Patriot Realm

As I explained in my article a few days ago, Novak had the audacity to enter into a  debate over a very financially lucrative deal in Serbia for Rio Tinto and no doubt it was game set and match the moment he dared to speak out against an Australian mining giant like Rio Tinto. 

He served a big dose of f##k you to Australia in December by backing his own country and joining the volley of voices that dared to play hard ball with Rio Tinto. Whether it is coincidence or not, Scott Morrison's Chief of Staff is John Kunkel. Before joining Scott Morrison’s office,  Dr John Kunkel served as the former head of government relations at Rio Tinto and the former deputy chief executive of the Minerals Council of Australia.

They say that recalling a love for the past helps promote hope for the future, and reassures us that life is meaningful. It is so true. Sometimes, a simple thing can trigger a flood of memories and create an optimism where none lay before.

Only yesterday, an old tin bath at the back of Redhead's home became a place of wonder and joy for a little two year old who could turn a bucket, a plastic jug, and an old tin bath into a journey of discovery and seemingly endless pleasure.

That same tin bath has been in our family for over 50 years and has seen its fair share of change.

Just over 50 years ago a TV program held my interest like no other.    “Why is it so?”   His own science-based TV series which was filmed at the University of Sydney where he taught, was broadcast from 1963 to 1986 and became an instant hit known for its "cool experiments, interesting science, and fantastic hair" … the presenter was Professor Julius Sumner Miller, who has been a huge positive influence in the lives of many young people.

As well as the cool experiments, some of his sayings were, and still are, excellent advice … “ Whatever work you undertake to do in your lifetime, it is very important that first you have a passion for it - you know, get excited about it - and second, that you have fun with it. That's important. Otherwise, you see, your work becomes nothing but an idle chore. Then, you hate the life you live.”

We can cope with many many things. But we NEED to feel the grass on our toes. Sunshine, fresh air and a nice meal with conversation.

That is what life and living is all about. 

When we are told by our governments or those in power that we no longer have basic human rights to breathe fresh air, access human contact and enjoy that which was granted to prisoners under the Geneva Convention, something is wrong. Very very wrong indeed. 

I wanted to take a moment to recognize Novak Djokovic and his heroic defiance of the COVID regime, lending his enormous platform and status to the millions of people around the world who have been denied their unalienable rights in the name of a virus.

You would never know it by his disposition, but “Djoker” has an amazing rags to riches story, and he’s well aware of how governments can cause great human suffering. Growing up in war-torn Belgrade, Djokovic had to learn to play tennis in between bombing raids. Far from a silver spooned prodigy, he had to defy incredible odds to just achieve a modicum of success, and yet he has become one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Every sick child, and probably every adult at some point, asks that existential question: why am I suffering? 

No answer is satisfying. To be sick is to feel vulnerable, weak, not in control, not in the game. Life is chugging along outside of your room. You can hear laughter, cars going here and there, people out and about. But you are stuck, shivering under blankets, appetite disrupted and struggling to remember what it was like to feel healthy. 

With fever, all of this is worse because the capacity for one’s brain to process information with full rationality is deprecated. High fever can induce a form of brief insanity, even involving hallucinations. You imagine things that are not true. You know that but can’t shake it off. The fever breaks and you find yourself in a pool of sweat, and your hope is that somewhere in this mess the bug has left you.