30 November 2012 - Yitzhak Ganon

*

Quote of the day:

Coming together is a beginning;

keeping together is progress;

working together is success.

Henry Ford

*

*

Yitzhak Ganon

*

- Special Guest

*

G'day guys,

Amazing how stories keep coming about extraordinary survivors. They make you realise how lucky you are. Today I introduce a man who has been through hell at the hands of a man I've read much about. This is a story about Yitzhak Ganon.

Sixty-five years ago, infamous Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele removed Yitzhak Ganon's kidney without anesthesia. The Greek-born Jew swore never to see a doctor again -- until a heart attack last month brought his horrific tale into the open.

He is a thin man. His wine-red cardigan is a little too big, and his legs are like matchsticks in his brown pants. Yitzhak Ganon takes care of himself. He's freshly shaven, his white mustache neatly trimmed. The 85-year-old sits on a gray sofa, with a cushion supporting his back. He is too weak to stand by himself, but he still greets a guest in German: "Guten Tag."

 Speaking is hard for him. "Slowly, Abba," his daughter Iris says, and brings him a glass of water. Her father has never in his life complained of any pain, she says.

A month ago he came back from his morning walk and lay down. "Are you sick, Papa?" Iris asked. "No, just a little tired," Yitzhak Ganon answered, before going to sleep. But after a few hours he was still tired. "I don't need a doctor," he told his daughter.

The next morning things were even worse. Ganon's wife and daughter called a doctor, who diagnosed a viral infection and told him to go to the hospital. Ganon resisted, but finally realized his life was in danger. At some point he stopped fighting the doctor's orders.

 'Just One Kidney'

His family brought him to the hospital in his home town of Petach Tikva near Tel Aviv. He had hardly been admitted when he lost consciousness. Heart attack, the doctor said. The blood clots were cleared with the help of tiny balloons, and the doctors put five stents in him. "We thought he wouldn't survive the operation," said Eli Lev, the doctor. "Especially since he had just one kidney."

When Yitzhak Ganon came to, he told the doctors where he lost the other kidney -- and why he had avoided doctors for 65 years. A reporter from the Israeli paper Maariv heard about the story. And now, weeks after the operation, Ganon is ready to tell his story to a German reporter for the first time.

He stretches his back and looks at a photo on the living room wall. It shows the Acropolis in Athens. "I come from Arta, a small city in northern Greece. It happened on Saturday, March 25, 1944. We had just lit the candles to celebrate the Sabbath when an SS officer and a Greek policeman burst into the house. They told us we should get ourselves ready for a big trip."

The 85-year-old slides the sleeve of his shirt up and uncovers his left forearm. The number 182558 is tattooed there in dark-blue ink.

*

*

Tied Down

The transport to Auschwitz took two weeks. His sick father died on the journey. Upon arrival, they had to strip and submit to an inspection. Ganon's mother and five siblings were then sent to the gas chambers.

Yitzhak Ganon was taken to the Auschwitz-Birkenau hospital, where Josef Mengele, the so-called "Angel of Death," conducted grisly experiments on Jewish prisoners.

Ganon had to lie down on a table and was tied down. Without any anesthetics, Mengele cut him open and removed his kidney. "I saw the kidney pulsing in his hand and cried like a crazy man," Ganon says. "I screamed the 'Shema Yisrael.' I begged for death, to stop the suffering."

After the "operation," he had to work in the Auschwitz sewing room without painkillers. Among other things, he had to clean bloody medical instruments. Once, he had to spend the whole night in a bath of ice-cold water because Mengele wanted to "test" his lung function. Altogether, Ganon spent six and a half months in the concentration camp's hospital.

 ‘Just Fatigue'

When they had no more use for him, the Nazis sent him to the gas chamber. He survived only by chance: The gas chamber held only 200 people. Ganon was number 201.

On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops. Yitzhak Ganon made it back to Greece and found his surviving siblings -- a brother and a sister -- and emigrated to Israel in 1949. He got married. And he swore never to go to a doctor again. "Whenever he was sick, even when it was really bad," his wife Ahuva says, "he told me it was just fatigue."

