Appearances can be deceiving

June 3, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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bag.jpgA great example today of why we shouldn’t base our judgements on appearances.

A Perth family from the suburb of Shelley ignored a plain, brown paper bag for several days. It sat on their front lawn, ignored by the wife who first spotted it and her husband who also thought nothing of it.

When the son decided to peek inside he found the bag contained $10 000.

News.com.au reported the find in their story Family finds $10 000 cash on front lawn. The police are now trying to find the owner of the cash.

The man who found the money took it to Cannington police station yesterday, a police spokeswoman said.

He told officers his wife spotted the bag a few days ago on the front lawn of their home at Shelley, in Perth’s south, but they thought nothing of it until their son looked inside.

I wonder how many times we ignore those things that seem plain and ordinary and miss out on something valuable.



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Bo Diddley dead at 79

June 3, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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bo_diddley.jpgAnother musical great has died with the passing of Bo Diddley.

In their story Rock’n roll legend Bo Diddley dies in Florida, Reuters reported on the sad loss.

Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Bo Diddley, who banged out hit songs powered by the relentless “Bo Diddley beat” that influenced rockers from Buddy Holly to U2, died on Monday at the age of 79.

Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida, his management agency, Talent Consultants International, said in a statement.

“One of the founding fathers of rock ‘n’ roll has left the building he helped construct,” the statement said.

Diddley suffered a stroke during a concert in Iowa in May 2007 and was hospitalized in Omaha, Nebraska. In August 2007 he had a heart attack in Florida.

Thankfully he was surrounded by family for his final moments and he knew where he was going.

Garry Mitchell, a grandson of Diddley and one of more than 35 family members at the musician’s home when he died at about 1:45 a.m. EDT (0545 GMT), said his death was not unexpected.

“There was a gospel song that was sang and he said ‘wow’ with a thumbs up,” Mitchell told Reuters, when asked to describe the scene at Diddley’s deathbed.

“The song was ‘Walk Around Heaven’ and in his last words he stated that he was going to heaven.”

Bo Diddley will be sadly missed but his influence will live on through the music of many others.

Diddley’s unique guitar playing and rhythm influenced generations of rockers from Elvis Presley to Bon Jovi. Keith Richards and Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones and Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi made guest appearances on his records and Diddley played with the likes of The Clash and The Grateful Dead.



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The body in the grass

June 3, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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lonely.jpgWe had an interesting time on our regular Saturday morning bike ride. Thankfully we managed to avoid the wild weather which flooded some areas and ripped roofs off several houses. The breeze was starting to strengthen but we managed to stay dry despite seeing flashes of lightning around us.

The interesting part was about five kilometres into the ride heading along Reid Highway. We were just starting to warm up the muscles when I spotted something several metres off to the side of the roadway. It looked like a body.

I mentioned what I’d seen to the guy I was riding next to and he said he’d seen what he thought was a garbage bag. I was still sure that there was something more to it so I told the other guys and all of us turned around and headed back to see someone lying there completely still. The top of his head and his bare feet were the only things not covered up. His jacket had been pulled up over his face and it was easy to see how he could have been mistaken for a garbage bag.

One of the other cyclists moved towards him and was about to bend down to see if he was OK when we heard a voice say, “I’m alright. I’m alright. Thanks.” While he was polite about it, it was obvious that he just wanted to be left alone. We got back on our bikes and headed off.

I was so pleased to know that he was alive and OK but I was still saddened to think that his life had got to the place where he was sleeping rough on the side of a highway, especially as we head into winter.

I wonder what kind of story led up to that moment. What had happened to bring him to that point? Who are the people left behind? Is there a home he can go back to or is this all he has now? I really hope that he comes to realise that no matter what has happened in the past, this doesn’t have to be all there is for the future.



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