Chilean man cheats death

January 21, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

CoffinDid you see the news that an 81 year old man from Chile shocked his friends and family by waking up in his coffin at his own wake?

When Feliberto Carrasco’s family found his body limp and cold, they were convinced his time was up. Instead of calling a doctor to confirm their suspicions, they immediately called a funeral home. They had the funeral home dress him in his finest suit for the wake and his relatives gathered to bid him a final farewell in the small Chilean village of Angol.

Feliberto’s nephew Pedro told the Ultimas Noticias newspaper, “I couldn’t believe it. I thought I must be mistaken and I shut my eyes. When I opened them again, my uncle was looking at me. I started to cry and ran to get something to open up the coffin to get him out.”

Feliberto said he was not in any pain and only asked for a glass of water.

I suppose when he finally does die they’ll just tell him to stop kidding around. At least they’ll get a doctor in next time.

Mind you, I think he’s had a privilege that not many of us get. He’s been able to see just who would turn up at his funeral. I’ve sometimes wondered who would turn up to see me off when my time comes. Looks like he got that opportunity.

Have you ever wondered who would shed a tear at your passing?

I only hope that the surprise of seeing Feliberto alive wasn’t too much for his friends and relatives. The last thing you’d need is for the shock to cause another funeral.



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It never hurts to ask

January 21, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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You may remember that I wrote about insurance a few days ago in my post Are you really insured? 

One of the stories I related came from my Friday morning radio programme Simply Living with Jill Bonanno and was about a lady who’d had her handbag swiped.

Jill recently spoke to a lady who had her handbag stolen while she was out. She did the right thing and cancelled all her cards but as her bag contained items that would identify her home address and her house keys she decided to change all her door locks.

Unfortunately her insurance company didn’t cover the bag or any of the items in the bag because it wasn’t at her home at the time.

During Friday’s programme we had a talk back caller tell us about his experience with an insurance company.

Bill had a different story. He had four quad motor bikes. When the two smallest ones were stolen from a locked shed, his insurer told him that they didn’t cover quad bikes. Bill politely stood his ground and will now have the bikes replaced. Apparently they do cover quads up to 250cc.

The lady who had her bag stolen was listening to our programme and decided it was worth another call to her insurance company. She called, politely stated her case, and now her insurer is going to cover everything, including the new locks for her home.

I wonder how often we just give up on something when a phone call or an email could change things for the better.

How many times do we buy defective products and just put up with them when we could get our money back or get a better product? How many times do we accept the word of the first person we talk to, rather than standing our ground and politely taking things a little further?

I’ve been amazed by the helpful responses I’ve recieved at times when I’ve simply taken the time to respectfully ask the right people the right questions. I’ve had products replaced or money returned. Sometimes I’ve been more than compensated for the failure of a product or a service. It doesn’t happen every time but it does pay to take things just a little bit further sometimes.

Have you got any stories of businesses who have done the right thing when you’ve complained?



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I've talked enough about me …

January 19, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
3 Comments

… now you talk about me for a while.

How much is too much? How much do you really want to know about a person the first time you meet them?

On my regular Saturday morning ride with friends today we were joined for a couple of kilometres by another cyclist who happened to be going in the same direction as us.

He cycled next to one of the other guys in our bunch and immediately struck up a conversation … about himself. Within a very short time he had divulged his recent work history and his current yearly earnings (which are, I must admit, substantial) as well as several other bits and pieces about his life.

My friend who was chatting with him let him know where we meet on Saturday mornings and invited him to join us. I hope he decides to come riding with us; we’re always looking for extra cyclists to be part of our group. However, if he does join us, I hope he’ll quickly discover that he doesn’t need to impress us with his achievements. We’re more than happy to simply take people as we find them.

Have you met people who want to bombard you with impressive facts and figures within moments of meeting? How do you react? What do you think it says about someone’s self image if they act that way?



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Perth Criterium Series 2008

January 19, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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I’m looking forward to some excellent cycle racing from Friday the 25th to Monday the 28th of January.

The Perth Criterium Series 2008 is on its way with some spectacular racing around various Perth street circuits. The series is being run by the team at TriEvents and promises to be a highlight of the Australia Day long weekend.

Criterium Racing is cycle racing at its most exciting – a fast-paced, multi-lap race on a tight and flat street course of approximately 1km in length. Criteriums are raced over a specified time rather than a distance with the races not lasting longer than 1 hour meaning the racing is fast and furious! Criterium Racing gives spectators the opportunity to be close to the action!

The Perth Criteriums is made up of four events across Perth over four days. The events are afternoon / evening races in four high profile locations – Joondalup, Perth, Victoria Park and Leederville.

Perth is home to some of Australia’s most talented bike racers, many of whom will be lining up for the Perth Criteriums. There will be an Open Men’s and Women’s category and a support Men’s category.

Make sure you come along and be part of this exciting event!

The first event of the series gets underway at 5:55 p.m. in Joondalup on Friday the 25th of January. Race two action begins at 12:30 p.m. on Riverside Drive in the city with the spectacular Swan River as its backdrop. On Sunday afternoon the action will be in Victoria Park from 2:40 with riders taking on the challenging but popular Albany Highway circuit. The final race will be help on the public holiday Monday afternoon on Oxford Street, Leederville starting at 2:55.

Western Australians are great supporters of this kind of cycle racing and there’s sure to be plenty of spectators watching each event.

I’m hoping to be involved with the events in one way or another. (No, I won’t be competing. I couldn’t keep up with these guys on their warm up laps.) I let you know more in a few days.



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Sy Rogers talks sexuality and the church

January 18, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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Sy RogersI wrote quite some time ago that I had the pleasure of chatting with Sy Rogers for a radio interview on 98.5 Sonshine FM. That was back in October 2004 when Sy was in Perth for a conference.

I was reminded of that interview recently when I read the post Special Guest on BobFranquiz.com. Bob has invited Sy to speak at Calvary Fellowship, Miami Lakes on Sunday the 27th of January.

Sy is a very interesting guy and has some great stuff to share, especially on the subject of sexuality and how it relates to all of us.

His website says:

Regarded as a gifted international communicator, award-winning talk show host, recording artist and pastor, Sy has served for over two decades in ministry, and 17 years as a pastoral care specialist regarding sexuality. His seminars and speaking events are conducted transdenominationally on 6 continents, for leadership conferences, counselling training, youth festivals, and men’s events such as Promise Keepers.

His insights and dramatic life story have been featured in numerous international media interviews & articles (such as Donohue, 700 Club, Good Morning Australia), as well as being featured in several books written by authors such as Dr. James Kennedy and Philip Baker.

Back in 2004 when I chatted to Sy we didn’t have the opportunity to make the audio of our interview more widely available but with Sonshine FM’s Audio on Demand now available I thought I’d trawl through the archives and let you listen to Sy Rogers.

Just click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.



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