Red Letter Day.

The other day was a good day for me, not that most days aren’t good but on that day I received two pieces of encouragement that I had almost given up hope of receiving.

Most people who know me do not realize that I am extremely shy. In fact if I ever want a good laugh I tell people who know me that I am shy, and it never fails to get a laugh, as they think I am joking. But the truth is I am very shy but have worked hard not to show it, but deep down it still grows.

Since our return to Australia I have read the main Melbourne paper and its “Letter’s Page” and have often been tempted to write in with my own comments, but had been reluctant to do so because one has to have their name and locality printed, and I have been unwilling to do so. It is bad enough writing to family and friends and opening yourself up to, sometimes negative comments.

It was difficult enough to publish my items on the Blog site, but at least there, the number of people who might know me is very small. (Or so I thought, but see further). However having your name out before a third of a million people paper buyers is another thing.

Anyway sometime after Christmas I finally wrote a letter and e-mailed it to the Paper. And that was the last I heard of it. I thought it was an okay letter and in response to another’s comment, and so was surprised when it didn’t appear. Then I started to wonder whether I e-mailed it to the right place or not. Anyway it did nothing for my confidence and I wrote no more till last week. I then tried again responding to an article in the paper. For the next 3 mornings I scanned the letter page to see if my letter got published this time. Again, up to the third day, I saw no sign of it. Until I decided to look at the letter of the day, for that day, while I had the page open there. As I was reading it, I thought, “Gee, that sounds familiar!” It was only then that I realized that it was my letter and that it had been adjudged the letter of the day. Well what a feeling of elation went over me, and I read and re read that letter and particularly the name on the bottom, hardly believing the facts. It is amazing the difference a bit of recognition makes!

Then I came home and opened up my e-mail and there was an e-mail from a name I didn’t know but in reference to an item posted on my Blogsite. I have had my Blogsite up and running for two and a half months now, and this was the first response that I have had that anyone was actually reading it. (Never mind the fact that this young lady is in fact the daughter of a couple we went to Bible Collage with and knew about us, although didn’t personally know us, or us her.)

Now I realize that in the great scheme of things these two events hardly seem significant but to me they were important signs of encouragement, that what I was doing was appreciated by some, even if only a couple of others.

How true this is in our every day lives. How often have you either given up or been about to give up because you didn’t think that what you were doing was worth it or appreciated?

Also how low are your expectations? I almost missed out on knowing my letter had been published because I almost didn’t look in all the places, just the one where I even then only thought I had only a remote chance of it being printed, let alone a contender for letter of the day.

Conversely how often have you been encouraged to continue with your task, often thankless, because of a word of encouragement or appreciation, or a simple thank you, or even a smile?

Now what can you do today to encourage others? A letter/e-mail? A phone call? A small word of encouragement? A smile? Please feel free to add to this list of things you not only can do, but things you will do, where appropriate: Walter

P.s. The letter was the first draft of My Madonna Blog, without the expansion and addition of the Nelson Mandela illustration.

Good advice? Wrong Season : Wrong Hemisphere!

Since our return from South Africa in late 2002, we have maintained a writing relationship with many of the people we met there. Some, like us, have since returned to their places of Birth. So we now have friends in America, Canada, Germany, England, Scotland, & India as well as Swaziland and South Africa itself. We also have a Church friend in Mexico who we correspond with too. Every Christmas we sent out a general Christmas letter and to a few very close friends, we post over an Aussie Callander for the following year. Occasionally we get one back. The year before it was one from South Africa. Last year it was from England.

It was /is a very lovely garden one with gardening advice on the bottom of each monthly page. It is very lovely, unfortunately I had already bought and hung up in my Office an Inspirational Callander. So in wondering where to put this new one where we would get some enjoyment from it, I came up with the next most obvious place. Yep. You guessed it! The Toilet! So it now has pride of place in there and observed on quite a regular basis by a variety of people.

I myself am a keen if somewhat erratic gardener. It is a long story that I won’t go into here, but my wife and myself are actually living with our three children in their house, and not the other way around like most. Anyway, as part of my responsibilities for staying here, I am responsible for maintaining the Garden, although the oldest often helps out.

So it was no surprise when one day she said dad, “One day when you have nothing better to do, provided the ground is not frozen over you can plant root wrapped roses now.”

Now my first born has a rather dry, if somewhat direct sense of humour and as we were in the middle of a mighty hot heat wave at the time, I thought she was being sarcastic about the heat, with her comment about the ground being frozen over. Also she knows full well, that roses are not my favourite plant. (Oh yes I love the flowers. It is just the prickly plant that I detest and literally shed blood over.)

However it was only when she mentioned “root wrapped plants” that I started to wonder where you would get Root wrapped (Bare rooted) plants at this time of the year.

It was then that the penny dropped and I realized that she was reading from the bottom of the English calendar’s gardening advice for January.

So you see she was not being sarcastic, or trying to be funny, (although she did know what she was doing in regard to the different climes.) she was simply passing on what was before her eyes. In truth, there was nothing wrong with the advice being offered; if you were in the Northern Hemisphere where our mid summer is their mid winter. Yes the advice was good for them but irrelevant and totally wrong for me/us.

What about you? Do you blindly follow and try everything you read or hear without checking if the source is relevant to you and your particular situation.

In this case although I would not have been able to buy any “root wrapped” roses, I could plant them from a container into the garden if I so wished and had the water to keep it alive until its roots had time to provide for itself. So the advice would not have been entirely inappropriate this time.

However sometimes we can get ourselves into big trouble and cost ourselves big money simply because we have accepted the wrong advice. Sometimes this advice will really be wrong but often it is not so much wrong in itself but rather in its application, or place of application, like trying to grow plants in Australia, using any Northern Hemisphere advice, whether it be English or American.

I am not knocking these countries or their advice, simply warning that usually it has to be adapted and accommodated to our own unique environment.

