Anzac Day.

Weirdly, this was my computer background when I switched it on this morning. There are many various images that my computer cycles through as a background on my desktop so it chose it itself. Is it proof that computers are becoming sentient beings and one day when I type something that it does not agree with it will snap shut and chop off my two middle fingers?It is called 'Mohnfeld Poppy Field' by Marco Muller and very appropriate it is too for today is Anzac Day here in Australia. A day when everything shuts except the essential things like hospitals and airports and power stations. I think even McDonald's has had to shut to pay it's respect......but I think it can reopen again after noon. Pubs and clubs can open, of course, for people to go in, watch the celebrations on TV and have a drink or seven.The build up has been going on for weeks, nay months and dare I say it almost feels as long as the war itself......(he quickly  withdraws his middle fingers in case his laptop is offended.)Today marks 100 years since the first Gallipoli landing but the Gallipoli Centenary Celebrations are due to continue until 2018. Gulp!"Lest we forget"We should not forget and certainly the TV over here will not let you forget but it would seem that much of the World has forgotten because people are still dying in wars and conflicts the World over. I wonder what those people who gave their lives at Gallipoli would say looking down at the World they died for. Will we ever learn?It does seem that the World is a much more horrible place these days but I expect King Herod, Atilla the Hun and Ghengis Khan might disagree. I'm not sure it is.As you know I am engaged in my own battle but I don't want to annihilate 'Elaine'.......just cut her down to size a bit.Recently while out walking to burn up calories three little things happened that made it clear to me that there is still good in the World.The first was as I was walking along a narrow footpath by a very busy road earphones in, listening to my ipod and a workman was walking home from work in the opposite direction. We were different, had different coloured skin and he was definitely tougher than me and younger. I was glad it was daylight because I would have been worried about encountering him in the dark. I stepped off the path nearer the road and continued to walk along the grass with my back to the traffic so he could have the footpath. He stuck out a finger and wagged it, looking disapprovingly and motioned for me to move back over and he walked along the grass nearest the road because he was facing the coming traffic and could see any danger. He flashed me a fabulous smile as he passed.Yesterday, in pretty much the same area, I passed a very run down house which Dulcie would say definitely needed a bit of paint. A small group of people of African origin were playing in the garden......it was a Dad and his four children and the children were laughing happily with him. He looked like he had just come home from work. How many Dad's, I wondered, do that these days?Just around the corner another man was cutting his grass. I had never seen him before in my life but he gave me the friendliest wave and smile as I walked past that I can ever remember getting.I just hope that those Anzac heroes witnessed those small, heart warming moments and are not tuned to Channel 9 News every night.

And in the going down of the sun.......I remembered them.