Jeff Kennett

You know I look back at Jeff Kennett and what depression did to him. Out of it we have Beyond Blue. I am sure there are days where we see the Black Dog lurking in the way he handles himself. However the unsung hero in all of this is his wife Felicity. Clearly a strong person whom has probably dealt with much more than will ever be revealed. Crossed swords with the lady once back in the Advertising days. To Felicity I salute you as a woman whom has stood by her man no matter what. "I dips me lid"

12th February 1972

Here it is forty years down the track and what should be the happiest day of my life is nothing but a memory. How do you rationalize all of this, I am not sure. I loved my wife, still do. No I was know angel but the whole psyche of my life was instilled in me by my father and my father in law.

Work hard secure your family. I fell badly probably during four periods in my life and during those periods experienced what I call an 'aloneness' and felt that the support that I needed was simply not available. My wife, my business partner, my father and my father-in-law. These people I did not expect to solve the problem but to listen and be the sounding board that I always felt that I had been to others. Yep - not there and I broke.

Maybe the tears I was shedding may not have been visible but they were real and they burned as they were shed. The despair drove me to things I could no longer control. No I probably did not have the right balance on my life, work hard in business, work hard on making my families life happy. President of this and that, chairman of everything else not for me but for the common good or so I thought.

Now here I am reflecting on a beautiful wedding day forty years ago and remembering the beautiful girl I still love with all of my heart,mind,body and soul.

Happy Anniversary my darling wife.

Here is something for you all to consider

A Mayonnaise Jar & Two Beers...

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.


A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.

The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full..

The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed..

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favourite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car..

The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children.

Spend time with your parents. Visit with your grandparents.

Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18 holes.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal unit.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter.

Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented.

The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.'

The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

Please share this with someone you care about. I JUST DID!

I forgot this and lost something more special to me than life itself......

Lest We Forget

Had a beer on Friday Night with some friends. In the group I met two guys fairly recently of our SAS and not all that long out of Afghanistan. True to their regimental training they did not talk about it much but you can read their experience in their eyes.

Let me just say the bits they cared to share remind me very much of the debt we owe all members of our services both inside Australia and overseas. To you all I salute you.

LEST WE FORGET

Humans - a rather pathetic species

One is left wondering what purpose Humans. Selfish users occupying our planet much like locusts. Use it until destroyed and then move on as a teaming hoard. Showing off struggling to succeed at what and for what purpose?

The pain we create is inexplicable our stupid mutterings as we race on until death sets us free.

New World in the Morning

I can, can you

I will love always and forever

"This is a song I've been singing for a long time.
It's like an old friend.
But, you know, I think it,
it's only recently that I discovered what it's really about."

You've got to give a little, take a little,
and let your poor heart break a little.
That's the story of, that's the glory of love.

You've got to laugh a little, cry a little,
until the clouds roll by a little.
That's the story of, that's the glory of love.

As long as there's the two of us,
we've got the world and all it's charms.
And when the world is through with us,
we've got each other's arms.

You've got to win a little, lose a little,
yes, and always have the blues a little.
That's the story of, that's the glory of love.
That's the story of, that's the glory of love.

Shame really anything is resolvable if we wanted too

Shall love you always and forever