Chapter 156 : cable car

Dear Grandkids,  

You ask me if I am in favour of a cable car. Well I will answer it like this:

I want you to live in a healthy and happy community with a stable environment and working in a job that gives you satisfaction. This is most likely to be Tasmania.

In the future there will be jobs in the primary sector. Jobs in agriculture, aquaculture, fishing or mining. There will also be jobs adding value or selling these primary products.  Such as jobs in vineyards, poppies or medicinal marijuana. It is unlikely you will finish up working in this area because there is nobody in our family who works in those areas.

There will be jobs in the manufacturing sector. They are decreasing at the moment but wind power may change the rules of the ball game. It is unlikely you will finish up working in manufacturing but it is possible.  Maybe your partner will. 

I know you expect a job using your superpowers but it is more likely you will finish up working in the service sector. It is likely you will finish up working in the health or education sectors or as general government workers.

It is also possible you may finish up working in the tourism sector.

Your job may be involved in where the tourists stay.  You may work at a large hotel or at an air B&B.  Either full time or part time job while studying.

You may find yourself feeding the tourists. Working at a café, restaurant or hotel. Either full time or part time while studying.

You may find yourself helping entertain the tourists. You may be involved in giving the tourists something to look at. You may be involved with a museum; involved with a cruise looking at our natural wonders; creating drawings, paintings, sculptures, or giving them something to listen to.

You may be involved with the tourists who would prefer to be more active.  You might find yourself leading or guiding bushwalkers, scuba divers, paragliders, surfers, fishers or cyclists. Most of these activities will be in natural areas or nature based activities.

The majority of these tourists will come here for experiences based on nature or natural beauty. These activities will not be completely natural or in unadulterated wilderness. 

Any activity you may be involved with will come with some environmental cost. It is up to us to manage the activity and mitigate the environmental cost and aim for a sustainable environment.

If you find yourself in tourism we don’t want tourism with an environmental cost. We want sustainable tourism resulting in Facebook posts.

I have seen the way you look after your backyard. You have to look after the environment of Tasmania the same way. The environment of Tasmania consists of more than your backyard.  You will need more than a doggie bag and popper scooper.  It consist of all the land, water and the air you can see. Your environment includes all the urban built up areas and the rural areas (settled or wilderness). The biggest threats to the environment are introduced plants and animals, loss of habitat, pollution and climate change. We want a healthy, stable, environment. We don’t want the environment to be unstable, gaining or losing species.

If you are involved with tourism it will probably be a more important part of the Tasmanian economy than at present.  Maybe with more tourists from Asia. Everybody in our economy depends on everybody else.  Nobody on our island is an island. If you work in the tourism sector you will depend on all the other sectors. And if you work in on a farm; at the RHH; work at EZ you will need people in the tourism sector.

If you are in tourism make sure everybody wins. That includes you.  If you work in tourism then I hope you have an enjoyable and satisfying job. I hope you help give the tourists a good experience. I hope you help give the tourists pleasurable activities that stimulate, challenge and rejuvenate tourists. 

Dear Grandkids maybe one day in the future you will re-read this.  You can then compare the prognostications with reality and if a cable car exists we can go for a ride in it.

Regards Grandpa Alan

Chapter 155 : domestic violence

Somewhere in Hobart a couple is sitting down to eat dinner.

He plays with the hokkien noodles and says, “What do you call this?”

She raises her eyes, groans and says, “What’s your problem? Why are you always in a bad mood?”

He then says, “Well, what is it?”

She says, “I’m wasting my time cooking for you.”

This couple can now go in various directions.

They might have a few drinks then arrive at the domestic violence station. Which will be full of police, lawyers, politicians and media experts.

The police will arrest him, lock him up, fill out forms and charge him with domestic violence. The police would prefer to deal with burgs and drunk drivers. The police will get a statement from her and dream about burgs and drunk drivers.

The lawyers will huddle and talk amongst themselves; discuss where each person will live; decide where the children will live: divide the furniture, look at the photo albums, and decide who owns the pot plants and the pet dog. And then give them both a bill.

The politicians will talk about an epidemic of domestic violence and say, “I am passionate about domestic violence.”  Facebook will become active with posts from all sides.

Maybe the dining couple will not get off at the domestic violence station.  Maybe the meal will continue serenely.

After finishing the meal the male will say, “Sorry what I said before. Thank you for the food, thank you for all your work. Nice to try something different.  Can I help by doing the dishes?”

She will say, “I’m also sorry what I said. Can you suggest an improvement to the food? A way of making the dish even better. I love cooking but I also love eating. In the future I look forward to us both enjoying cooking and eating. I love cooking for you and I want you to get the same pleasure out of cooking for me. Suggest some guidelines so that we can both make this happen.”

How can the dining couple avoid violence? How can they be a non-violent couple? Well I have a few gratuitous suggestions.

