Today I was going to write about the amazing week Ehren and I just had but I found it hard to focus on that with the news that we are hearing today...
I am so heartsick I can't begin to explain the feeling. My heart goes to all the families affected by this tragedy, whose roots have spread farther than we can ever know. I am sorry for the mothers and fathers that will bury their children (young and old children alike), the children that will bury their parents, the souls that have lost their significant others, the innocent young who have lost best friends, for the terrified who had to run for their lives from a place that is meant to be safe and secure, and for everyone who has been stricken in their hearts by this staggering calamity. People all over the world are mourning for the families in Connecticut.
Early this morning Ehren and I were calmly preparing for a drive to a peaceful beach town when we discovered that a few hours earlier, while we slept, there were families experiencing absolute devastation. About 20 minutes later we heard the news that a man had injured or stabbed 22 children outside a primary school in China. Luckily none of his victims have died.
This day is truly a day of mourning for planet earth. When did we arrive in a place where adults mass murder the innocent, the ones who are our very future. I have felt for a long time that, especially in the United States, we have forgotten it is our job as human beings to care for one another. We have forgotten in our haste to get rich and possess the most that we can not and will not survive without each other.
I hope the events of the last 24 hours will force the human race to think about the direction we are headed and whether or not they are truly happy with it. Are we happy to know that we will get multitudes of gifts this holiday season while others starve? Are we pleased having a 10,000 square foot home when their are people with families who are homeless? Are you content watching the 8 year old climb onto her school bus outside the homeless shelter? Would you be happier to know you have made a real difference in some one's life by volunteering time, energy, money, food, etc,etc,etc? Let's find it in ourselves to be enhance the world around us by improving the kind of person we are. Let's be sure to treat others with respect and love. If bullying and harassment were replaced with love and helpfulness, people may cease resorting to the appalling actions they may see as the only solution, or even the fair solution.
Last but not least... I normally try not to post political beliefs on social media as I feel it is inappropriate but in this case I will make an exception. If you don't agree with me that is your right, but I beg you all to re-think and re-evaluate your beliefs on this subject. Guns are harmful; they are scary; they are dangerous. And I firmly believe they are useless in most situations.
This information is from Nationmaster.com
-39.5% of homicides in the United States are committed with handguns
- There are just under 10,000 deaths from hand guns/year
The thing that is hardest for me to comprehend in this situation is how someone, who is mentally disturbed enough to murder at least 20 primary school children, was able to get their hands on a gun. Knowing that it is possible just reconfirms my beliefs that gun control is too weak in the United States. I hope, that for the sake of the families in Connecticut, and for all the people who have lost loved ones to gun violence, we can change that.
Love you all and hope you can be the change you want to see in the world.
In the words of the greatest singer of all times, Missy Higgins...
There is a choice.
You can follow the leader,
Or use your voice.
Cuz this will just keep up,
Until we make a loud noise,
And the hidden ones speak up.
Lindsay
Friday, December 14, 2012
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Bushman's Alarm
Lets start with something amazing today...
Ehren and I were sitting on the "veranda" this morning when he happened to spot a Goanna moseying it's way through the front garden. That's right, a Goanna, like the one in 'The Rescuers named Joanna'. As I had never seen one before, Ehren had to remind me to stay calm and fairly still so we didn't scare it away. We decided that I would run up to get the camera from our room and Ehren would stay and keep his eye on it, just in case it found an escape route through their front fence. Well sadly when I get back it had escaped. But it was not too far from the fence and I could easily get a shot of it. Then, as Ehren was pointing it out to me, a Kookaburra (a bird I will describe in detail below) in a tree above the Goanna plummeted down intending to make the 3-4 times larger animal into a meal. The Goanna obviously got away as the Kookaburra's eyes were definitely bigger than it's stomach. What an amazing thing to see 20 feet away and from the comfort of your own front yard!
Now for those of you who do not know what a Kookaburra really is, you are in for a treat. They are my favorite bird, and possibly animal! They eat insects and worms as you would expect, but they also eat small snakes, mammals frogs, and other birds! The smaller prey they will eat whole while the larger prey will be killed by bashing it against hard surfaces such as rocks and trees. They are about 15-18 inches normally and their beaks can be up to 4 inches long. They have a very unique call that you can't truly appreciate until you hear it. I'm sure many people have heard the Australian song about the Laughing Kookaburra, but I wonder if they really know how closely its call resembles manic laughter.
Ehren and I were woken the other morning at 4:50am to the sound of these amazing birds and their ridiculous calls. Rather than being upset about the early alarm clock, I couldn't help but smile. It always seems that when one of them calls, the others can not resist joining in the raucous.
On that note I will say goodbye for today. Hope you all enjoy the Kookaburra as much as I do.
Love and appreciate the world round you as it's the only one we have...
Lindsay (and Ehren)
Ehren and I were sitting on the "veranda" this morning when he happened to spot a Goanna moseying it's way through the front garden. That's right, a Goanna, like the one in 'The Rescuers named Joanna'. As I had never seen one before, Ehren had to remind me to stay calm and fairly still so we didn't scare it away. We decided that I would run up to get the camera from our room and Ehren would stay and keep his eye on it, just in case it found an escape route through their front fence. Well sadly when I get back it had escaped. But it was not too far from the fence and I could easily get a shot of it. Then, as Ehren was pointing it out to me, a Kookaburra (a bird I will describe in detail below) in a tree above the Goanna plummeted down intending to make the 3-4 times larger animal into a meal. The Goanna obviously got away as the Kookaburra's eyes were definitely bigger than it's stomach. What an amazing thing to see 20 feet away and from the comfort of your own front yard!