You will be amazed at the number of gardening advice books available in Australia, written for Northern Hemisphere conditions, whether their source is England or America. When you obtain these books you can keep the seasonal advice but must swap the months around, so that January is Mid Summer here and not mid winter, otherwise you will be doing every thing right just at the totally wrong time.

What about with you? Are you doing the right thing but at the wrong time? Do you not only need to re-read the instructions, but check the place of origin for this advice?

Remember, there really is little truly wrong advice around, just inappropriate or unseasonably. With advice there really is no such thing as “One size fits all” when it comes to the correct advice for you. Every situation needs to be evaluated, as does the available advice long before any actions are implicated.

Again when it comes to advice, are you passing on appropriate advice, or simply passing on something you have heard with out checking the source or relevance of such advice? Catch you later: Walter

Re-lace Anyone?

The other Saturday, I had just returned from having Coffee and shopping with my wife and first- born, when the phone rang. It was from our Pastor, wanting to know what my shoe size was. So I told him thinking that he must have come across some shoes from somewhere to pass on to people who need them.

I don’t truly fit that category but I do have a worn out pair that I wear all the time around the house because they are so comfortable and sometimes I forget to change them before I go visiting.

Now when it comes to shoe size, I have a bit of a problem, because my shoe size is either a large 10 or a small 11 , and I never know which is which until I try them on.

Any way later in the afternoon, much to my surprise, Pastor and his first-born son “Rock up” with a brand spanking new pair of very comfortable and rather expensive looking shoes.

When asked why, I was told, “For services rendered in his place while away recently.” Well apart from preaching, I’m not to sure what those services were, other than what I would normally do as Pastoral Elder.

Anyway, I gratefully, if somewhat inwardly embarrassed, accepted this kind gift. I don’t normally buy half size shoes as they are not longer but wider across the foot, but they arrived with a size 10 ½. It was long enough, but despite its supposed extra width, a little tight across the foot, but I figured it would stretch a bit eventually.

As he was leaving Pastor did say that if they were not the right size, all I had to do was to take them and a card he gave me, back to Footlocker and they would properly measure my foot and change them for the right size.

Initially I wasn’t going to do that but thought that as they are rather expensive shoes, it might be wise to do it properly than take the chance of ruining or simply shortening their otherwise normal useful life, not to mention any possible damage to my feet, simply by my laziness or indifference.

So I asked my two oldest, who were surprisingly both home at the time, where Footlocker was in our local Shopping Centre.

First-born gave me one set of directions only to be corrected by second-born. As he was so adamant, I took his advice. Was he wrong? You decide. When I went where he directed I found a Shoe store alright but it was Athlete’s Foot. So I walk past there and follow first-born’s directions to Footlocker and it was where she said it was. The only problem was that the shoes weren’t theirs but Athlete’s Foot’s, so I had to go back there and change them.

At Athlete’s Feet, I got a very helpful young lady who, when I told her my situation, made me put them on and checked them for length. Seeing that was right she then turned to the problem of tightness across the width. She brightly said, “I will simply re-lace them” And she did! And the problem of tightness was solved! Simply by re-lacing the laces a different way, to shift the point of stress more evenly!

Is it not truly amazing sometimes, the difference a little thing, like changing the way you lace your shoes, can make to the whole scheme of things? Not only are they now more comfortable, but they should also last longer with proper use. And not cause any problems for my feet!

I also note here the importance of passing on the correct information. In this case it didn’t make that much difference that I went to the wrong shop first, but in other cases it may. Actually Shoes and Shoe Shops are not high on my list of priorities thus, although a regular at that Shopping Centre I never realized that there were so many shoe shops there, until I passed by quite a few of them looking for the one(s) I wanted.

Now was my son right with his initial directions. Well The Shoe Store I did really want was where he said it was but his directions were for Footlocker and not Athlete’s Foot, whilst First-borns directions were indeed correct and I did find Footlocker where she said it was, even if it turned out that Footlocker was not the one I really needed.

So now I not only have a new comfortable pair of shoes but a pair that properly fit, because I took the extra trouble to go and get expert advice. The fact that the advice was so simple, is irrelevant. If I had not gone to the trouble of going back to the Shopping Centre before wearing the shoes, I would not have got the full benefits out of this kind and generous Gift?

What about you? Are you getting the best out of everything around you, by either seeking out or accepting the professional advise that is out there? Or are you accepting second, or even third best because you can’t be bothered making the effort to accept what is already there?

Likewise are you careful with the directions that you are passing on? (I am not criticizing here but rather challenging myself as I know I am sometimes guilty as charged in this area.) Walter.

More on Echidnas.

In an earlier article, Looking for a snake, expecting to find a Lizard, but finding an … ? I wrote about an Echidna the dogs discovered near my Mum’s house. In response to that item, I received the following reply from a friend in America.

“Hi, y'all... The story of the Echidna really got me interested. We do not have them. They appear on the web to be very interesting little critters. I looked it up and found things I'm sure you already know...Such as they only have one baby at a time, and it is born blind and hairless. The little Puggle is hatched from an egg in only 10 days. As an American, it looks like a mixture of a porcupine and an anteater (American animals).They have sharp claws but no teeth, so BE CAREFUL, Walter. At least they are as afraid of you as you can be of them.”

A few obvious thoughts flowed from my friend’s response.

1. The Echidna is an interesting and Unique Australian animal, along with the Platypus. If memory serves me correct, they (the Echidna and the Platypus) are the only two egg laying mammals in the world. (Look up the word Monotreme, in your Dictionary.)
2. The Echidna is not a huge animal/critter. On average they are fairly small. Around a foot long, and 6 inches high and around 9 inches wide roughly. I have seen bigger and smaller.
3. Normally they are not aggressive critters either, unless attacked. Nor are they fast movers above ground, but as I have seen, boy, can they dig fast! Digging themselves into the ground and out of sight, usually under something like a stump or in our most recent case, the old tank, gives them extra protection. Otherwise if caught out in the open, they curl up into a protective ball. Again for protection, not aggression.
4. As stated in my last article, although not often observed, they are not overly rare around the old family home and I have long been taught that if I leave them alone, they will leave me alone. A rule I have always followed. One look at the spines is enough to discourage closer observation, particularly that done by holding in bare hands.