But now Ganon is happy he finally went to the hospital after his heart attack. One week later, he had another heart attack, and was given a pacemaker. "If the doctors hadn't been there," he says, smiling for the first time, "I would be dead now." Yitzhak Ganon has survived, again.

*

 

*

Clancy's comment: As I said above, some people have it tough.

I'm ...

*

29 November 2012 - The Dalai Lama

Copyright Gavan Rowe 2012 (c)

*

Quote of the day:

"Problems are only opportunities in work clothes."

*

His Holiness

The Dalai Lama

*

*

G'day guys,

Today I introduce you to a famous man with some simple philosophy - His Holiness The Dalai Lama. I've always been impressed with his simple attitude to issues that we make complicated. Here are some of his words of wisdom ...

* Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk

* When you lose, don’t lose the lesson

* Follow the three R’s- Respect for self, respect for others, responsibility for all your actions

* Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck

* Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly

*

*

* Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship

* When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it

* Spend some time alone every day

* Open your arms to change but don’t let go of your values

* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer

* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time

* A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation of your life

* In disagreement with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past

*

*

* Share your knowledge, it’s a way to achieve immortality

* Be gentle with the earth

* Once a year, go some place you have never been before

* Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other

* Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it

* Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon

*

*

Clancy's comment: What can I say? Seems pretty simple, eh?

I'm ...

*

28 November 2012 - Witold Pilecki

Copyright Clancy Tucker (c)

*

Quote of the day:

"You need to work hard to be lucky"

*

Witold Pilecki

- Special Guest

*

*

G'day guys,

Today I introduce a man you have probably never heard of - Witold Pilecki. This man fought in three wars and even volunteered to be imprisoned at Auschwitz to send out intelligence reports. But, after the war, he was executed for opposing Poland's new communist leaders. Now the authorities are searching for his remains.

Poland's Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) has excavated a pit in a remote corner of the Powazki Cemetery in Warsaw, far from the ostentatious graves of Polish heroes.

 Archeologists carefully remove bits of earth and lay out their finds under a canopy: brownish-yellow bones and a large number of skulls, most with a round hole in the back.

Poland's most famous poets, thinkers and dissidents are buried in the Powazki Cemetery, and large marble monuments have been placed on many of their graves. This cemetery is Warsaw's Pantheon, but it also holds a dark secret.

The experts with IPN, a Warsaw-based research institute that commemorates the suffering of the Polish people during the Nazi and Communist eras, are searching for the remains of the victims of their country's last dictatorship - people who never received a gravestone. They are looking for the men and women who were killed in the postwar era and then buried anonymously at the behest of the Communist leadership.

 IPN experts suspect that there are up to 100 bodies of executed victims in the pit. About 30 of them were allegedly German war criminals, shot to death in Warsaw's Mokotów Prison between 1948 and 1956. But most of their fellow prisoners on death row were Poles who had revolted against the dictators installed by Stalin -- and died as a result. Their wives and relatives often learned of the executions only months later, and they were never told where the bodies were buried.

Andrzej Pilecki, a spry 80-year-old man, has also come to the cemetery on this summer day. He is there to provide the IPN experts with material for a DNA test because they suspect that the body of his father, Witold, is also in the mass grave. "I would be happy if I could finally light a candle at this spot," he says.

*

*

Volunteering for Auschwitz

Witold Pilecki is a special case among all the heroes buried at Powazki Cemetery. A cavalry captain, he endured firsthand all the tortures his nation had experienced in the 20th century. He was a soldier in the Polish underground army during the German occupation and, as an agent for the movement, volunteered to be deported to Auschwitz so that he could gather intelligence on the Germans' murderous activities there. But this didn't protect him from being executed after the war for "espionage" against the new regime and probably being buried in this very pit where his son Andrzej is now standing.

Witold Pilecki was born in Olonets, in what is now the Russian region of Karelia, in 1901. As a schoolboy in Vilnius, he joined Polish soldiers fighting for the rebirth of Poland in World War I. In 1920, he fought in a battle against the Soviet army, which had tried to capture Warsaw in a surprise attack. It was one of his nation's few military triumphs.

