Saturday, February 25, 2006
Did you know there are only 10 more months to Christmas?
Couldn't resist this, but please don't strangle me, at least not until Lent.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Human Filing Cabinets
What is it like living in a big city like Sydney?
Lately, there have been several occasions where gruesome discoveries have been made.
Residents living on their own, many in those huge blocks of flats, have been found by neighbours many months after they have been deceased.
Living in human filing cabinets, they have been filed away.
With the way human beings retreat from one another into their own mutually exclusive shells, this unbelievable state of affairs is happening more and more.
Why are human beings out of touch with their families and without friends and companions?
Will this ever happen to anyone we should have known?
Are we witnessing in this post-modern world the de-construction of community?
Lately, there have been several occasions where gruesome discoveries have been made.
Residents living on their own, many in those huge blocks of flats, have been found by neighbours many months after they have been deceased.
Living in human filing cabinets, they have been filed away.
With the way human beings retreat from one another into their own mutually exclusive shells, this unbelievable state of affairs is happening more and more.
Why are human beings out of touch with their families and without friends and companions?
Will this ever happen to anyone we should have known?
Are we witnessing in this post-modern world the de-construction of community?
Friday, February 17, 2006
40 years ago
It was 40 years ago when I had not long moved into the Methodist Manse in Mullewa, WA, when on a hot morning, there was a knock on my door and I was handed a telegram. It read, "Your father died today. Letter following. Uncle Clive." Dad was National Bank Manager at West Wyalong, NSW and had just gone through the Decimal Currency changoever barely a few days before. He, his 2nd wife, and 5 children ranging in age from teenage to two had been staying in the Metropolitan Hotel prior to moving back to SA because of his chronic asthma aggravated by his smoking. His heart had given out overnight.
I was shattered that I would never see him again, nor ever have the opportunity to actually know him, for we had separated in early 1943 when he joined the RAAF and Mum took me home to Eudunda, SA.
I had last seen Dad in January 1955, eleven years before in SA, when he had flown over from NSW for his mother's funeral and I met his wife and his eldest 2 children. Up until then, I was 15, I had heard about his starting a 2nd family but was not sufficiently mature to accept the fact, so I had spent that time in some shock, partly because my paternal grandmother had died and my father had a new family. I was unusually quiet, I think, for the meeting and the farewell. I sailed from SA about a week later to join Mum and my stepfather in WA.
I was shattered that I would never see him again, nor ever have the opportunity to actually know him, for we had separated in early 1943 when he joined the RAAF and Mum took me home to Eudunda, SA.
I had last seen Dad in January 1955, eleven years before in SA, when he had flown over from NSW for his mother's funeral and I met his wife and his eldest 2 children. Up until then, I was 15, I had heard about his starting a 2nd family but was not sufficiently mature to accept the fact, so I had spent that time in some shock, partly because my paternal grandmother had died and my father had a new family. I was unusually quiet, I think, for the meeting and the farewell. I sailed from SA about a week later to join Mum and my stepfather in WA.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Happy St Valentine's Day
Funny, today was the 30th anniversary of my engagement. Was it THAT long ago? Also, it was the 28th anniversary of the removal of a suspected melanoma from inside of my left thigh. My legs cause a wind tunnel when I stand to attention.
So, how did I celebrate? I went with a mate to the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch the interstate match between WA and NSW before bad light halted play. No red roses came or went. When petals fall off the thorns remain. I think that's what happened to St Valentine. Shalom.
So, how did I celebrate? I went with a mate to the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch the interstate match between WA and NSW before bad light halted play. No red roses came or went. When petals fall off the thorns remain. I think that's what happened to St Valentine. Shalom.
Thursday, February 9, 2006
SENATOR LYN ALLISON'S SPEECH TO THE SENATE
This was quoted by Australian Democrats Leader Senator Lyn Allison yesterday,
"The Reverend Dr Dean Drayton of the Uniting Church said this week:
The decision to have an abortion is not just a moral issue but a social one. While the current debate attempts to pass moral judgement on the act itself, it ignores the many emotional, physical, financial and social issues that often create a situation where a woman is forced to consider an abortion.
The Uniting Church hopes that those engaged in this debate do not lose sight of the complexities of the issues."
"The Reverend Dr Dean Drayton of the Uniting Church said this week:
The decision to have an abortion is not just a moral issue but a social one. While the current debate attempts to pass moral judgement on the act itself, it ignores the many emotional, physical, financial and social issues that often create a situation where a woman is forced to consider an abortion.
The Uniting Church hopes that those engaged in this debate do not lose sight of the complexities of the issues."
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
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