I did have a few other thoughts inspired by my friend’s letter that were not so obvious.

1. There are a lot of things that are so common to us that we tend to take them for granted as being well known when, like the Echidna, that are just not known in other places, particularly overseas.

2. I may be accused of vanity here and over stating the point, but as my friend is an octogenarian and has never heard of an Echidna, there was a very good chance that she may never have either, if I had not taken the trouble to write and send my story.

3. Even then, she had the choice of dismissing my information or taking it further by doing her own research, which she did.

4. She then shared her new information back with me. In this we both encouraged and enriched each other’s knowledge and experiences.

So now I have a few questions for you in regard to receiving and passing on new information.

· So do you take the trouble to fully explain yourself where necessary or like I did, do you just assume that everyone knows what you are talking about?

· Do you share with others “New” things or keep them to yourself?

· Do you in turn follow up on these new things you learn, or are you content, or lazy enough, to rely on what you have received from others?

· Do you share to inform, or to show off your so-called knowledge? I try, not necessarily to inform, although I do hope that happens, but to encourage, even enthuse others with what I come across in everyday life..

That last thought is the whole reason I write these stories and have put out this blog site: To encourage others and in turn to be encouraged by them/you.

Is it working for you? It is for me! Thanks: Walter.

What One Person Can Do.

Recently I received an e-mail about a lady in America who had a five acre garden filled with Daffodils of all sizes and colours. People came from miles around to view her garden. On her front porch was a sign saying, "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking".

1. 50,000 bulbs.
2. "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain."
3. Began in 1958.

The moral of the story being that one person can bring about a great thing of beauty and design that others can enjoy, if they are prepared to make a start and move one step forward at a time.

This story of Daffodils reminds me of another closer to home. Around the time this lady in America started her daffodil collection, my father started growing daffodils too. Or rather one specific variety of Daffodil! Sometime in the 1950’s, Dad brought home a dozen King Alfred Daffodil Bulbs from the Queen Victoria Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market. He paid the then princely sum of 2 shillings and sixpence for them. These days that is only 25 cents but in those days a goodly amount.

These bulbs were proudly planted in the front garden and went forth and multiplied. So much so that in the mid 60’s they had multiplied so much that they were dug up and moved to a bigger site. At the same time, many of the excess bulbs were either sold off, on his veggie Round or given away to family and friends. A habit that was practised a few times over the years, as they have been dug up and moved a couple of more times since then.

As the number of bulbs multiplied, even after getting rid of a lot, so did the need for more space to grow them. First, from the house garden, they went down to a large area on the furtherest edge of the 1 acre Veggie Garden next to the house; and then later brought up closer to the house again; and then over the creek and along the drive, beside the stock yard; and later again along the outside edge of another veggie garden, also along the then drive, (by then I think that garden had been turned into a Hay paddock,) where they still grow and every year bloom in golden profusion to the pleasure of all who drive by. As well during flowering season, all visitors are offered a knife or pair of secateurs and told, “Go and pick as many flowers as you want.”

They have not been moved for many years now and are suffering from over crowding, but with every previous move, many bulbs were dispersed all around Melbourne and parts of Victoria. Even now people are encouraged to go and dig as many bulbs as they want during the dormant season. The only requirement is to spread a few back in the empty spaces, so they can multiply again. If he couldn’t sell them dad would give them away. There was no worse crime than seeing the bulbs wither away because no one wanted them and he had no room for them. Although dad passed away last year, that principle still holds for Mum.

Unlike the American women who kept all hers and added to them, and had a magnificent display for others to see, dad dispersed his along the way, so that many others could share in a little of the joy that these flowers gave him. Both methods have their merits. One large display is truly a magnificent sight and one to behold and long remember, but smaller displays spread around among hundreds, if not thousands, is also a very good thing.

Now daffodils may not be your thing. No plant may be your thing, but what can you do, one bulb or one piece at a time to impact on others, if not the whole world? Like me you may not have another 50 years in front of you to achieve what this lady did, but if you start now you can make a start or you can encourage others to make a start like my dad did.

Now you may not have the space that this lady or my dad had and so you may need to regulate on a scale to the space available for your project, but those excuses aside, there is no reason that you can not do something, whether it be a craft of woodwork or needle work (like my wife) or even Daffodils. Again, this is not so much a question of what you can do, but more of what you will do. Over to you: Walter.

Can one person change anything? Can You?

Recently our Pastor at Church did a series on Change and on how we can either assist or resist it.

In the Melbourne Herald Sun Newspaper on 20/1/07, there was an article on how the attitude and resistance to male Nannies in the UK has been changed positively by the negative actions of a major actor having had an affair recently with his children’s nanny, and how now many other women, worried that it might happen to them, have suddenly and warmly accepted Males as Nannies wherein the past they have strongly resisted them.

Then in the Herald Sun on 21/1/07 there was another article about how individuals by doing simple things, like not using plastic bags, using low energy light bulbs, walking or biking where possible instead of using the car, could conserve our resources and help the environment. It seems again some of the old sayings hold true! The old rule, of every little bit not only helps but all the little bits put together become one big change agent!

Having all this talk about change by just one person, in triplicate, I thought maybe someone is trying to tell me something and maybe I should look into this subject of one person being able to effect change, effectively, if not alone, certainly collectively.

A couple of points obviously jump out. The first is that it helps if that single person is someone in the public eye and thus can garner easily, public attention, even if not public emulation. Thus this type of change, like with the acceptance of male nannies can be easily seen and easily appreciated and or recognised.