Then Pilecki became a reservist and worked in the fields of his parents' farm in Skurcza, a village in eastern Poland southeast of Warsaw. When the German army invaded the country in 1939, his unit destroyed seven enemy tanks and shot down two German airplanes. When Poland was subsequently partitioned under the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression treaty, Pilecki went underground.

*

*

The Germans subjugated the country, sent people to concentration camps and shot civilians. But no one knew exactly what was happening at the Auschwitz camp, although the Polish resistance had its suspicions. In September 1940, Pilecki deliberately had himself arrested during a raid in the Warsaw district of Zoliborz and was taken to the concentration camp.

"I am expected to describe bare facts only," he later wrote in his account of his time as prisoner No. 4859. "But we were not made of wood." Poland's government-in-exile would use the document, known as "Witold's Report," to help convince the Allies that the Holocaust was taking place.

Pilecki became a chronicler of the Holocaust, sending his descriptions of everyday life in Auschwitz to the Polish underground movement. In one report, he wrote that the inmates had to build one of the gas chambers and a large oven. "We were building a crematorium for ourselves," Pilecki noted. He survived beatings and two bouts of pneumonia. He also witnessed the Germans sending Soviet prisoners of war and Jews to the gas chambers. "People were so packed together that they were unable to fall down in the moment of their death," he wrote.

When he heard reports that planes had dropped two bombs on the nearby town of Brzezinka, where the extermination camp was, Pilecki felt optimistic. He hoped that the Allies would bomb Auschwitz and that the underground army would launch an attack to liberate the prisoners. He planned to stage an uprising and made all the necessary preparations, even obtaining copies of keys to a gun room. Pilecki's network included up to 1,000 inmates.

But the attack never came. After two-and-a-half years in the concentration camp, Pilecki used forged documents to get himself assigned to work in a bakery outside the electric fence. On the night of Easter Sunday 1943, he and a group of other inmates forced open a door and fled.

*

*

Executed for Espionage

Pilecki lived by his wits in the capital, where he joined the Warsaw resistance and was eventually recaptured by the Germans. He was in a camp near Murnau, in southern Bavaria, when the war ended.

He returned home in the fall of 1945. Thousands of former members of the anti-Nazi resistance movement had disappeared into the forests, from which they were waging a partisan war, this time against their fellow Poles. For them, the Communist regime was nothing but a form of foreign domination by the Russians. Leaders in Warsaw had members of the former underground arrested and, in many cases, executed.

Pilecki began gathering information about the regime and its crimes, including information on the trials of opposition members, executions and deportations.

The secret police arrested Pilecki on May 8 1947 and he was quickly convicted in a show trial. Former concentration camp inmates begged the new prime minister, Józef Cyrankiewicz, who had survived Auschwitz himself, to pardon Pilecki. Cyrankiewicz, though ackowledging Pilecki's meritorious deeds, made it clear to the judge that he was not to use them as mitigating circumstances in favor of the defendant. In the end, Pilecki was sentenced to death for espionage.

 On May 25, 1948, Pilecki was taken from his cell and executed in a manner referred to in Poland today as the "Katyn method," in which the executioner fires a pistol into the back of the convicted prisoner's head at close range. It was the method used by Soviet intelligence to murder 22,000 captured Poles in the forests near Katyn in 1940.

*

 

*

Clancy's comment: some people lead extraordinary lives. Makes you wonder, eh? The translation of the sign over the entrance to Auschwitz 'Freedom through work' didn't help Witold. May he rest in peace.

I'm ...

*

27 November 2012 - Guest Young Adult - 'LC'

*

GUEST

YOUNG ADULT

'LC'

*

*

G'day guys,

Today I welcome another young adult as my guest - 'LC', an exceptional young woman with so many talents. LC is one of my 17 young readers who read my manuscripts and complete a simple questionnaire to keep me on track. Welcome, LC. Let it rip ...

