to long for the big O.E.,” says David. “You know, overseas experience. I think it was because we were so far away.”
During his upbringing David travelled widely. He gained the experience and adventure which moulded his unique perspective on the world.
David’s father was a war veteran of the Second World War, returning home to the antipodes on a hospital ship in 1945, having been told he would never work again. He lived another 34 years, till 1979. David has now written a book based on his father’s life, as seen through the eyes of his only son; entitled ‘Oddfellow’.
David sees the sub-conscious mirror image of this legacy in elements woven throughout his fiction work, particularly in a novel entitled ‘Playing For Keeps’. It’s set in Byron Bay at the easternmost point of the Australian mainland, and portrays the actions and reactions of several completely different characters, who are challenged to peel back the layers masking their own emotional pain.
David Zaccheus says he felt compelled to start writing after a series of events led him to examine his own sub-conscious a little more closely ; and to incorporate within the plot, characters with combinations of traits and characteristics similar to his own, or to those shared by other rare birds he’d met around the world.
The whole question surrounding conflict has been somewhat of a personal challenge for David, and one that he has spent much of his life grappling with. From religion to business, to war; the pattern of conflict seems to remain the same.
The message David imparts is the same, too: ‘Peace by Peace’.
“From as old as I was to know what death was, I knew my Dad could die at any time, so I knew I was different. I guess I’m a rare bird, too. I sort of march to the beat of my own conundrum.”
David has worked as a stills photographer, film crew, and casting agent, and has doubled for an Academy Award winning actor in a feature film. He has written/directed two short films: ‘China Plates’, (about mateship), and ‘Learning 2 Fly’ (about rejection).
David now lives in Brisbane, Australia.