Others, like with the reduction in the number of plastic bags used or the amount of electricity used, is not so easily observed or recognised, nor appreciated, but none the less is still worthy and worth doing.

Often these changes are more effective and longer lasting than some of the more flashy, showy, more observable changes.

So we see, one person, even you, can bring about large change, but that change can be good or bad depending on your own personal behaviour. Every thing you do, both big or small, impacts on others, whether we recognise it or not. For either good or bad. So what agent of change are you. Good or bad. More on this subject later: Walter

Pink Oxalis

Recently I wrote an article about Yellow Oxalis and gave an idea of how to control, if not eradicate it. I also mentioned that were other varieties and colours of oxalis that you could buy in Nurseries that was not as invasive. Unfortunately not all agreed with me.

My sister wrote, “Your email about Whimpy and Bluey (Mismatched or complimentary?) was very good, so was the one about the oxalis. (Oxalis and how to get rid of it.) One question though, what about other people who give you a beautiful bright pink clover like plant from a nursery they once worked in before he going over seas. As pretty as it is it is a bloody nuisance taking over the whole flower bed given half a chance these many years since?”

During my Bible collage days, some 3 years before we did finally go overseas, I did some summer work at a plant nursery and brought home a few free plants that had been thrown out by the owner. Some of these I shared with my parents and my sister. Nice sharing guy aren’t I? Giving away plants that had already been given to me at no cost! Anyway one of these free plants was obviously a pot of Pink Oxalis, and obviously it went to my sister’s, and now some 20 years later, has outgrown its welcome.

My reply to my sister’s above e-mail, was along the lines that she can dig some up and pass them onto me, as I still think them very impressive and worth having. However I will not make the mistake that she made and plant them in the garden, but rather plant them in a pot or even pots and keep them where they can not spread beyond the limits I will place on them. That way I hope to have the best of both worlds. Able to enjoy there beauty, whilst reducing the risk of adding another invasive plant into the open garden.

The moral of the above story is that although some thing is pretty, it doesn’t mean that it comes with no risks involved. Sure those risks may take some years to come to the fore as a problem, but they usually do at some stage or another. So when we do see problems starting to occur, we should do something about them before they do get out of hand and become a major problem.

Secondly, we can and should learn from the experiences of others who have walked down the same (in this case, garden) path earlier. Hence I will plant my (future) pink oxalis in pots and not in the garden, learning a major lesson from my sister’s previous experience.

How open are you to advice from others? Especially those younger than you, like my sister? Remember we can learn from everyone, young or old, if we are prepared to listen.

We won’t always follow all the advice given but we should listen and analyze what we are given and make a valued decision on what we have heard. What say you? Walter

Is your Lawn a Lawn, or just Grass, or simply Weeds?

Because of the current drought and resulting Water restrictions, most people’s lawns in Melbourne, have long died. However after some recent showers, our back lawn in particular, greened up again and from a distance looked real good. However on closer inspection, one finds that it is not the good original lawn grasses growing, but the plainer tougher grasses or even weeds themselves that are growing.

From a distance they look okay but up close, all is revealed as not being what it should be.

Many people today are like my back lawn. From a distance they look okay and appear as what they should be like, or like what they want you to think they are like, but up close, all is revealed, and all is not how it first appears from a distance.

What about you? Is the picture that you give at a distance the true you, or just a picture that you would like others to believe is true?

In the case of my lawn, I can do nothing now but when the drought is over and Spring rolls around I have to decide whether I will go to all the trouble of re-sowing the whole lawn: or try to over-sow the worst areas: or leave it as it is, and claim it to be not worth the time, energy and money to restore it to what it should be.

What about your life? Is there something in your life that should be changed but you haven’t yet come to a decision as to whether it is worth the effort?

I can’t and won’t proscribe to you what you should do, but the time to make the decision is now, so that you will have time before the due “Spring” (whatever time that will be to your project) to make the necessary preparations and to budget for your project.

As it is only the back lawn and we have lots of trees, it just isn’t worth doing more than over-sowing in the right season and living with the resulting situation.

What about with you? Is your “Lawn” worth the effort?

If so, what are you going to do about it? Again the time to start preparations is now.

Over to you: Walter

Helping others as you have been helped.

I saw in the Melbourne Herald Sun on Feb.20 that a guy called Larry Stewart passed away in America. Larry who you might ask? And a good question too, because to most Larry Stewart might not have existed as far as they were concerned. Me too, for that matter, because before that day I had never heard of him either, yet his life story now inspires me.

Unknown to most, even in the city he lived in for much of his life, yet to a lot of people, for a lot of years, this unknown Larry made a big difference in their lives. Yet his story is very simple.

"In 1971, without money and not haven eaten for two days, he had breakfast at a Roadhouse.

When Stewart pretended to have lost his wallet the owner handed him $20, saying, “Son you must have dropped this.”

As he drove off he realised no one dropped the $20. The man was sparing him the embarrassment.

He decided to help others if he had the chance, which came in 1982 when he became a millionaire through a communications company he established.

In December 1999 he tracked down the diner owner, Stewart who died at 58, told him, “I’ve come to pay you back”, and gave him an envelope with $10,000.”

Prior to that, for the last 26 years, he also gave money” to the homeless on Kansas City streets at Christmas time. To the tune of $1.3 Million! This was done anonymously until late last year when he knew he was dying of cancer. He only revealed himself then, so as to raise awareness of the plight of the destitute at Christmas, and in the hope that others may be inspired to do something similar, even if not to the same degree of generosity.

A few thoughts came to mind.

!. It may not be much now, but in 1971, but $20 was a lot of money then. So how generous are we to the really needy? And do we do it quietly or do we try and make a big deal of our “Generosity”? Are we truly concerned with their feelings? Or only our own?

2. Do we make any effort to pay back the generosity of others to us, either to them or by doing the same for others in need? Unlike the diner owner we may never be reimbursed, and even if so, not to the same degree of generosity. But that should never be our motive. We should do, because we can, not because we have to. We should give because we want to, not because we are forced or coerced to.

