Sweet sweat

Yesterday I heard that a revered colleague had died in the crash of a small passenger plane in North Queensland. 15 passengers and crew on a scheduled flight from Bamaga near the top of Cape York, about to land at the small community of Lockhard River, perished when their plane crashed into dense and remote rainforest. This man was one of Australia's top scientists but he was more than that, he was an inventor, a diplomat, an urbane and gentle man who'd lived a life of service to his country and to science. He was on his farewell trip across the Top End because he was due to retire in the next couple of weeks. Here was a man with so much more to give to the world. It was shocking. I think we had all thought of him as immortal.

Today I was in a full day training course aimed at enhancing presentation skills.

The juxtaposition of these two events felt very weird.

Why does God always take the great and the good? You know, this stuff makes me feel guilty. Why am I still here and a man like this is cut down at the height of his power and influence? It makes no kind of sense.

I've just finished reading an interesting book. A Keeper of Sheep by William Carpenter. I hadn't heard of this author before but I'll certainly watch for him again. The Washington Post said it 'shows us how a poetic vision can illuminate the world, making the ordinary extraordinary', another reviewer called it 'both colloquial and poetic, lively and profound' and a third likened the main character (female) to 'Holden Caulfield's little sister come of age in a far harsher time.' It's a small, intimate story set on Cape Cod- I could almost see the fog and smell the fish- yet its theme of human suffering, human dignity, endeavour, creativity, community and personal relationships is universal. I loved it. Let me know what you think if you read it.