September in Paradise

In this issue, Kidner Jeremy reflects on a lump on the leg, invites you to consider "Pride of Australia Medal Winners, discovers how long it takes to shovel 1.88 tonnes of recycled aggregate fill, can't answer why yellow cabs aren't yellow, and they don't make cars like this anymore.

On Friday 9th Sept. after an MRI scan of a lump on the leg I am pronounced fit and healthy. This small event got me thinking about life and what one does with it. Some people, Arun Cruden (All Blacks new 21 year old star) and Lance Armstrong tackle difficult issues like this in much they same way they tackle their professional athletic careers - full on and with style and determination. Not only is Cruden a courageous man in the face of these difficulties, at 82 Kgs and 178 cms he is a small man in a sport that is usually the domain of bigger men. Rupert Guinness writing in the Sydney Morning Herald describes his ability to take on bigger players with ball in hand. I know Rugby may not be to every one's taste but I found much to admire in this. Good on yer Mr Cruden, you have my vote as a man to admire. The Kiwis won the subsequent match against the Aussies. Again.

Which reminds me of this tag line on a 'Ute "Adventure Before Dementia". And still on the subject of vans, how about this seen on a backpackers hire van covered in graffiti "Save the Bush. Ban The Brazilian". What about "Stop snivelling". Or my favourite, "Satisfaction Guaranteed or Twice Your Rubbish Back" http://www.dirtyharrys.com.au/

Each year, September sees the finals of the Pride of Australia Medal "competition". The competition (http://www.prideofaustralia.com.au/pastwinners_2010_qld.html) is a good way to see more inspirational people in a variety of categories. One of this year's winners was Randhir Shinmarh who pulled someone out of a burning car. How good is that? The person that caught my attention was Carol Mayor who was terribly badly burned in a house fire in Cairns in 2000, is now actively involved in her school community, is a tuck shop Mum and an ambassador for the Peter Hughes Burns Foundation. If you are feeling a bit sorry for yourself one day, log onto this web site and spend some time reading about these kind of people. It's worth it.

On the same theme, on a trip up to Noosa we stopped and bought some pineapples on the roadside. The producers simply put out an 'Honesty Box" and left it to people to put their money in. Trust is truly a delicate thing. And yes we did put our money in - well, you would wouldn't you. Seen on a sign on Sunday 12th Sept. at Carrara Markets near the Gold Coast, "Don't forget to smile for the cameras when you steal something."

One of the last remaining jobs in Cooranga is the renovation of the garage. To begin the process, we dug out a bit to extend the garage and had Little Lord Fauntleroy build a retaining wall. To complete the job, it had to be back filled with 1.5 cubic metres of recycled aggregate which when delivered I found out weighed 1.88 metric tonnes. It took 2 hours and 9 minutes to fill about 4,000 plastic buckets with the stuff and tip it behind the wall. Classic encounter with Mrs.K. Bang went my head on one of the beams. "Mind your head dear" Mrs.K. "@#!**!!) from Kidner Jeremy. Two days later when normal conversation is restarted, "What I meant was be careful dear." The point of this little story is decoding messages - you'd think after knowing someone for 45 years I'd get the hang of it. Another example. Kidner Jeremy "Shall I start the brussel sprouts". Mrs.K "Yes if you want to - we can warm them up later." Translation "No, it's too early."

We enjoyed having a house guest, Katherine Nesbit for a week in September. "Way aren't Yellow Cabs yellow?" she asked. Aussies and Americans will recognise the Orange and Black livery of the Yellow Cabs. Any ideas anyone?

Being a bit of a petrolhead, I did admire two cars parked on Hastings Street in Noosa (Hastings Street is very bling). The little Fiat 500 looked like a puppy waiting outside a shop - in this case a swish ("bling") Italian restaurant (have you ever been in a good German Restaurant?). The other was a "Woodie" outside a restaurant on the other side of the street where they had a lady pianist attracting the crowds. I haven't bothered to find out what the car is but it had presence that's for sure. Why are all modern cars so DULL?

Good health and good relations.

The Flying Snail aka Kidner Jeremy