3. It is not always necessary for us to advise of our good deeds. Often it is far better to go around and do things quietly like Larry for 26 years. This way he was able to help the truly needy without being buried by all the requests and demands of “Professional Beggars”.

4. Yet! There does sometimes come a time when we do have to advertise, not for our glory or recognition, but to find someone with the desire to continue our efforts, and to inspire others, when we know or feel that our involvement there is about to end, whether through death, illness, or simply moving elsewhere.

So to all the “New Larry’s “out there, “Who can you help today and will you?” Walter

Madonna

I saw in the Melbourne Herald Sun on Feb.20 that the “Material Girl wants to be like Gandhi”. In the article, Madonna is quoted as saying, “I want to be like Gandhi, and Martin Luther King and John Lennon … but I want to stay alive.” Two thoughts come to mind.

Firstly I wonder whether Gandhi or Martin Luther King, woke up one morning and decided that they wanted to be somebody famous or even somebody important in the world’s eyes? Unlike Madonna, I believe they never set out to change the whole world, simply to right the wrongs they experienced around them. When Madonna (and we} start to correct and change the wrongs around us, then we to will be doing something wonderful and life changing for others. We may never become famous or even recognised but we will have done something worthwhile.

Secondly I wonder why she didn’t include Nelson Mandela in her list of heroes to emulate? After all he is still living! Oh yeah! There is that little matter of spending, what was it, 28 Years in jail? It seems a lot of us want the glory, or some of it at least, that others are getting, but are not prepared to pay the price, if that price is physical pain or incarceration or even death.

Again I don’t think any of those men and many, many other men and women who helped change the world, did it for personal gain, favour or reward. They simply did what they could do irregardless of the probable consequences. I’m sure many of them, like Nelson Mandela, never expected to survive the first few years, let alone become President of his own country.

I truly think it is great that Madonna wants to do something world enhancing like the others but I believe she shouldn’t talk about it but start doing something with her life and not just her money.

I say the same to myself and to you. Walter

Wandering Willie.

Recently I caught something on TV from New Zealand where they did a show on the top ten Invasive plants over there. One they discussed was called Wandering Willie. Now I had never heard of this plant before, but as soon as I saw it I recognised it as what I knew as Wandering Jew. It is also an invasive plant here in Oz.

In wondering out loud as to why the difference in name, my first born replied that maybe it had something to do with Political Correctness. Now I am not a great one for Political Correctness over common usage, but I also have no desire to offend people either intentionally or unintentionally. Therefore in this article although I am talking about what I know as Wandering Jew, I will hence forth refer to it as Wandering Willie.

Wandering Willie is one of those very versatile plants in that it thrives in very wet conditions and survives in very dry ones. Being a succulent type of plant it stores up lots of water and thus even though it shrivels up in dry conditions, it usually survives to thrive again when the rains come. It also has a habit of breaking off into little pieces that can also make roots and spread itself.

This very ability to survive and thrive made it originally very popular as a cheap and inexpensive ground cover that could be grown almost anywhere. But of course like most plants of this type, it was not content to stay where wanted, but rapidly spread any and every where it could. So soon, those who lovingly encouraged it into their gardens, were desperately struggling to get rid of it. Fortunately it is not as hard to get rid of as Oxalis, but you do need to keep at it.

I have seen Wandering Willie in various gardens, and although it would not rate highly in my list of desirable plants, I have never hated it. In fact when we moved into this place a few years back I was not unhappy to see it growing as a ground cover under the trees and making a nice dark green show of it. I was still happy with this situation a few months later when a couple of Pups came along, but it was not to last. One , if not both dogs quickly came out in a rash that was worked out to be coming from their running, playing, and hiding in the Wandering Willie. Hence something had to give. As it was never going to be the pups, it had to be Wandering Willie.

Although there was a lot of it and I had to keep at it for a while, it wasn’t too hard to remove from our yard and today there is none left to irritate the Dogs.

Well that is what I thought, but just recently despite not having been seen for a couple of years and despite a severe drought, I have discovered some still growing in a crowded area which has just started to recover with the removal of 3 big pine trees and with the moisture of a lot of Grey water being put on the 4 small flowering gum trees planted there to replace the pines.

The point here is that there are many similarities in our own lives. Deep down there are some things in our pasts that can suddenly re-appear after many years of absence if we let them. The thing is, just like with the new appearance of wandering Willie, what happens next is what is important. When these things re-appear we have two choices, either immediately do something about it to remove or neutralize these things, or allow them to grow back unhindered. You may say, well no I am taking a third option and letting them grow for a little while and then I will once again remove them.

I am sorry but there is no third option. You either remove these invading plants when you first see them when there is little to remove or it will outgrow you and you will never get rid of it. You have to hit these invading plants and invading habits as soon as you see them and as hard and as fast as you can. Otherwise you will never be free of them. The longer you let them hang around, the harder it will be to finally remove them.

What say you? Walter

Vitamins.

Over the past 20 years or so my health has not always been that great during the winter months and people were always suggesting that I should take some extra vitamins, whether vitamin C or simply Multi Vitamins, or some special Tonic or such. I always did from time to time but never felt that they did any good but always finished the bottle or container in the belief that although they never seemed to do any good, I figured that they couldn’t hurt either.

Although it may have only been in the mind that they didn’t work and not so in reality, I don’t know, but a couple of years ago I was feeling down a bit and so tried some Centrum Multi vitamins. Again it may only have been in my head but I immediately felt a little better when I started taking them, and even when the container ran out bought more and kept on them. Only this time I bought Centrum 50 +. As much as for the fact that they were the only ones I could find at that time, as the fact that I was and still am, 50 +.!

