Random thoughts and observations
It’s nice as a parent when one of your children does something noteworthy, unexpected and meritorious. I was proud of Kathleen earlier this week when she showed some excellent initiative. The police put out a missing person alert for a 14-year-old girl, saying they had concerns for her safety. I saw the police media release [...]
Allan Border famously banned wives and girlfriends from travelling with the Australian cricket team on the 1989 Ashes tour of England. Border insisted that winning had to come first, and that’s what happened. He still cops flak about the decision from some of the (ex) players’ wives, apparently. However, it puts into context the decision [...]
Have you ever regretted asking someone a polite question because of the answer you receive? Like: “How are you?” and the lengthy response is a recital of human misery. Waiting for a haircut yesterday I heard this conversation – Barber: “So how is Sid? I haven’t seen him for a long time.” Customer: “Sid isn’t [...]
My youngest daughter Maggie (5) had her dance concert this weekend. She’s been going to ballet lessons most Saturday mornings throughout the year and this was the big finale. The dance academy is very professional and has an excellent reputation across all year levels. Some of the students have gone on to be professional stage [...]
Reporting suicide is a virtual taboo in the Australian media. Authorities are reluctant to divulge information or comment on suicide cases. Pressure comes to bear on journalists and editors to not report suicides at all, presumably out of a copycat fear. The hostility from health agencies toward media reporting of suicides has gone too far [...]
