I'M STILL STANDING

I’M STILL STANDING & OTHER STUFF

Came home yesterday after a night’s stay in hospital following the removal of a large Lipoma (lump) on my back. The op went well according to my doctor and I have to take it easy for the next two weeks to allow the wound to heal. It’s interesting that no one knows what causes lumps and bumps to appear on our bodies. Yet, most of us end up with some, especially as we grow older.

   I’m happy and relieved to report that my lump is benign and is not malignant. Having said that, my wife, Brenda, and I went through four weeks of stress before it was given the all-clear. We were always confident things would be okay, however, waiting for the results inevitably built up stress and anxiety. I think uncertainty can often be worse than knowing.

Over the past month I’ve dived into another book. This one is going to be heavily autobiographical compared with my previous ones which were not overtly about me, although personally revealing, if you read between the lines. A possible title is: THE WISE OLD MAN & THE KID – A Guide to Living a Positive Life.

   I’ve been toying with the idea of writing an autobiography for some time. Not for the purpose of inflating my ego, but to pass on what I’d learnt during my lifetime in order to assist readers, especially young adults, in making better decisions. Over a period going back some 15 years I’ve been accumulating memories from my chequered past and parking them in my computer. So, I’ve started threading these together, based on a synchronistic encounter between an elderly man and a 12 year-old boy.

   It’s been smooth sailing so far. However, I know I’ve got some real challenges ahead because, when it gets down and dirty, as it must in order to be authentic – there will be no dodging the warts and all episodes of my life that make me cringe with shame and guilt.

On another note – our conservative government, led by Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, seems to be creaking further to the right every time it makes an announcement. The latest astonishing decision was to resurrect Imperial Honours in Australia by declaring the retiring Governor General a “Dame” and in the incoming GG, a “Sir”. Imperial Honours were dispensed with 30 years ago, replaced with a home-grown system of rewards and recognition. Talk about rushing headlong back to the past!

   Effectively, by placing this ‘new’/archaic level of Imperial Honours above the current Australian honours system, the latter has been effectively devalued.

      My distant relative (or so it is alleged by family historians), the British actor, Albert Finney, declined a C.B.E. in 1980 and a Knighthood in 2000 for his services to drama.

   One of his memorable quotes on the subject of Imperial Honours was: “I think the ‘Sir’ thing perpetuates one of our diseases in England, which is snobbery. And it also helps keep us ‘quaint’, which I’m not a great fan of.”

   Touché, Albert!

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