Anyway they worked just as well and I kept on them and developed a routine of when getting up every morning and having my breakfast in a certain chair, I kept the Container nearby in plain view so that I never forgot them. Well seldomly anyway.

This worked fine until just before I went on Holidays just before Christmas. Up to then I had exclusive use of that chair but around then someone decided that that chair and its adjacent bright light was better for her and her needle work and so I lost out again! Anyway between that and going on holidays I got out of the routine of regularly taking my Vitamins. Eventually I did use up the container and as it was summer and I was feeling okay, I decided not to buy any more. Big mistake! A month back at work and I was again feeling flat and so bought some more Centrum 50 + and started taking them regularly again. This meant developing another routine, one that although not as convenient as the previous routine works as effectively, and I am once again feeling better for it.

I think many people today suffer a vitamin deficiency, whether it be with actual Vitamins or some other necessity. For many Christians it is a deficiency of the Vitamin of daily Bible Reading. For some others it is a deficiency of time spent with their spouses or Children or both. For others it may be the lack of exercise and sunshine. For others again it may be actual Vitamins themselves that they are lacking.

What is your “Vitamin” Deficiency? What are you lacking and missing out on? What can you, and what will you do, to make up some of that deficiency? What routine will you need to establish to bring this about? Are you prepared to make that effort for your own health’s sake?

Over to you: Walter

Both sides of the argument.

Having lived among African people almost exclusively, for almost 12 years, I have gotten to understand them a little. Maybe not so much with the Xhosa Language, but certainly among the Xhosa people. During that time, particularly among those who speak English, I have found that although we don’t always use the same words to describe something, we do have a similar sense of Humour. I know it is only a generalization and generalizations can go badly wrong, but as a General Rule, Xhosas, if not all Africans, have a similar sense of Humour to Australians, and don’t mind taking the Mickey out of themselves, if it is appropriate.

Unfortunately not all take life as humorously as Africans and Aussies. This came to mind recently when I passed on a Humorous e-mail received originally from an African source. One that I too passed on to other Africans, both black and white, plus friends of other nationalities.

Obviously the person who sent it to me and I in turn thought it was funny. I to the point of sending it to about 20 people who I knew had spent time in Africa.

Did they think it funny? I don’t know about all of them, but I do know that two people from a specific non African country, didn’t; and wrote to me to tell me that they thought it degrading to their African brothers.

Whilst I did not initially agree with them, I do now see their point, and while I still disagree with them, I do respect their point and I respect them even more for respecting me enough to tell me their point of view, So to those two people I say, thank you very much and I am sorry for offending you. And again I thank you for correcting me.

Now what about you dear reader? Is their something in your life that you need to look at? Not only at your understanding of it, but how others with different views to you, may see it differently?

If so, how will you react to these acts of correction? Will you reject them out right? Or will you examine them carefully and even if you still do not fully agree with their view, at least respect that view and the people who put themselves open to attack to, express their views and to try and help you?

I will leave you with the words of one of my friends as the last words on the subject and as a challenge to both you and me,

“Granted they were funny, but perhaps hurtful to some. When I speak about Africa I always try to think "what would I be saying were one of my African friends in the audience."

Great advice. Over to you: Walter.

Who is top dog where you are?

The other day I was sitting at the computer tapping out a story when I heard a snarling kafuffle from outside around the side. At first I was not too fussed as George has a habit of going around there and stirring up the dog next door. We do try and curtail these arguments as other neighbours don’t like the resulting noise, but I was in no hurry to break off what I was doing as I believed that my wife and daughter were around somewhere and as it was most likely my daughter’s dog in the thick of it, I reckoned that she could handle it. My thoughts were changed by a sudden scream that I realised was from my wife so I rushed outside, half expecting to see a struggle between George and the dog next door thinking that they had somehow found a way through to each other. Not so. It was a serious if not deadly; augment, but one between our own two dogs that had, by the time I arrived, locked jaws on each other’s. My daughter was trying to separate them with a thick large piece of Cardboard while my wife was trying also to separate them.

I decided to try and grab them both by their collars and lift them off their feet in the hope that they would eventually get the message and let go, without biting me for my efforts. Well they did finally let go of each other but Charlie was not overly happy with the forced separation and wanted to continue on. His cause was helped greatly by the fact that he was able to slip out of his collar, and thus out of my effective control. Fortunately we were able to remove George and separate them finally.

All this was observed by the girl next door who was surprised to see a dog fight between the dogs of the same place. Fights between strange dogs or dogs next door, she understood but not between dogs of the same place.

I explained that rather than being rare it was quite common in places where there were two or more dogs off the same sex. A mixed sex pair is fine but between a pair or more of the same sex there is always an issue as to who is top dog. One dog will always dominate and the looser will always bide his/her time to try again.

Charlie is our top dog, but that side of the house and the argument with next door’s dog, is George’s territory, and when my wife went around to call him away, Charlie went with her. A fact that George strenuously objected to, and thus it was on for all to see and hear.

What about where you are? Are you top dog where you are and resent and fight all who you consider to be intruders to your Authority and territory? Do you see others as more threat than assistance to you? Do you see other’s talents as competition to you or as complimentary to your tasks?

On the other hand, are you wanting to be top dog and using every opportunity to attack the top dog? Instead of helping and working with the leader, are you doing all you can to bring them down whilst elevating yourself? If so just remember as you do to them, others will do to you.

Or are you the one in the middle stuck with the task of separating the fighters at serious risk to your own personal safety? Are you being constantly called away from your own given task to try and fix the currant problem and try and keep the peace, till the next time?

In some cases it is possible to put up with this situation on a permanent basis, but if it gets to bad, serious steps need to be taken, like the removal of one or more of the protagonists. Now there is no way that either of my daughters would let me get rid of “their” dog, but in your case it might not be so. Your employers or work mates might decide to get rid of one or both of you, just to get some peace around the place.

What say you about what you are doing and what you can do now, to bring a just and righteous peace to your environment? Whether it be, Home, School Work, Church, or some other place?

