It was about 30 years ago when I was living in a tiny town in the Channel Country. It was a Sunday morning and I got a phone call from a hospital about 14 hours away. My daughter was in their care and suffering from a particularly nasty viral infection in her lungs. Could I perhaps come as soon as possible? She had  Meningococcal pneumonia. 

She was a young Nurse. A kind and caring young 18-year-old. In training. 

Alone, so far from home. 

As a Mum. I needed to be with her. 

So I started my journey to do what I had to do: be with my daughter. Because that is what mothers do. 

Up in the far north of Australia, at the pointy end, there are crocodiles. Little crocodiles, bigger crocodiles and bloody monster crocodiles, some reaching near thirty feet in length.  I have seen them at all these sizes, in their environment, from Red Island Point up near the pointy bit of the Cape, down to Cairns, and of course, they are further south too, but my area of interest in those days, long ago, was from the pointy bit of the Cape to just south of Cairns

.Once upon a time, long, long ago, PP worked for a government department, in a job that required PP to visit and remain in indigenous communities for one week, back to the office for one week, then live in another indigenous community for one week, continuously, for well over a decade.

Humour is as old as humanity itself. I am not sure if our ancient ancestors, clad in loincloths and whipping up another batch of ochre for their cave paintings, found amusement in the absurdity of life. But they must, sure as faith, be having a laugh at us now as we launch from one accusation of racism to another. They must think it very amusing that we now rate our value as humans on how long we have lived in a country when, back in the day, no such thing as a country even existed. 

We were all part of the same brew, just painted with a different dye. 

But back to humour, the point of today's ramblings. 

Independence Day, also known as the Fourth of July, is one of the most significant holidays in the United States.

It is a day filled with patriotic fervor, fireworks, parades, and barbecues, as Americans come together to commemorate the nation's independence. But what is the history behind this iconic celebration? I believe it is more. Much more than that. 

The story of Independence Day begins on July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress, comprised of delegates from the thirteen American colonies, adopted the Declaration of Independence.

Yes, let’s be honest. The days when the Italians, Greeks, Poles, Hungarians, Poms and Chinese all packed up and headed downunder or over yonder bear no resemblance to the current influx of migrants.

The 3 phases of population growth can be loosely tied down to the pre World War II, post WW2 and the here and now.

Society has changed and societal expectation has shifted from what ‘they can do for us ‘ to ‘what we can do for them.’

That was how speeches used to start many years ago.

I shudder to think how someone would even begin to speak today.   The lunacy that has hijacked our world has become so bad that I often wonder how public figures commence a speech at all.

No one is brave enough to say what a woman is and people are afraid to announce that they have a boy or a girl.   Having a son or daughter is no longer celebrated.   In fact, I often wonder if the word " child " is next on the list of banned words. 

People like me are so angry at what has happened to our world, and it seems that our governments are encouraging the downfall of everything we have worked towards.