The couple need to learn how to survive, benefit from and welcome disagreements. They can start by taking their headphones out of their ears, turning off their I-phone and turning off the blaring TV and listening to each other.

They then need to learn to not judge everything. Not every post or restaurant or cafe has to receive a like, comment or be shared with their Facebook friends. Not everything everybody sees has to be assessed.

They also need to learn that there are at least two people in any relationship.  That everybody in every relationship is responsible for the way it goes. If everybody puts in, then everybody wins. If everybody thinks about everybody else and everybody does what they can for others then they all win.

They also need to learn that everybody is different. Everybody has different experiences and different thoughts and these differences should be celebrated.

They also need to learn a relationship contains people who achieve things they couldn’t achieve by themselves. In a relationship people get the support and help of other people. At the same time everybody will have to help and support everybody else.  There is give and take. Everybody has rights and responsibilities. The more one gives the more they will receive.

Time for me to state what everybody knows. I have made every mistake possible but I identify more with the non-violent couple. I belong to the generation raised as Christians who then rejected organised religion. Our generation wants to keep the love, fellowship, caring and compassion of organised religions and throw out the racism, the sexism and the homophobia. 

We need to keep the god is love and add an addendum where everybody has equal opportunity and equal rights. Everybody includes all races, sexes, sexuality, abilities and nationality. And with no violence between anybody. Because violence is unlike football. Violence is a match where both sides lose and no side wins.

Chapter 154 : A Tassie team in the AFL

It is really easy for to say we need a Tassie team in the AFL.           

I want my grandkids to grow up to be fit and healthy. Physically, emotionally and socially healthy.

Are these two thoughts connected?  Will the health of my grandkids in the future be related to Tasmania having a football or a soccer team in a national league?

Any ex-player or coach or commentator hops off the plane and, in the airport, says, “Tassie should have their own team in the AFL.” 

My aim is for my grandkids to grow up fit and healthy. To be physically, mentally, emotionally and socially healthy.  This will involve developing lifelong habits. Habits involving physical exercise, diet and drug use.

Their physical health will depend on the amount of physical activity they do. This activity will be either organised competitive sport or non-competitive activities. If they turn out to have talent they may find themselves in a local AFL squad.  In a squad their physical health will improve in the short term but their long term health depends on learning lifelong habits not learning how to listen to a coach. If they are members of an AFL squad, I can’t imagine any advantage of having that squad in Tassie. I imagine at that age they would love the idea of going to a big city. It would be hard to keep them.

Their long term health will also depend on their nutritional habits. What they eat. Hopefully I will be able to influence them. In the long term their diet will depend on learning and developing good habits. They will have to learn how to make choices. How to go somewhere were a lot of bad unhealthy food is sold and make good choices. Choices that result in them eating healthy food. Hopefully there will be some way a Tassie AFL team will help them learn about a good healthy diet. Watching very fit athletic sportsmen will hopefully inspire them to eat healthy foods.

Their long term health will also depend on their attitude to drugs. At present they are surrounded by non-smokers so I don’t see them becoming smokers. They are surrounded by people who drink socially. Somehow they have to learn to use alcohol in a positive way. To experience the positive benefits and avoid the negative effects. Will a Tassie AFL team will affect them. Maybe watching them will change their alcohol consumption.

They also need to avoid other drugs with negative side-effects. Either prescribed or illegal. I will try and show them the benefits of a life without drugs. I will try and show them you can have a good time and enjoy themselves without drugs. Will watching elite sportsmen encourage my grandkids not to relying on drugs. To see that drugs belong to the weak, cowardice. Not to the tough or courageous or clever. 

I also want my grandkids to be healthy mentally and socially. This is where a Tassie team may help.  Watching a local team will have social benefits. Sitting in the stand, eating a pie and cheering with the crowd will benefit them socially.

If they aren’t incredibly talented or their local environment leads them to different sports does it matter if Tassie has an AFL team? They may go and watch the team. They may sit in the stand drink beer and eat bought food.  They will barrack for Tasmania. I don’t think they will be passionate about Tasmania beating the other states. I don’t think they will grow up with a feeling that we Tasmanians are poorly treated and we can prove how good we really are on the football field. Because of the internet they are having a more global attitude. Less provincial and local. I am not expecting them to have chips on their shoulders.

I grew up in an area of Melbourne which had its own team in the VFL. We religiously watched the scraggers. We got to know all the people who stood with us near the horse.  The fact that our community had a team in the VFL was of little relevance. The only time the local community benefited was in 2016 when we won. Other years the local team was not a great source of pride. It was always the omnipresent goliath which dominated local football and all other local sport.

I want to grow up in a state full of fit, healthy people of all ages of both sexes and of all abilities.  If a Tassie team in the AFL will help achieve this then I welcome it.