Now for those of you who do not know what a Kookaburra really is, you are in for a treat. They are my favorite bird, and possibly animal! They eat insects and worms as you would expect, but they also eat small snakes, mammals frogs, and other birds! The smaller prey they will eat whole while the larger prey will be killed by bashing it against hard surfaces such as rocks and trees. They are about 15-18 inches normally and their beaks can be up to 4 inches long. They have a very unique call that you can't truly appreciate until you hear it. I'm sure many people have heard the Australian song about the Laughing Kookaburra, but I wonder if they really know how closely its call resembles manic laughter.
Ehren and I were woken the other morning at 4:50am to the sound of these amazing birds and their ridiculous calls. Rather than being upset about the early alarm clock, I couldn't help but smile. It always seems that when one of them calls, the others can not resist joining in the raucous.
On that note I will say goodbye for today. Hope you all enjoy the Kookaburra as much as I do.
Love and appreciate the world round you as it's the only one we have...
Lindsay (and Ehren)
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Trouble with flashing lights
12/1
Australian vocabulary of the day...
Good onya mate: Good job or well done
Today I drove a car in Australia for the 1st time... I backed it out of the driveway. At the moment, that is all I am comfortable with. We should be able to go out with Ehren's dad in the next few days and work on our driving. The car is a manual and of course that means you have to use your left hand to shift gears, which also means you have to use your right hand to put your blinker on. This driving thing gets weirder by the second...
12/3
Australian vocabulary of the day...
This arvo: This afterrnoon
Today I drove into town and boy was it an adventure. I turned the windshield wipers on about 34 times thinking that it was the blinker. Even when I remembered to use my right hand for the blinker about 0.5 seconds later I would reach up with my left hand and turn the wipers on. Who knew these small seemingly insignificant actions were engraved so deeply in our brains. Once I got onto the road I felt a lot more comfortable than I thought I possible but the endless roundabouts are something to get used to. Ehren seems content with me learning how to drive and acting as his personal chauffeur. We will see how that works out for him. :)
We are trying to learn to drive quickly so we don't have to depend on Ehren's parents to take us everywhere. Especially to go work out. It seems we will have to be doing a bit of driving to get to a Crossfit gym. We stopped by 2 gyms today, one about 45 minutes away and one about 20 minutes away. The one that is closer is pretty new with a meager amount of clientele and equipment. I spoke with the owner there about starting some morning classes for him a few times a week in exchange for Ehren and my gym fees. As I am unable to get a real job that makes real money, I may as well get some experience in the areas I would possibly like to work in. The gym that is 45 minutes away is much better equipped for our needs so we will hopefully be able to get out there a few times a week.
Other than that, we are doing minuscule amounts of work and much more substantial amounts of relaxing and helping out around the house. We are hoping to get a few business ideas worked out while we have so much spare time.
One last little shout out... Some of the girls I was coaching this summer had their first competition this weekend and they did very well so congrats!!!
On that note, hope everyone had a lovely weekend.
Love Lindsay
Australian vocabulary of the day...
Good onya mate: Good job or well done
Today I drove a car in Australia for the 1st time... I backed it out of the driveway. At the moment, that is all I am comfortable with. We should be able to go out with Ehren's dad in the next few days and work on our driving. The car is a manual and of course that means you have to use your left hand to shift gears, which also means you have to use your right hand to put your blinker on. This driving thing gets weirder by the second...
12/3
Australian vocabulary of the day...
This arvo: This afterrnoon
Today I drove into town and boy was it an adventure. I turned the windshield wipers on about 34 times thinking that it was the blinker. Even when I remembered to use my right hand for the blinker about 0.5 seconds later I would reach up with my left hand and turn the wipers on. Who knew these small seemingly insignificant actions were engraved so deeply in our brains. Once I got onto the road I felt a lot more comfortable than I thought I possible but the endless roundabouts are something to get used to. Ehren seems content with me learning how to drive and acting as his personal chauffeur. We will see how that works out for him. :)
We are trying to learn to drive quickly so we don't have to depend on Ehren's parents to take us everywhere. Especially to go work out. It seems we will have to be doing a bit of driving to get to a Crossfit gym. We stopped by 2 gyms today, one about 45 minutes away and one about 20 minutes away. The one that is closer is pretty new with a meager amount of clientele and equipment. I spoke with the owner there about starting some morning classes for him a few times a week in exchange for Ehren and my gym fees. As I am unable to get a real job that makes real money, I may as well get some experience in the areas I would possibly like to work in. The gym that is 45 minutes away is much better equipped for our needs so we will hopefully be able to get out there a few times a week.
Other than that, we are doing minuscule amounts of work and much more substantial amounts of relaxing and helping out around the house. We are hoping to get a few business ideas worked out while we have so much spare time.
One last little shout out... Some of the girls I was coaching this summer had their first competition this weekend and they did very well so congrats!!!
On that note, hope everyone had a lovely weekend.
Love Lindsay
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