Christmas Day
December 25th 2010
Weeks passed as LP and Ingrid settled back to work. Their holiday became a distant memory, unless they were asked, “How was New Zealand?”
LP had hundreds of photos printed off at the local electrical goods store. He got a good deal on prints at five cents each. He showed these to anyone who wanted to hear about their trip. Those fond memories would carry him through to his next holiday break in December. With six weeks holidays owing and four months long service still to use up, he was planning many more adventures.
Since returning from Christchurch, they had only had three sunny days. All the others were overcast or raining. He hoped this pattern would change so he could go fishing and crabbing.
His thoughts wandered to travelling back over The Ditch and repeating their trip. They could head north this time, from Christchurch to Picton and then down the rugged west coast, taking in the breathtaking scenery they'd been told about.
February or Easter would be a good time to head back. He would run the idea past Ingrid and see what she thought.
Meanwhile, news reports were telling of further aftershocks in Christchurch, rattling the nerves of city folk.
More disturbing news from around the world reinforced LP's attitude to natural disasters occurring in Indonesia, Pakistan, Haiti, Chile, Australia and New Zealand, to name a few.
He was forming a point of view that the prophecies of the Bible and the Chinese I Ching (Book of Changes) were merging. Within a short time, they would bring destruction or enlightenment.
There was also Nostradamus’s secret writings to consider, and the Mayan long count calendar, calculated to end after 5125 years, on the 21st December 2012. The future was looking gloomy.
Continuing news bulletins didn't help his attitude, with reports that the worst aspect of manmade pollution may not be carbon in the atmosphere, but methane. Both went hand in hand.
With methane building up in the atmosphere, Bill McKibben’s book title ‘Earth under Fire’ could well come true.
ABC-TV's ‘Four Corners’ reported on exploration drilling and capping of hundreds of coal seam gas wells in Queensland. Prime cattle grazing country, as well as cotton and grain crops were been affected adversely.
Seeping methane gas bubbling up into the atmosphere, as well as chemicals used to fracture and extract coal seam gas were poisoning the land and threatening to compromise Australia's greatest natural asset.
The Artesian basin is a water resource that has continually provided water to the parched land of Australia. Thousands of windmills pump life-giving liquid gold to the surface. That water changed arid dry land, to become suitable for grazing or crops turning it into profitable livelihood for the first European settlers to the area.
Watching the TV programme only reinforced his concerns that things weren't getting any better, and LP felt he was becoming a prisoner to an environment spiralling out of control.
Governments that could make changes for the well being of future generations were slow to act in turning the tide of destruction befalling our way of life. This has also endangered other species to the point of extinction.
Big business, through lobbying politicians, has influenced decision making adversely on our planet, possibly allowing carbon pollution to increase beyond acceptable levels. Furthermore, the rate of deforestation has not abated.
Bloggers highlighting habitat ruination affecting the survival of orang-utan populations in Borneo and Sumatra, state that millions of acres of rain forest habitat are cut down each year to make way for palm oil plantations.
That rate of logging and burning can only lead to extinction of orang-utans in the most horrible way, as witnessed in 1987 – 1998’s uncontrolled burning, which killed nearly eight thousand orang-utans.
What happened to those creatures may well mirror how things could pan out for mankind, destroying the ancient forests of their dwelling place and thus destroy the planet we know.
Those primates are like old coal miner’s canaries in underground mines. Save them and we save ourselves.
For a species to claim intelligence and rule over its domain, they must also take responsibility to look after and protect that environment and its inhabitants.
At stake is our place in the universe as a sustainable biosphere for future generations. The time to take a stand is approaching, where one voice, echoed by billions, will create change. That day is coming, by LP’s reckoning.
LP was becoming increasingly worried about the natural disasters being reported throughout the world. Now events were happening closer to home.
Unprecedented flooding on the eastern seaboard of Australia, wild fires over in the west and more cyclones predicted in coming months. This would keep State Emergency Services on alert for extreme weather conditions to come.
With this foresight, he needed to keep a level head as events unfolded as foretold. To get his mind off things, he opened his unread emails dated Thursday 23rd December 2010.
Bear's was the first he read, bringing a smile to his face as he scrolled down. Bear wrote about the stupidity of some politicians, stating what he would do if he could get hold of the buggers that gave the Communist Government in Vietnam one hundred and sixty million dollars to build another bridge across the Mekong River. You'd think once bitten twice shy.
He reckoned what he’d do is grab hold of the politicians responsible and give them a good shake to see if any intelligence rose to the surface. They should be treated like working dogs, he felt, if they didn't perform, they shouldn’t get tucker and instead get the bullet.
Bear was ropeable over the government sending $4.5 billion overseas as foreign aid, while the country he loved was left wanting for a disaster fund set up like the one in New Zealand.
