A tale of two citizens

I saw a couple of news articles this week from Aus about two very different people.

One was the first Australian Trooper killed in Afghanistan last week serving with the Army he loved. His country, his family and the Anzac tradition were what were important to him.

This man had the strength of character to volunteer to defend others and his mates depended upon him when the bullets started to fly.

The tribute in a national newspaper read 'Australians owe a debt of gratitude to a man or woman who dies serving their country that can never be repaid. Today 'The Australian' honours the sacrifice of Trooper David Pearce...'

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,22601666-2702,00.html?from=public_rss

The other person was a rising national football star who had everything - money, girls, fame, championship trophies and the adulation of every kid in the state.

He was a state-wide icon and a national hero. He had it all but was arrested (yet again) on drug charges and was finally sacked in disgrace by his AFL club.

The Herald Sun wrote 'He has brought disaster on himself, letting down the people who tried to help him...'

There were a lot of people at home who were very disappointed. A generous public had forgiven him time and again and now look and just shake their heads at how someone who had so much could choose to throw it all away on self-pity, drink, drugs and bizarre tattoos destroying a promising career and his club's future.

This post is not to deify soldiers or add to the critiques of a fallen idol.

I don't know, it just really struck me that while Trooper Pearce was in the dust and the mud on the other side of the world getting shot at because he wanted to help others, this former football star was sitting in his comfortable suburban lounge room navel gazing and feeling sorry for himself.

I hope he read the article about that Digger this week and decides to do something positive with his life. He should for the sake of Trooper Pearce and all those like him.

National Geographic and Cousteau

I saw a great bit of news the other day. The members of the Calpyso society - the guardians of Jacques Cousteau's work - are restoring the original ship 'Calypso'.

As a little kid it was our big Sunday night event. After dinner and the news, my brother and I would it down in our PJ's on each side of Dad and watch the weekly National Geographic documentary.

That famous music of the NG society would start - Da, da, da, da-dah, that yellow logo would appear and I knew I was soon to be transported to another world.

Captain Cousteau and his 'equipe' would dive in their futuristic wetsuits and helmets and take us to tropical paradises, Arctic havens and Mediterannean treasure troves.

As always the photography (both stills and movie) of the NGS cameramen was a cut above everything else. As a kid it was a dream to grow up and be a N.G.S. staff photographer.

When I had an American girlfriend few years ago, I visited her in the States several times and on one trip to D.C., bugged her to go to one special place. Not the Lincoln Memorial or Ford's theatre or the usual top ten. Nope, I wanted to go to the HQ of the National Geographic Society - still my personal 'Mecca' all these years later.

I saw stills photographs at an exhibition called ' the ones that didn't make it' - pictures that ordinary photographers would be proud to say they'd made - but they didn't have that N.G. 'something extra'.

When I got older I learned to scuba dive, travelled the world and got into photography (I now have enough camera equipment to start my own shop!), and my living room is still full of N.G. magazines and DVD's.

From that little kid sitting on the lounge room floor half a world away - thank you Cousteau and thank you National Geographic. You opened up the world to me and many others.

Perhaps somewhere in the world there are other little kids picking up a National Geographic magazine for the first time or reading about the adventures of the Calypso and who will one day grow up to be tomorrow's oceanographers or travel photographers.

Long may you both continue to explore!

Down time...

I took this picture a few weeks ago on a Saturday hike in the mountains an hour from where I live.

It is a place called 'Le Col des Aravis' in the French Alps and there are several hiking trails there to follow.

The weekends are valuable time for me to decompress and get perspective again. To get some exercise and chill out - something I can do simultaneously in such majestic surroundings!

Yup, I've been working pretty hard and from the time I get in to the time I pull the plug ten odd hours later it is non-stop. No time to call friends, send the odd email or even chat to my fellow workers in the office - it's just go, go, go.

Come Friday I feel the need for some fresh air and as the autumn weather at the moment is perfect, I saddle up and head out and spend a day one and half kilomotres up seeing the big picture.

There are so many trails to explore and a lot of the locals of all ages use them - young couples, families with kids, older folks. The trails are of varying lengths and degree of difficulty so you can go as easy or hard, as short or as far as you want.

Last weekend was funny - I saw one youth group leader chasing after his charges on his mountain bike. 'Have you seen a bunch of kids go past here?' 'Yup, about ten minutes ago M'sieur'. Fit as this guy was - the little tackers had roared off over the summit on their bikes and were half way down to the next village! But everything was cool - its almost impossible to get lost and they were in world class scenery out exercising in the fresh air. Some very lucky kids and the good thing is I think they appreciate how lovely their region is.

Being an amateur photographer, I'm gonna have to lug up my big gun SLR to get some serious snaps of the mountains one weekend instead of the quick-pics from my pocket digital.

Trouble is - where to start? It's all so Wow!

Doing business with the world...

In my job I have to call all sorts of different places around the world and you get a little insight into each nation from something as simple as a phone call and get some strange results.

Russia is funny when we need to call to chat about this or that. A few decades of communism with state-guaranteed jobs and no customer relations training means you get something like this...

"Hyello, XYZ Pyetroleum, Moscow orf-eece'.

"Hi, this is Geneva. Can I talk to the Finance manager please?"

"Hyee eez not hyere. Please to be calling byeck lyater., Bye." Click....brrrrrr...... and they just hang up. No "can I take a message" or "he'll be back in an hour", just 'I have done only exactly what was needed and that's it' - bang!

Call the U.K. and you'll invariably end up chatting with people about the weather (given that there's is oft times disappointing) It's easy, quick, efficient and I'm sure I'll be bought several pints if I ever have to go there on business!

If I call our French bank everyone wants to try out their English on me (just don't try and call between 12:00 and 13:30-14:00 - lunchtime is sacrosanct and you'll be talking to no one but voicemail! Not that I'm against it - sure beats the Anglo-saxon business practice of guiltily scoffing a soggy supermarket sandwich at your desk!

The Netherlands and Norway to a lesser extent sometimes speak English so damn well I forgot it is their second language...Stunning. Switched on folks.

And when I get a Scandinavian business woman going 'HI, this is Helga here' in that sexy Nordic accent, I have to try darn hard to stop thinking about the Swedish bikini team and talk about finance instead.

Trying to get things done in Venezuela is an altogether differnet story. Here the word 'Manana' (tomorrow) springs to mind...

"Hello, this is Geneva. Can I talk to the auditor please"?

"Ahh, senor. He ees gone on holiday. But 'e will be back soon".

"Then could I talk to his 2-IC please - it is urgent"

"Ah senor, she ees gone on holiday too" But don't worry, they will be back soon - a couple of weeks at most!"

"Can I talk to someone in their department"?

"Oh ees Friday, everyone gone to lunch and then leave early 'cos 'ees the weekend. Can you wait to Monday"? It pays to have a large time-buffer when these folks are on the job!

Now if ony I could find a Swedish businesswoman who spoke excellent English and wanted to take me to lunch, buy me a pint after before offering to take me away to Buenos Aires for a couple of weeks...