I took a day off today. Thursdays are normally my quiet day and I had a massage appt in Tecoma scheduled for 4pm, so when Merle asked me was there a chance I could attend a function in Berwick on behalf of the Friends of Gembrook Park I said yes I could. Not that I had any desire to, but I badly wanted a haircut and thought I could easily be down that way doing that and fit in the function which I was told was to start at 12.15pm and run for half an hour only as the Minister for Social Services was on a tight schedule.
It was an announcement of the volunteer grants to organizations in the Latrobe electorate, $99,000 to 26 organizations who had successfully applied for a grant. I had had nothing to do with our application but the chap who did it was away in Qld and Merle could not go. I went because I could, and I was curious. It was held at the new Impaired Vision school in Berwick which was an impressive place as were the students and the staff who had a small assembly to welcome everyone and kick it off. Local Federal Member Jason Wood and Christian Porter the Minister both spoke briefly and it was a short and sweet announcement followed by a tour of the school.
Apparently Jason Wood had been instrumental in achieving funding for the school around the time of the last election and this was news to me. The children who spoke at the assembly were most impressive and it showed me how important it is that disabled kids get opportunities to progress and play a valuable role in society. As part of the assembly a girl played a little organ and two other kids put an Australian flag in a stand and everyone sang the National Anthem Advance Australia Fair.
Everyone except me that is. Not out of protest, anyone can sing what they like is my view, or not sing if they don't want to. I remembered singing the National Anthem thousands of times at school like an obedient parrot, in those days it was 'God Save the Queen', and I have often thought if I could go back I'd not sing and say "no thanks not for me". I just don't see the point in singing it on cue, or making kids sing it. A bit like when I went to church recently and everyone was up and down singing like a parrot from a cue card numerous times. I just don't get it. It doesn't do it for me. I know politicians are big on national pride and allegiance to the flag and all that stuff, and there was no shortage of signage on the roadsides showing pictures of smiling Jason Wood and Malcolm Turnbull advertising the one billion dollars they were to spend on the Monash freeway if re-elected. There was a even a very large one looking straight at you as you drove into the school.
And the kids also thanked the elders past and present of the indigenous tribes for the use of the land we are now occupying, something like that was the wording, at the start of the assembly. I have seen this down at council meeting when I attended one a few years ago, and I believe it is done at State and Federal Parliament. It seems much like lip service to me, tokenism. A bit like saying we do this because we recognize we took your land from you, now we can get on with the development. The plight of indigenous people in Australia is as desperate as ever, and I was shocked on a visit to Central Australia a few years ago.
With that of my chest, let me say I had a great day. I had a haircut in Pakenham. I went to a bloke I'd been to before in an arcade off the main street knowing he was an avid Melbourne fan and could fill me in on the club news, but he was closed for two weeks. There was a lady barber Meagan who does men next door, a Sydney fan, but she had three blokes ahead of me so I looked in the window of the lady's hairdresser on the other side of my bloke and there was no one in there and the lady said come in she'd do me straight away. She was a total delight, Soni was her name, an Indian migrant from the Punjab, she has owned the business 2 years and her husband is a truck driver and they have a six year old daughter, after migrating nine years ago. She only charged me $15 which is what the man next door does. Sometimes you meet people who give your spirits a lift and she did that.
After the meeting in Berwick I went to drop some lemons in to Rickyralph round the corner. He happened to be home as he worked night shift in his new job last night, and he was so happy Gord and I called in. We talked for an hour over a couple of cups of tea before Gord and I went to Fountain gate then onto Aldi at FTG and my massage at Tecoma. My session with masseur Lisa was exquisite euphoria, her hands like magic as she worked for 45 mins on my lower and upper back and shoulders and neck.
No comments:
Post a Comment