Where have all the good people gone?

In the crew mess area the wide screen plasma TV shows Fox News each day. And each day it is a reminder to me that the past 7 years that I have been working the world and haven’t had a TV, I have been lucky. And it confirms my belief that life is a lot better with your head in the sand and not watching the news. Who can honestly say that they feel revived or happy to be a live after watching the 6 o’clock news; earthquakes, murders, wars, corrupt politicians.

Ok, I believe it is good to know that there is a world outside of your world and what is going on and what you can do to help. But how about some good news, are there any good people out there?

Well, as my Antarctic journey has unravelled over the past months I have come across many good people, and this also includes you guys my blog readers that have supported me and motivated me. I have had people willing to help me, people that haven’t even known me but have gone out of their way to help, for example Vicky who I met in Ushuaia, she worked at the local cell phone shop and was there when my newly purchased Ushuaian sim card wasn’t working. I would buy credit for it, but then somehow my credit would disappear without me making a call. After her boss was rather rude to me and unhelpful, she said “I know you’re honest, give me your cell number, I will sort this out in my own time and get back to you”. A couple of days later she had sorted it out and had me a new sim card – Cheers Vicky, will catch soon.

The other day I received an email from James, a fellow kiwi who returned back to New Zealand after 6 years of travel. He came across my blog and has been following my adventures/misadventures. He’s an editor for the Maori Law Review
back home, and has offered to edit my blog posts before I post them. You’re all probably thinking “helleyuya (the spelling of this word is a prime example, even Microsoft spell checker doesn’t know what I’m trying to spell), finally Hap’s verbal diareaha will make sense. James put it in a better way in his email

“…………While I enjoy reading your blog posts, I can’t help noticing there are the odd grammar, readability or spelling error. I’m a writer and an editor myself, and I was wondering if you’d like me to give your posts the once-over before you actually post them? I can do this for you for free, simply because I like your mission and stories so much. I think that, if you make improvements to style and readability, you’d have a great blog, and of course you would have the last say………….

James offer came at a great time as I currently have about 5 posts on the go. I’m “in the zone” so to speak. I’m trying to write as much as I can while I’m in this environment and living it. So if the coming blog posts represent a formed verbal motion and all those funny symbols that are foreign to me like hyphens and commas are actually in the correct place, you know James has worked his Metamucil magic.

If you are interested go and check out the road tripping group that James has set-up based out of Wellington, a great initiative and he also has a great website for it. James also has a great blog with some great thoughts, a deep down to earth thinker; he has a recent post on Anxiety which I totally relate to after my Paraguay chapter, and the snippet below from a previous blog rather tickled my fancy. Go check it out, http://oxymoronism.wordpress.com/ .

“I once said to someone, you should be grateful you come from a privileged background. They rejoined with a statement that they came from a poor family; they weren’t privileged at all. What I didn’t explain at the time—as, while it was obvious to me what I meant, I was not properly rhetorical, and I had not thought out the actual reasons to be able to elaborate—was that:

  1. If you come from a poor family in a rich country, you’re privileged.
  2. If you come from a family where both parents are still together, you’re privileged.
  3. If you come from a family that encouraged you academically, spiritually, and physically, you’re privileged.
  4. If you have access to tertiary education, you’re privileged.
  5. If you have more than two friends who will back you up, support you, listen to you, and forgive you when you mess up, you’re privileged.
  6. If you have ever used a passport in your life, you’re privileged.
  7. If you have a job that affords you ‘leisure-time,’ you’re privileged.

Most of the world does not have a life such as this. Most of the world is missing at least one of these privileges, and in many cases, all of them.

If you have any combination of these things, be grateful and have respect for that privilege”.

Ok folks, just thought I would let you know that there are people out there that should be on the 6 o’clock news but aren’t.

Nuthin but love Hap