He made a point of saying that, for every dollar that’s sent offshore, one dollar should go into an Australian disaster fund, to help those affected by flooding, earthquakes, wild fires and cyclones.
LP agreed, but emailed back to him that shooting the dog seemed a bit over the top.
Christmas Day started out like any other for Ingrid and LP. The presents were piled around a green tree, adorned with tinsel and covered in gold bells. Flavours filled the air as the food was spread over two large glass tables.
LP's blue cooler, packed with ice, was overflowing with the festive spirit.
Glancing across at his temperature gauge, he saw that it was thirty degrees already, which at 9:00am was making for another hot and humid Christmas Day.
The sunrise hours passed with Kookaburras laughing to set the morning theme. Family and friends would arrive mid morning.
In the meantime, he packed their four wheel drive. Teewah Beach was on his mind. Tomorrow they would drive up to Tewantin and cross the flooded Noosa River by barge.
As everyone arrived for lunch, more presents were placed around the tree for all to see. After all the gifts were opened to great enjoyment, the feast was devoured.
LP pushed his chair back, stood up and said "What a great spread this was. I think we should thank Ingrid for the food, and I'd like to thank everyone for being here."
He walked inside and flicked on a local news channel for the latest news on flooding throughout Queensland. A news reporter standing on an inner-city Brisbane intersection at Herston was saying, "The Bad Meadows biker club, two hundred strong and riding two abreast, is causing traffic chaos." The reporter pointed to gridlocked traffic, and continued "Nutter, their leader, a reformed drug dealer and standover thug, has now ordered his mob to follow him in single file, zigzagging through the traffic chaos they caused.”
Nutter rode his gleaming Fat Boy Harley, holding the handle bar with his right hand. In his left he waved a huge brown teddy bear. The other biker club members also carried Christmas presents for sick kids at the Royal Brisbane Children Hospital.
LP called out, "Nutter’s got a mention on the midday news!”
“Yeah, so long as he and his brain dead bikers keep on riding south, then that’s good news.” said Ingrid.
Nutter and his band of followers made an impressive sight for TV viewers. They entered the hospital precinct still in single file and Nutter parked his bike just past a double glass door entrance. Carrying the giant teddy bear under his arm, he walked over to the doorway and handed the bear to a nurse. He then waved through all his other bikers, to deliver their presents also.
The head matron said "You and three others are permitted to take your gifts in with the nurses to Ward 7B. But be quiet."
Nutter waved over Porky, Jimbo and Tiny. All four entered a large foyer area, where their riding boots squeaked on the gleaming polished floor. They were guided to a wall of lifts on either side of a pale green hallway.
Matron pressed the lift button and the doors opened instantly. Nutter and his men, dressed in black, with their colours emblazoned across their leather jackets, marched down the hallway to Ward 7B. For doctors and nurses, this was the hardest and most rewarding ward to work on. Children being treated for childhood cancer looked up from their beds and huge smiles greeted those bearing gifts.
Nutter glanced down at the chart on the bed end and said “Hi Cory. My mates call me Nutter, but you can call me Bruce.” to which Cory replied “I like Nutter better.”
Porky, Jimbo and Tiny covered their laughter at hearing Nutter’s real name for the first time. Smiles continued to fill the ward, as one by one they laid their presents on the beds.
Nutter said to Cory "I was once like you, in pain, until a man whispered these words." He knelt down, placing his head next to Cory’s, and whispered the same words Bear had said at their last confrontation, in the shadow of Brownie’s ancient dreamtime ancestor, Tibrogargan.
As Nutter spoke, a tear drop fell on Cory’s forehead “This is your mantra for life, make it part of your future.” Nutter looked over to Matron, saying "Cory’s very pale. He needs sunlight to put some colour back into him.”
She responded, "We're the professionals. Your point is noted.”
Nutter spoke again to Cory “Find the strength within, and bathe yourself in the morning sunlight reflecting off the Glass House Mountains when it comes through the window at the end of this hallway. And listen to what these hard working doctors and nurses tell you.”
Nutter and his bikers said goodbye and wished every- one a Merry Christmas. Before walking out, Nutter grabbed hold of Matron's arm, saying quietly, "What chance has he got of beating cancer?"
She replied, “Without Medicare he would have no hope. The latest cancer fighting drug we're using costs one thousand nine hundred and twenty-five dollars a shot. He needs one every day. At this hospital, it's free.”
Ingrid called out, "Turn that bloody TV off. We're trying to enjoy Christmas Day."
“Yeah, I’m coming. Spare a thought for those that can’t spend Christmas Day with family, and the police who have to work today,” said LP, as he returned to the smorgasbord feast for seconds.