Highway to Hell
Highway to Hell
Cartoon Pen & Watercolour 8″ x 12″
Copyright 2008 Jean Burman
My good friend Elinor Mac emailed me from Scotland this week. It’s always such a treat to open my inbox to find her there. She always has something entertaining to tell me… or to forward… and the other day was no exception!
After reading her email… a quick google search confirmed the terrible truth.
According to a report in The Scotsman… police caught and charged a man with drink driving whilst six times over the legal limit at the wheel of his motorised wheelchair… (the fact that he was also asleep at the lights in the turning lane on a busy four lane highway probably added to their ire and brought the essential element of “circus” to the news story!)
Where? A little red faced I confess this happened in downtown Cairns. My town. Half way around the world from Tignabraich Scotland. In fact… if you were to fly for 24 hours in a straight line from pretty much anywhere on the planet you would eventually get… well… here.
Newsworthy yes… and indeed the incident did make front page news here too. But what surprised me the most was that the Scottish newspaper was not the only one onto it. India news… Hinduonline… Congo news… Reuters… even the NYTimes and the Huffington Post all got a hold of this one. And in a matter of earthshattering minutes too. Breaking news of the weirdest kind (apparently) travels fast. I gave up counting at page 9 on Google for the news sources carrying this story!
Why there hasn’t been such a commotion online or off since that bloke up in the Top End was bitten on his Rear End by a taipan… as he crouched for a comfort stop by the side of an outback road in the Northern Territory. Front page world news for over a week… but that was more than 3 weeks ago!
Amazing how quirky news travels fast… but why the fascination with such things when there is so much other “serious” stuff going on out there? But I guess that’s the point isn’t it? Where on earth would we be without a good laugh… especially when we get the chance to laugh at ourselves! ( ~grin~)
I have no idea what the rest of the world must think of this place where we 20 million odd Aussies live (odd being the operative word here ~still grinning~) This vast brown land all green around the edges just gets more entertaining by the minute!
Kangaroos bounding around our streets (oh yeah right)… crocodiles on the beaches (uhuh?)… snakes in places you could never imagine (well okay maybe)… should all make for one of the most exciting tourist destinations on the planet. So “where the bloody hell are they?” (to caption the late great ill-fated tourism ad campaign that crashed and burned)
Visitor numbers are down…. and can you blame them with all this crazy stuff going on? I mean… “why the bloody hell would they?” *wink*
But no… it’s not the front page news of reckless runaway motorised wheelchairs or the belligerence of our (oooo scarey) wildlife that has tourists running scared.
Nope. It’s all that rather stupid trivial stuff on page 3 that’s got them all stumped (and staying home). Incidentals… like the burgeoning cost of fuel… the world economic crisis… political social and religious unrest across the planet… terrorism… war in the middle east…and the threat of climate change… jihad and global catastrophe.
Tsshhh… details details…
Oh come on over… she’ll be right mate! (((chuckles)))
June 28th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Its the 15 hour plane ride. neverthe less I am thinking of doing it. roger
June 30th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Hi Jean!!! I’m back with fully overhauled PC….yahooey!!! Only took 4 weeks and a wad of money, but hey - I’m one happy girlie!
Traveling to or within our great southern land is surely an adventure, with all its pitfalls and joys that come with the package! As you know I am about to embark on an adventure after a 4 year hiatus….and I cannot wait! I shall be taking my wide eyed Claire and revelling in her perception as well as my own. I cannot wait to see brand new places, meet brand new people and just breathe in the beauty and rawness that is our country!!!! You could say that this is the first step of many that I intend to make…crutches or not!!!
The Northern Territory (as well as Queensland and Western Australia) is pure perfection this time of year and there is just so much to see and learn..wether it be locals doing “their thing” or landscapes doing theirs! I am so keen I am bursting with glee!
It is not just the “unplugged” scenery that is luring me, it is the unexpected that is what I am craving for as well. The only way to get off a treadmill..is to take one step sideways!
July 1st, 2008 at 3:47 am
It’s astonishing what gets passed off as news in this era of rapid news cycles and 24/7 reporting. Not too long ago there was a story on the evening news here in Los Angeles about a boy in a Florida school who raised his hand and asked permission to go to the bathroom. The teacher refused him because she felt he went too frequently, so he went into the cloakroom and peed in a bucket. That’s it, that was the whole story. I’m not kidding!
