When Rosewood State School restarted after the Christmas holidays in 1967 our class had swimming lessons on  Friday.  To the surprise of the entire boys cohort,  Kenny K got changed in a cubicle.  Two Fridays in a row in fact. Then the truth came out. To our amazement Kenny had grown pubic hairs over the holidays.

Kenny became famous in a Rosewood kind of way after that.  Subsequently we deferred to Kenny on all important matters  – girls,  really accurate information about sex,  even footy – such was his standing with the Year 6 boys.   He was,  of course,  the first to shave,  the first to have a girlfriend for more than a school week,  he even got an electric guitar for his birthday.  Kenny was a hairy, Rosewood God.  Slovenia is a bit like Rosewood in that respect..

When I researched famous Slovenians – this is my list:

1
2
3
4
5

There’s not much to go on.  Josef Broz Tito’s mother was probably Slovenian. Weird Al Yankovich has forebears that are Slovenian. And the Kransky sausage is Slovenian. That was pretty much it.   THEN in the Sochii Winter Olympics something amazing happened,  Slovenians got a dual gold medalist named Tina Maze  – gold medals in the Super G and the Women’s Downhill!

So my list of famous Slovenians now reads:

1  Tina Maze
2  Tina Maze
3  Tina Maze
4  Tina Maze
5  Tina Maze

Kenny was shaving up to his eyelids in Yr 9, but his bright flame of notoriety rapidly dimmed.  In fact very few people outside of Rosewood would have ever heard of him.  Slovenians have their own Kenny. And they didn’t  have to spy on her in the changing room to find themselves a hero. She achieved fame with her pants up and skis on.  Good on you Tina Maze,  I say.