Every day, it seems, there is an announcement about the government proclaiming or enacting something which disgusts me. It is not healthy to walk about with a feeling of disgust constantly in ones gut or in ones head. So, I shall revert to my self protective strategy of counting my blessings. I have been privileged to almost always enjoying heading off to work. Inevitably, there have been periods of boredom; of working just because I needed the money; of having to engage in activities I frankly found un- pleasing in one way or another. These minor miseries were well outweighed by the enjoyment and satisfaction of my three main work involvements. The first, spending eleven years as a hired killer for Her Majesty is something which, on reflection, I regret. At the time, though, it was what I wanted to do. I was of warrior age, earned a quite satisfactory income, and enjoyed being saluted in my smart uniform. I travelled extensively, and had experiences pretty much out of the ordinary- like having to carry a pistol when off-base (inCyprus). I recall a peak experience one grey morning in England, when cloud was so low that one entered the grey/white blanket just seconds after lifting off. It took a few minutes to climb and climb through the tens of thousands of solid cloud, but suddenly ones senses were overloaded by the intensity of the blue of the canopy and the brilliant orange/yellow of the morning sun. A moment unforgettable. When I was coming up to the time to extend my commission I found myself on the end of a parachute on another memorable clear, windy night, having just ejected from an ailing jet fighter. I looked at a picture of me as the leader of a bunch of young blokes aspiring to fly, and counted the number of these who were no longer extant. It was obviously not a safe job for a husband and father of a small boy child, so I did not sign on the dotted line. I will continue the saga tomorrow.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 21:24:42 +0000
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