We have arrived in Kyiv and are getting settled but all is good and we are lovin' it!!!Feeling right at home within the short time we've been here. Waiting to hear about a position I applied for and when that all works out we will be golden (as Bill would say). Cheers for now.
06/20/08
06/11/08
06/03/08
Wheelchairs
Back in 1917, a Royal Flying Corps doctor created the field of aviation medicine when he found that there were three particular complaints perculiar to pilots. One was arch pain in the feet from the use of rudder pedals and control backlash, another was chronic lower back pain and the third, I think, was no sense of humor thanks to the above. Every profession has its own set of health issues and so I find myself in a wheelchair for a few days. Its more frustrating than painful but spend a day in a wheelchair and you get a whole new perspective on life.
Co workers for example. I used to think they were ok guys, but now every one of them is getting a rubber spider in his pigeon hole for being mean to me. It amazes me that a guy in a wheelchair can be a source of so much amusement to others, and it pains me that tazers are illegal in Australia. Then theres the food and drink problem... ever tried to take a coffee and danish from a table back to your spot when both hands are needed for driving the chair? I know none of this is news to anyone in a chair, but its an eye opener for those of us who dont use the things.
Then theres the elevator. You park in a lift and suddenly realise that everyone else in the world has their crotch at your eye level. The temptation to lash out is almost irresistable. Minor slopes become major obstacles, hotel desks become walls of veneer you cant see over, and airports become an obstacle race. Port Moresby airport doesnt have the facilities needed for easy departure and arrival of wheelchair passengers so the passenger has to take a circuitous route to and from the plane.
On the other hand, people are remarkably helpful and kind when they find you are in a chair and need help, so theres a positive side to all of this.
Australia this week withdrew the last of its combat troops from Iraq after five years, and its been done with remarkably little fanfare. It wasnt even the main news story here, which is amazing given the issue nearly tore this country apart for three years. In five years the total combat deaths of Australian troops has been one apparant suicide/ accidental discharge, one vehicle crash and one killed while serving with the British. I think that may be a lower casualty rate than youd expect in peacetime exercises over the same period.
Dry season in northern Australia now, and the weather is dry and pleasant. Come november we enter the wet season and can expect cyclones from November through to April. Bad as they are, they dont look anything like the tornados Ive seen this past month in the U.S. Kind of puts ones own problems in perspective.
K