Think over that for a while, and consider what your next step should be: Walter

Why are people ignoring me now?

Whilst I may not be the most popular person in the world, I never seemed to be short of people greeting me within the circles I normally travel. That is until recently when I have noticed that people are just not greeting me like they used to.

After speaking to them however I found out what the problem was. It wasn’t something I said, or even something I did. It was something that I hadn’t done, that was the problem.

Right before Christmas I went on three weeks leave. Now whenever I have a holiday or even a day off when I am not doing anything, I simply stop shaving. Normally I only have a couple of weeks off and the whiskers are not worth keeping. This time after 3 weeks they didn’t look too bad so I have kept them on for a while.

So now after a month back at work I have forgotten that I have only just regrown a beard and that most people I know around here, have never seen me with a beard before and so they simply don’t recognise me until I speak to them. Where before they would greet me now I have to wait until recognition sets in.

I was delivering some stationary to a business where one of the daughters of one of my work mates work. Walking to reception I walked past her office and greeted her with my special sense of humour and she responded quite differently to previously. At first I thought she must have just been busy and preoccupied, but apparently not so. As she later rang her father and had him apologise for her, as she had simple not recognised me with the beard, until after I had left.

Now you may not have grown a beard but maybe you have changed a little since people first came to know you. Maybe they no longer recognise you as the person they remember. If so don’t be offended if they are slower to respond to you than you think they should. Give them time to get to know you again. Instead of waiting for them to make the initial approach like they used to, you start doing so. There may well be deeper problems at issue that you may need to resolve but more often than not there is no major problem or rebuff intended. So don't be quick to jump to conclusions but always make the effort to greet others first rather than wait for them to make the first move. Over to you: Walter

I was miffed.

After 3 weeks of Holidays and not shaving I had, what I thought, was a fairly impressive makings of a beard. I have had two or three over the years but this has been the most impressive after only 3 weeks and so I was quite proud of it. Well I was until people started picking on me about it. Now Know these people and I know that they were mostly joking and only having a joke, but still I could not see why they weren’t as impressed with it as much as I was.

Now some 4 weeks later, just at the point where I am seriously thinking of getting rid of it, I am starting to get comments like, "It is starting to come along good now”, and "you are starting to look distinguished now. "(A good reason to get rid of it I think!)

The thing is that not only do other people not see things the same as we do, but we often don’t see things as others do either. What looked good to me at 3 weeks obviously didn’t look as good to others. And what looks the same to me at 7 weeks as it did at 3, looks vastly superior to others.

So what is the moral of the story? Firstly not every body sees things the same as you and that doesn’t mean that they are wrong either.

Secondly, some things just take longer to mature than you think and what is acceptable to you may not be as acceptable to others. (And vice-a versa.)

Thirdly don’t always be in a hurry, sometimes it just takes longer for others to see what you see.

So the next time you feel a little miffed that others don’t see or feel what you do, just relax and give them more time, while at the same time checking that your own opinion is in fact the right one. What say you? Walter

Shrove Tuesday.

With our Wedding Anniversary 4 days earlier and our son’s birthday the day before, Valentines Day is not big in our household. However, although I am not a great Pancake eater either, I was fancying some Pancakes the other day, so I took my wife to the local “Pancake Parlour” on Valentines day. Yeah I know. A romantic I am not!

Anyway on the table was a blurb advertising Shrove Tuesday next week. I will quote:

“What is Shrove Tuesday? The word Shrove comes from the custom of being” shriven” where you present yourself to a priest for confession, penance and absolution.

Certain foods are given up for the duration of Lent such as eggs, milk, and rich buttery dishes.

On Shrove Tuesday, families ate up all the rich foods left in their pantries.

One way they used up the eggs, milk and fats in the house was to add flour to make pancakes.

In England, the popularity of pancakes caused Shrove Tuesday to be called pancake Day!”

This was followed by an add for them and on the other side was this message, which I again quote:

“A special Event for The People Of Melbourne.

Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day.

Tuesday 20 February, 2007

The Annual Pancake Tossing Race.

Each year, the city of Melbourne stops for this famous race. Watch the local ladies toss pancakes down the Bourke Street Mall. Race starts at 11.55 am.”

Now I am not a Catholic so I don’t observe Lent anyway, but I couldn’t help thinking that this is typical of the average Aussie’s reaction to a religious Festival. That is to forget the spiritual aspect of the event all together and just focus on the party. Forget the reason for the Party, just make the party the main thing.

The original reason for Shrove Tuesday was simply to use up, without wasting, what you already had in the house and to prepare and get yourself ready for the spiritual implications of the event you were celebrating. Nowadays the religious significance is mostly lost and the party becomes the main thing and something to spend up on, rather than to use up what was already in the house.

What about you? And not just on Shrove Tuesday either. Whether it be for Christmas, Easter or simply Church every Sunday? Have you become lost in the event, but lost the reason and religious significance of the event? Has it just become an occasion to meet with old friends, rather than with God?

Over to you: Walter

Lizard or Possum?

In my “Blue Tongues and Snappy dogs" item, I told how we sometimes take out dogs up to my mother’s place and how she encourages the wild Blue Tongue Lizards to stay there and even refers to them as her “Pets”. Well last week we went up there and I was again watering and again heard the dogs barking insistently at something. I again stopped what I was doing just in case. By this time my wife was coming from the other direction and I saw the dogs attacking at something. One even had it in his mouth. Well we screamed and he dropped it and they both backed off quick smart. As I was heading for that spot my wife came up the path and told me that she had found the lizard, about 20feet from where I was looking, and it looked dead. At first I thought it had to be another lizard, but not finding one where I looked I began to think that the dog must have carried it off unseen by me, although I really didn’t think that was possible.

Anyway I went over and looked at it and it sure didn’t look to healthy. Now I don’t think I am a wimp but there was no way I was going to pick it up in my bare hands! So I got a stick and gave it a couple of gentle prods, to little reaction. If it wasn’t dead , it sure looked close to it.