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOU – GENDER, AGE AND PERSONALITY.
Well, I am a 15-year-old Aussie girl who loves reading, animals, horse-riding, music, Irish dancing and being with my friends.

 WHICH COUNTRY DO YOU LIVE IN?

Australia!!

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR FAMILY?
We are a regular, (if slightly dysfunctional!), generally happy family. Yeah, sure, we have the normal family disagreements, etc., but we resolve them quickly and are just a really close family.

 DO YOU LIVE IN A CITY, RURAL, BEACHSIDE, HIGH-RISE OR DESERT AREA?
I live in a semi-rural area, in between two small towns. We have 35acres of grassy paddocks, with seven horses, two cows, a chicken, two ducks, a dog, two cats and a rabbit to inhabit them.

 DO YOU ATTEND A PRIVATE OR GOVERNMENT SCHOOL?
I attend a private, Catholic school, which is part boarding school.

*

 

*

WHAT YEAR ARE YOU CURRENTLY ATTENDING?
Right now I am in year 10.

 IS IT AN ALL GIRLS / BOYS SCHOOL, OR CO-ED?
My school is co-ed, with both day students and boarders. I am a day student.

 WHAT DO YOU LIKE AND DISLIKE ABOUT SCHOOL?
I love that my school is co-ed, so that we can mix with both boys and girls, which means we can form close and lasting friendships with all kinds of people.

 WHAT SUCKS MOST ABOUT THE TEACHERS?
Nothing, really. I have great teachers, generally; especially my current English teacher. A few can be a bit irritating when they tell us to work in silence, but, hey, that’s life!

 HAVE YOU BEEN BULLIED AT SCHOOL? BRIEFLY, WHAT HAPPENED?
Yes, actually. Basically, two girls were making nasty comments about myself and a friend to our other friends, and in front of our faces, but not to us. There were several incidents where the girls would say horrible things about my friend in my presence, and did the same about me in her presence. They would ask my other friends to tell me to move away from them in class, which my friends refused to do, and they spread rumours around about my friend to our year level. They also excluded us from invites to social events and told our other friends, who they did invite, that we weren’t allowed near these events.

*

 

*

DO YOU HAVE A PART-TIME JOB AFTER SCHOOL?
No, but I work at my family business on Saturdays, and am on the lookout for a part-time job elsewhere in my local area.

 WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND AND WHY?
Hmm, that’s a hard one, because I have more than one. The best friend I have known the longest, ever since we were tiny baby girls, lives in Tasmania, so we keep in contact via letters and social networking. We tell each other absolutely everything, and are always there for each other in emergency situations with a quick, mad texting session to sort out serious boy dramas and the like; no stretch of ocean can keep us apart!!! I have a best friend that goes to another school, and she’s in the year below me, and we still keep in contact and catch up. Finally, I have three best friends at my school who I can tell anything and everything and know that I’ll always be able to count on them to cheer me up and make me laugh, and who I can talk about the most random and bizarre things with. All of these people are my best friends because they are always there for me, I can trust them with anything and everything, and they are amazingly fun to be around.

 IS RELIGION IMPORTANT TO YOUR DAILY LIFE? WHY?
Yes and no. At school we say a prayer each morning and we go to church occasionally, but I don’t devote my life to my faith. Religion is always there, and I try to live my life as a good Christian.

 WHAT OTHER INTERESTS DO YOU HAVE – SPORT, HORSE-RIDING, READING, MUSIC? TELL US MORE.
Well, all of the above, almost!! I ride horses, I play three musical instruments – the flute, the violin and the piano – and I love to read! I think that I spend the majority of my life with a book in my hand, and I love to get totally lost inside a good book. My mum always says that she could take the house away while I’m reading, and I wouldn’t notice it!!

 IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO BE WHATEVER YOU WANTED, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I’m really not sure. There are so many amazing things out there that I wouldn’t know where to begin! I would love to be an animal scientist and bring back extinct species through cloning, etc., or an amazing author, or a helicopter pilot. So many choices!!!

*

 

*

ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT?
Yes, I am. The way I see it is that if we want the world to be the best it can be; green, fresh air, open spaces and rural lands and areas, then we have to look after it, so that ourselves and future generations can enjoy it.