I yearn to get to Australia one day, Jean, more even than to the orient.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:00 am
I’m thinking that perhaps, journalists and the general public alike are perhaps needing to focus in on the smaller and less important stories as we are bombarded with the “serious” and life altering events that are in our faces…they too are an every day event and have become common place. Wether we see those lesser stories as humour or as a disgrace, is up to us….but to know that they are still going on is actually a relief!
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:41 am
hahaha… that’s soo true! And I mean… who could resist a story like the one that appeared on the front page of our local paper last Monday? In fact I am really surprised that this one didn’t make world news!
The headline screamed “What should we do with our drunken sailor?” the article going on to describe a high speed boat chase around Trinity Inlet… the police in hot pursuit of the serial drunken sailor five times over the legal limit. Looks like it’s an epidemic! The fact that the guy lives on his yacht moored out in the inlet and probably commutes across to the marina in his dinghy probably goes some way toward explaining the “serial” behaviour. I mean one does have to socialise! *wink* And where would we be if not providing sport for the local constabulary? (laughs) It was page 11 before the news articles went global!
Your trip sounds fabulous Jools!
Roger… you’ve done it before you can do it again! I’ve done the trans Pacific flight a few times and have got to say it doesn’t get any easier. I think the worst part travelling east on a very long flight is the eternal day. At least travelling west you can sleep in darkness all the way. Amazing (and kinda scarey too) to think that we can now be anywhere on the planet in under a day. If ever we needed a reminder that what happens in our own backyard has repercussions for everyone across the planet… the speed at which modern air travel can move people would be it!
John… I hope that teacher got to empty the bucket! (grin) Aus is a great destination… as is much of Asia. But so far away from the rest of the world. When it comes to long distance air travel… it’s definitely pays to focus on the destination and not the journey! (laughs)
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:44 am
We’re only “bombarded,” Jools, if we choose to tune in to the rare news broadcasts that cover crucial stories in any kind of depth, or if those are the stories we read in the kind of newspapers that provide real coverage. The rest of the time the public is given little snippets of genuine news practically lost in and among the fluff. If anything is “in our face” it’s the car accidents on the Pasadena Freeway, the hold ups in the Glendale 7-11’s, the battle between the paparazzi and locals on the beach in Malibu, and whether Obama and Hillary have buried the hatchet. Though the rising gas prices and slumping economy is covered on a daily basis right now, even it is given superficial coverage, and tends to be interviews with the “(wo)man-on the-street” about whether they plan a car trip for the 4th of July weekend. Alas, people want to be distracted and entertained, and any kind of serious attention to stories of substance is thought of as an intrusion. The media are only to happy to comply.
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:28 am
The really scarey thing is when the trivia gets messed up with the serious issues… and we find ourselves laughing at stuff that (whilst highly amusing) has huge and far reaching implications for the future. Like our Govt’s proposed strategy for keeping fuel prices down by removing the GST on the fuel excise… conveniently passing the buck to the States. It’s a short term fix for a long term problem. It’s surprising the knee jerk response around the world to the fuel crisis. What’s even more surprising is the blinkered hair-brained solutions that are being mooted. Reality is…people are going to have to face the awful truth before long and get used to paying more and/or using less. Better now than later. And who knows… if we can no longer afford fuel for our cars then maybe there will be fewer of them and global warming will be a thing of the past. Sheesh… I’m going out to buy the paper… need to lighten up! (grin)
July 2nd, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Aha…where ever there is a problem, there is always an answer, in some way shape or form! As for the fuel “problem”, yes indeedy… people shall have to curtail their habits of jumping in the car for shopping trips that entail buying just one item….on a whim! Car pooling (sharing drivership of cars on a roster system), shop for food with a list rather than an appetite and use public transport where available. Since being unable to independently drive myself anywhere, not having finance to pay for taxis, not being able to board public transport (buses) I have had to change my habits dramatically without any thought of petrol consumption…but the same principal reigns, Conserve and be organised - or simply “go without!” The price and availability of fuel is not going to improve, so….we have to find another way.
As for serious and not so serious news that takes headlines….I rarely read a newspaper, do not watch much news on TV - but always manage to “hear” what is going on via the importance of “bush telegraphs” or grapevines courtesy of people chatting in supermarket lanes, visitors and “catchup” phone calls with friends and family. If something is worthy of gasps repeated down lines of physical or scientific means….then I will hear! I may be ignorant, but it is bliss! Should I be in the position to be privy to news myself..I do my best to impart, subject to worthiness (grin!!).
