farmdoc's blog post number 309

Yesterday was the national day of mourning for the bushfire victims. Because I live on a mainly forested rural property, I'm connected to, and saddened by, the deaths of hundreds of ordinary people going about their lives, and also the survivors' agony. Mother Nature, so wondrous much of the time, can be mercilessly vengeful when she wants to be. And she definitely wanted to be earlier this month. Remarkably, given the fires’ ferocity, only one firefighter died. That’s one too many, of course. I think the emergency services personnel did, and are doing, an exceptional job. Especially the volunteers. A letter from one of them, George Wright, in last Saturday’s Age, touched my heart. (If this link’s current, it’s the second letter down.) As a ‘granddad in uniform’ I couldn’t agree more, George. Like you, I feel ‘Every year the same trucks seem to be getting higher and my legs shorter, the hoses heavier and the hills steeper. I know my days on the back of a fire truck are limited’. I’m six years younger than you, George, and I’m no hero either. Though I’m the oldest member of the Mole Creek Fire Brigade, I hope I’ve a few years of active service in me yet. Whilst the tragedy of the fire victims must remain unforgotten, for the rest of the nation life must continue. So today I’m raising our fire station flag up to full mast.