 HAVE YOU TRAVELLED OUTSIDE YOUR OWN COUNTRY? WHERE?
No, I haven’t. I have only been to a few places in Australia, such as Tasmania, Victoria, Adelaide, ACT (Canberra) and NSW (only Sydney). I am hoping to travel to Europe next year with my Irish Dancing academy, but no solid plans have been made as yet.

 IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO SAY SOMETHING TO ALL WORLD LEADERS, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?
I would say to them that they have a responsibility to keep this world on track and to make it a better place. They have to make the right choices for the good of this world, because our futures lie in their hands.

 WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
At the moment? Pass my exams!! I really don’t have anything major planned for the future, yet. I still need to figure out where my current path is heading, and I’m taking each day as it comes. I would like to go to university one day, but I don’t yet know what I’ll be studying. I still have so many ideas about my future careers running through my head, and I haven’t really decided upon a career that I really am 100% passionate about yet.

 WHAT WORRIES YOU MOST?
Failure and rejection. I am afraid that I won’t be good enough, and that I will be rejected by people; universities, future employers, guys, etc.

*

 

*

WHAT WORRIES YOU MOST ABOUT THE WORLD?
That one day, it will be a bad place, full of pollution, war, violence, hardship, etc. I don’t want that sort of a world for my future children and family.

 DO YOU THINK BEING A PARENT IS A TOUGH JOB?
Yes, absolutely. My respect goes out to all parents out there, trying to guide your children to being the best they can be, and achieving their dreams. Turning them into role models, leaders, good Samaritans, world-changers and the like. Love ya work.

 DO YOU EVER STAND UP FOR YOURSELF OR THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS?
Yes, I do. If I see people bullying, harassing or picking on someone else, I let them know what I think of it!

 WHO DO YOU ADMIRE MOST? WHY?
My mum. She has worked tremendously hard to get us where we are; we have our own house, we go to good schools, we are happy, we have fun, we have so many animals, and just generally have great lives.

 DO YOU USE SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS (Twitter, Internet, MSN, Yahoo, Skype, emails & Facebook) TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR FRIENDS?

Yes, I do. I have three email accounts and a Facebook account, and I use these to send work to and from school, and to keep in contact with friends, through emails, Facebook and texting.

*

 

*

DO YOU THINK POLITICIANS AND WORLD LEADERS ARE DOING A GOOD JOB?
I believe that they are trying very hard to do what is right by the world, but they are only human, and cannot be expected to be perfect. And besides, many people have many different opinions as to what is right and wrong for the world, and not everyone is going to be happy, no matter what is done. I think they are doing the best job they know how to do, and I would not like to be in their shoes.

 WHAT INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?
Possibilities. Knowing that I can be anything I want to be if I put in the effort, knowing that I can take opportunities that could lead anywhere, and knowing that my life is just beginning, and that there is so much out there to see, do and experience.

 WHAT, OR WHO, HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR LIFE? WHY?
Again, it would have to be my mum. She has always been there for me when I need her, and has tried her hardest to guide me down the right paths. She has always supported me, no matter what, and loves me unconditionally, even if sometimes I don’t appreciate it. She would, and has done, anything and everything I have ever needed her to do and more, and I couldn’t ask for anything different. When I grow up (if ever!), I want to be like her.

 DESCRIBE YOUR PERFECT DAY.
My perfect day would be to have a day where I could gather all of my closest friends in one place and introduce them to eachother (those who haven’t met), then just spending the day doing something exciting, like laser tag, paintballing or something like that, and just generally enjoying life and talking about anything and everything.

DO YOU READ BOOKS?
YES!!!!! I cannot live or function without them. They are an essential of living, and I would be lost without them. My all-time favourite quote is from ‘A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin. It goes, “A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone, if it’s to keep its edge.” – Thank-you Tyrion Lannister!!!

 WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK? WHY?
I don’t really have one; I can’t choose!! Some of my favourite books and authors are J.K. Rowling, Clancy Tucker, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials, Christopher Paolini (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, Inheritance), Derek Landy, the Pretty Little Liars series and my new-found obsession, the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series by George R. R. Martin!!! All of the books/series’ by these authors are wonderful stories with amazing storylines and incredible depth and meaning. They are my favourites because I can get so totally lost within their pages that I can almost forget reality and live inside each of their individual worlds.

 WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE? WHY?
Again, I don’t really have one; there are too many! Some really amazing ones are the Harry Potters, Avatar, The Last Airbender, Australia, The Hunger Games, Pretty Little Liars the TV series, and HBO’s amazing series, ‘Game of Thrones’, based on ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series by George R. R. Martin! These movies/series’/TV shows are amazingly moving, mind-blowing and heart-stoppingly exciting. I could watch them (and have!!) several times over, and each time picked up on something new.

*

Copyright Clancy Tucker (c)

*

 WHAT WAS THE WORST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO YOU?
The worst thing to happen to my family was when my auntie passed away after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) at the age of 44. I was only young at the time, just seven years old, but it was a pretty traumatic experience for all of us, and I remember it really clearly.

 WHAT WAS THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU?
Wow, where do I start?! So many amazing things have happened to me over my lifetime that it’s impossible to choose one! Some of the highlights would have to be meeting my best friends, getting my 96-year-old piano for my birthday, the arrivals of all my horses/ponies, winning Horse of the Year, Tasmania twice and coming Reserve the third time, and one ordinary day spent at my grandparents when I read a manuscript by one ‘Clancy Tucker’, who turned out to be my second-cousin, and which opened up a new world of reading, and how my amazing friendship with Clancy Tucker was formed.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE?
I would combat global warming, rid the world of poverty, and go around “Kicking evil very hard in the face.” – Thanks go out to Derek Landy for that awesome quote.

 DO YOU THINK MUCH ABOUT WORLD POVERTY, REFUGEES, ASYLUM SEEKERS AND HOMELESS PEOPLE?
Yes, of course. I pity them, and I hope that one day soon, their lives will change for the better, and I donate to charities whenever I can.

 DO YOU DO ANY CHARITABLE WORK?
Yes, I do. I donate money to charities, clothes and toys to the Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul, etc., and I have done volunteer work at Edgar’s Mission, Animal Rescue Centre.

 WHAT, OR WHO, ANNOYS YOU MOST?
First World Problems. It really bugs me when people complain about the most minor things, like not being able to go to some concert, or not liking their hair, or breaking a fingernail. There are people out there who are starving, homeless, enslaved or dying from treatable illnesses because they have no money and live in countries with little resources. Sure, I’ve been guilty of it, but I soon realise that there are others with bigger problems than mine, and I stop complaining.

*

A special book?

*

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR?
I’m not sure. I haven’t done anything majorly spectacular in my lifetime. I guess I could say my horse riding, but I stopped going to shows a few years ago. Since then, my biggest achievements are being a part of the school production, getting good exam results and being asked to dance in a military tattoo in Hong Kong with some others from my dancing academy. Unfortunately, I was unable to go, but just being asked to perform in it was amazing.

 HAVE YOU WON ANY PRIZES AND AWARDS? TELL US MORE.
With my horse riding, I’ve won many ribbons and some trophies. I won Horse of the Year, Tasmania when I was three, came runner up when I was four, and won again when I was 5. Besides that, I have gotten academic awards at school, and the occasional ribbon on school sports days.

 DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE PLACE? WHERE?
I don’t have a specific place that is my favourite. I like being in wide, open spaces, like grassy fields, or by the sea on a hot day, and I love bushland, and especially forests. There’s something so peaceful about them, and every step through them is an adventure.

 DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS?
I have a few, but nothing major. I regret little things like missed opportunities, comments made in a conflict and acting on impulse. I especially regret it when I snap at my mum if I’m having a bad day, so I have learnt to think before I speak, and if I slip up I always apologise straight after.

 WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
I am afraid of disappointing my family and friends. I seriously fear not being good enough to make them proud of me, and tell me I’ve done well. Also, I’m kind of frightened of clowns. A lot. And spiders, too.

