Well, it’s been cancelled for a few years now at my house. About five years ago, I’d had enough. That was it. I was sick of all the conspicuous consumption, over-indulgence and forced jollity and the “Fill the malls with plastic holly ………..tra la la la la tra la la la” style of “musak” in all the shopping centres. And if I’d seen one more fat man in a red suit with a pathetically obvious fake beard and a bored expression in one of those joy-filled malls, I was going to puke!
George Clooney hasn’t got kids and although Hugh Jackman has adopted children, we’ve not had the opportunity to see what his direct progeny would look like. What a shame. They are the alpha males of their species and had they been cattle, they would have been selected to breed and improve the herd. Sadly, they are not doing their bit for humankind and meanwhile, less-than-lovely people are breeding and producing unfortunately ugly off-spring.
I’ve just completed a 2500km / 8-day road trip from Brisbane to Port Douglas (north of Cairns) with my oldest pal – much of the journey on Australia’s Highway One. I now have a few ideas about what makes a long trip successful. Firstly, a “cool” car is good. Ours was a hired bright red (goes faster) Holden Cruze but it was far from cool until we worked out how to switch the seat heating off. Thought we were just having tandem hot flushes. Duh!
My oldest friend is finally coming to Australia from the UK and we are doing a Girls’ Road Trip up the eastern edge of Australia – from Brisbane to Cairns along the Bruce Highway with a few inland and coastal detours. This trip has been decades in the making. I left England for Australia and Adventure without her. She stayed behind for the 3M’s of Marriage, Mortgage and Midgets. I’ve never quite forgiven her.
Ruby is four and fearless. She has a big dog for company and a guinea pig and six chickens for pets. She rides a friend’s pony but her biggest achievement to date has been riding a camel. Ruby can entertain herself with creative (and destructive) play and loves to go fishing with Daddy in his “tinny”. She’s frequently grubby and has probably digested a lot of dirt in her short life. She’s well on her way to becoming a free range kid.
A man I know has a lot of tattoos. The latest addition to his prominently placed body art declares “We Need Heroes Not Arseholes”. And he’s not thinking Bat Man, Robin Hood or Super Woman – he’s proclaiming the need for more everyday heroes not just the stuff of myths and legends.
The good, solid, generous, ordinary people who do extraordinary things, lift our spirits, inspire us and show us that we can become more than we are. These are the real heroes. Who’s on your list?
When Clint Eastwood’s character Harry “Dirty Harry” Callahan, spoke that now iconic phrase “Go ahead, make my day” it was both a challenge and a threat. But making my day requires a more gentle and life affirming approach. I’m not hard to please. I’m eternally grateful when tradespeople turn up on time. I’m ecstatic if they clean up after themselves. A “please” or “thank you”, a compliment or small kindness goes a long way to enhancing my day.
I was visiting the uber-trendy Brisbane suburb of Bulimba last weekend. They were having what I call a “Bring out your dead week” – more correctly known as the annual kerb-side collection - where residents get to put all their unwanted stuff out on the street for the council contractor to pick up. The place was looking a little untidy.
Shakespeare was probably the first to use the words “sea” and “change” together in his 16th century play The Tempest. – Nothing of him that doth fade / But doth suffer a sea change / Into something rich and strange. The Bard knew a thing or two about the human condition.
When Clint Eastwood’s character Harry “Dirty Harry” Callahan, spoke that now iconic phrase “Go ahead, make my day” it was both a challenge and a threat. But making my day requires a more gentle and life affirming approach. I’m not hard to please. I’m eternally grateful when tradespeople turn up on time. I’m ecstatic if they clean up after themselves. A “please” or “thank you”, a compliment or small kindness goes a long way to enhancing my day.
Shakespeare was probably the first to use the words “sea” and “change” together in his 16th century play The Tempest. – Nothing of him that doth fade / But doth suffer a sea change / Into something rich and strange. The Bard knew a thing or two about the human condition.