At this point I freaked out. Not so much at the death of the Lizard although that was bad, but at what my mother would say when we told her. Something along the lines of, “Your blanky blank dogs killed my pet.” But with more feeling and emphasis than I can put on paper.

Any way I decide that I had better remove and bury the body, so went off and got a large square mouth shovel. But when I got back, the lizard was gone. Again I thought the dogs must have somehow snuck back and took it. However glancing yup I saw movement and here was the lizard going down 4 big, high steps. At that point he saw me and started to stop but also saw the dogs in the distance so took off again and went across the path and down under an old tank where he was again safe.

No he was not dead or seriously hurt just playing Possum. That is he was acting dead until the danger past. And as soon as it was he headed out of the danger zone as fast as he could. Not fast enough to avoid detection but fast enough to avoid further attacks and possible danger.

I don’t know what you think but I think we can learn a lot from that Blue Tongue Lizard.

Yes sometimes we will need to fight back and protect ourselves but not when it will lead to our destruction. Sometimes when our enemies outnumber us or are too strong for us we simply have to “Play Dead” and get out of the trouble area as fast as we can, so that we can regroup and if necessary, fight back but on our own terms and not our enemies.

What say you? Walter

An Echidnas and two fox cubs.

We were back at Mum’s today and after lunch I took the dogs (George & Charlie) for a walk along near the creek bank in what passes for shade as it was over 33Celsius. (I don’t remember what that is in Fahrenheit. You can look it up if you like!) We didn’t chase anything! Well I most certainly didn’t. It was way too hot for that! However we did disturb a couple of Fox Cubs and I did discover another Echidna, about 200 Metres away from the house. As this one was much bigger than last weeks, I think I am safe to say that it didn’t grow that much in one week, thus is definitely a different one.

Because we are still in the grip of a long drought, these animals and others, like Kangaroos and Wombats, which you would normally only see rarely in the evenings or early mornings, are having to travel further and further out in to the open to find food and so, often rest/hide in the bushes during daylight and the heat of the day, rather than returning to their normal places of abode. That is why we are seeing more and more during daylight hours now.

With both these discoveries today, I would not have noticed them if they had not moved and given themselves away, as in both cases I wasn’t even within 60 feet of them before they moved. And in both cases I was on the other side of the creek!

Actually it was only I who saw the animals. Charlie didn’t hear or notice them at all and George only heard then, but not seeing them didn’t bother looking any further. His interests were elsewhere.

In a previous article about Rainbow Lorikeets I remarked about how much we often miss because we are not looking properly, but today I wish to discuss what happens when we, like George, don’t follow up on those things that we hear but don’t see immediately and walk away from, without properly investigating.

As there are no longer any poultry at the farm, or nearby, the presence of foxes nearby now is not a concern, but if anyone nearby did have poultry then it would be a big problem and steps would have to be taken to strengthen and protect the defences of the poultry.

What about you? Are you hearing strange noises or seeing strange movements, but not investigating properly? These strange things that come to your attention, need to be checked out immediately, even if it is just to find out they are harmless. Because if they are not harmless and you don’t report them, great harm can be caused before someone else checks them out. What say you? Walter

What to do with illegal Coins.

In a couple of earlier articles about foreign coins, I mentioned how easily they were being circulated as legal tender but that although similar to Australind Tender and easily confused as such, they eventually do get noticed. The question then, is, “What do you do with them then?

This morning I was discussing my “Five Coin test”, with one of my customers and he remarked that he was surprised that I hadn’t passed them on already to some one else. That is to recirculate them. That is what most people would do. However by doing that you are simply passing the problem on to someone else.

On the other hand, if you withdraw them from circulation, you end up carrying the loss. There in a nutshell is one of life’s big questions. Bear the loss your self; or pass it on to some other poor sucker.

Now in this case it is only a matter of a few cents and not a great loss for anyone, you or the “poor sucker”, to bear, and thus, it is not really that hard to do the right thing, or in some people’s minds, no great crime either, to pass the loss on to someone else.

However what you do with the small things indicates what you would do with the big things, so tell me what would you do?

As it now stands most of the foreign coins that come by me are Kiwi coins and I know someone who is going to New Zealand soon, and they are happy to carry the cost of conversion and take the coins off me at face value. Both to take them out of circulation, and later to spend and recirculate in their right place.

The other strange coins are strange enough for me to want to keep, and so far, I am happy to bear the cost. What would you do? Walter

Five coin Test

In my, “Three 20 cent coins, similar but totally different”, story, I told how I had obtained a Fijian and New Zealand Twenty cent piece, and how that the “Head” side of the coin was very similar to the Australian coin.

I then went on to say that “If I was to put a Fijian, a New Zealand and an Australian 20 cent coin heads up on a table, I suspect very few Aussies would be able to pick the Aussie coin without inspecting them all closely.” Well I decided to put my theory to the test.

To make it a little bit more challenging, I decided to use three Aussie coins with the two ring-ns. In picking my Australian coins I found that we too have a variety of faces on the “Tails” side but on the “heads” side we have two similar but distinctly different pictures of the Queen. On the earlier coins, she is younger. On the later Coins, she is a little older. Anyway I put my five coins face up on a table or bench and challenge people to choose the two duds.

Apart from those who cheat and read the writing on the face, most but not all, pick the Fijian Coin among their two guesses, but most again need a second go for the Kiwi coin, with a few never getting it till they come to the last coin.

Apart from being a time waster and amusing to some, what does my test prove?

It proves that mostly we don’t pay much attention to the small things, even to the point of not even being able to tell what is genuine and what is not. It seems that we don’t worry too much about the littler things but worry about the big things. Like counterfeit Fifty Dollar Notes.

Yet it has been said that if we get the little things right the big things will naturally follow. What say you? Walter