The planet has been warming up for centuries…before we even thought of oil, actually since the last ice age! I am not saying that we should not care…quite the opposite in fact. I think we should be conserving and getting ourselves organised for the changes to come, those changes have already begun and have very little to do with the effects of who is in power at any given time. The cycle will continue no matter what or whom the headlines are about. Phoof….Jean, I’d better go and get a newspaper myself…LOL!!!
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:11 pm
PS Jean…have you watched the Australian comedy TV show “Good News Week”..it ’s hilarious, I love it! With guest comedians pitching their knowledge and awareness of news headlines against each other as teams. Naturally the “down to earth”humour of Australians pervades, but it really highlights just how ridiculous or ambiguous headlines can be!
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:16 pm
E keeps telling me I should watch it… so maybe I should (not that I watch that much tellie) But you know the old saying “if you don’t laugh you cry” so why ever not? (grin)
Have to agree about global warming. It’s coming ready or not. And whether we had anything to do with it or not seems inconsequential to me. We need to get smart either way… conserve energy… and look for new ways to power the earth. I was horrified to learn that one of Australia’s proposed energy solutions was to revisit the once unviable extraction of shale oil (one of the dirtiest solutions on the planet) OMG… have we not learned anything?
Sadly Australia exports it’s best people and finest ideas because of an unwillingness on the part of Government and industry to financially back innovative solutions. Classic was the Qld. Premier’s recent visit to the huge solar project now up and running in the US. Aussie by design… we must now buy the technology back! Crazy horse stuff if you ask me! (laughs)
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Lol!!! Aaahhh Jean..the lesson is long and hard! We as humans have forgotten “tribal laws” - it does not have to be the same tribe at all, just has to be ….!
Neccessity is the mother of invention. I firmly believe that if we all forget about religion and politics..we could actually make it ALL work! No ONE power…just the power of being alive.
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:14 pm
good heavens…I actually SAID it!
July 2nd, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Perhaps in the end your wish will come true Jools. When the chips are finally down and it looks as though all will be lost… then and only then… will people unite in a common purpose. Everything is relative. And when global catastrophe is the only option staring us blankly in the face… human kind may finally get it’s priorities right and put people (and survival) before profits power and world domination. In the end… only the Universe has that kind of power! Deep for this time of the night I know! And I haven’t even started dinner yet… lucky it’s just me I’m feeding tonight (and I’m so easy to please!) (chuckles)
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:40 am
Lol..poached eggs on toast Jean???
What you have said is so true Jean..true but sad! It bamboozles me that the majority of people cannot see our existence here as a team effort! One must help the other and vice-versa. Only a pooling of skills and knowledge can make a team come across the line…and when that does happen, the hugs of joy are also shared! (having a visual of a football team after the final whistle blows!).
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:34 am
ha… how did you know Jools? Just put the eggs on to poach! LOL
State of Origin comes to mind this morning… but hey… I’m no follower… so please don’t shoot me! *wink* LOL
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Neither am I Jean..LOL! But the analogy seems to fit!
Going off on a bit of a tangent here, football (or any other sport) gives us heroes…except when they are “playing up!” and providing headlines of their own (Lol)..I read once that within our society, we have a “Luke Skywalker” phenomenon, a hero that can save us all. It is having that hero that gives us hope (apparently?) But since headlines can go “anywhere” that apparent hope has been squashed and wrung out to dry! Is it like believing in fairies do you think? Or…do we find heroes within ourselves, knowing that what we CAN do, WILL make a difference? I think that every hero starts off as a down trodden character…one who is goofey and trips over with very thick glasses (just a stereotype character there!), but then…he/she realises that they can make a difference just by working hard to reach a goal that is good for everyone.
July 4th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Hmmm… this took some pondering but yes… I think we can all be the hero in our own lives. And we probably need to be… as there isn’t ever going to be enough Luke Skywalker’s to go round! LOL It constantly surprises me how far “persistence” takes people. Often much farther than talent/knowledge/wisdom or education alone. It’s the people who just keep at it that get there in the end… wherever “there” is! (grin)
Something Ralph Waldo Emerson had to say springs suddenly to mind:
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
(I read recently where this may have been incorrectly attributed to Emerson… but nonetheless… whoever wrote it - in my book - got it right)
July 4th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Absolutely!!