 WHAT DO YOU MOST LOOK FORWARD TO?
Life. The future. Anything and everything that is going to happen to me in my lifetime, the good and the bad. The good will be what it will, the bad will teach me important life lessons and help me to better understand life itself, and what it means to be a part of it. Whatever opportunities that may come up, I cannot wait to grab and run with them. Whether there are dangers to be faced, choices to be made, fun to be had or bonds to be formed, I want to be ready to take it all in my stride and live my life to its potential.

*

*

Clancy's comment: Mm ... don't worry about failure or rejection. Your head is screwed on perfectly. Love ya work, 'LC' ... love ya work! - CT

I'm ...

*

Email me if you wish to subscribe

or unsubscribe to my daily blog

clancy_tucker@hotmail.com

*

26 November 2012 - War Stories

Copyright Clancy Tucker (c)

'Rain on Uluru - Australia Day, 2007'

*

Quote of the day:

"America will never be destroyed from the outside.

If we falter and lose our freedoms,

it will be because we destroyed ourselves"

Abraham Lincoln

*

War Stories

*

*

G'day guys,

Today I feature another short story by Kay Koenig, El Supremo of a great site: Australian Family Stories.

Australian Family Stories is a new web site for tales about Australian and Australians. Is it surprising that three of the four stories, sent to her since the site opened, were about war? What does this say about us, as Australians?

Our troops first set sail to fight in a war on 3^rd March 1885. An infantry contingent from NSW, travelled to Africa, to help England defend Khartoum in the Sudan. The young men, who volunteered to across the globe to fight in England’s war, were full of enthusiasm. What an adventure!

Since that time, have Australians ever refused to go to war when Britain, or more recently the US, requested our assistance?

*

*

Percy’s War is a reader’s tale about a twenty year old labourer who volunteered to fight in the First World War.  What is remarkable about this short story is the unusual nature of Percy’s war experience and the statistics provided by the writer, Jill Slack. Apparently 37% of the total male population of Australia, between the ages of eighteen and forty-four, fought in World War I. Of those 14% died, 40% were wounded and 21% suffered from illness. In fact, serious illness was the main experience of those who served at Gallipoli.

Percy Ashton served in the Middle East throughout the war. No doubt he saw a lot of fighting. What is remarkable, is the number of times Percy that was evacuated due to illness. He suffered from a wide range of bacterial and fungal diseases. His record begs the question, ‘Why did so many healthy young men succumb to illness during the First World War’? The answer lies in the nature of that war. Thousands of troops lived in narrow trenches that were freezing in winter and muddy, mosquito infested quagmires in summer. They were surrounded by rotting corpses. Imagine the horror, imagine the flies and imagine the smell. Apparently, shells were constantly flying overhead. To evade a bullet from a sniper, one had to walk through the trenches doubled over. Opposing soldiers flung grenades into enemy trenches. You would never know when a grenade would go off beside you. In these conditions you had to eat and sleep for days. Personal hygiene was always a problem. Even when you were rotated away from the Front, your rest period would be plagued with the fears associated with returning to battle. When these factors are considered, the miracle is that only 21% of our soldiers suffered illness.

*

*

The second story was a biography of a friend’s father. When the Korean War began he was a nineteen year old postal worker, bored with his life in Sydney. The Australian Government asked for volunteers to serve with the United Nations in Korea. Ernie Holden answered the call. He, like so many others, thought it would be an adventure, thought he was serving his country and thought he was invincible. Time had marched on and the methods of killing were different. The results were not. Seventeen thousand Australian troops went to Korea. Three hundred and thirty nine were killed including five of Ernie’s mates. One thousand two hundred were injured, include Ernie Holden. He and a mate strayed into a mine field and were badly wounded. They lay in the mine field overnight not knowing whether they would see the light of day. When day break arrived, they were rescued. The Chinese held their fire while the stretcher contingent rescued them. To this day, Ernie carries eleven pieces of shrapnel in his body from the landmine, enough to set off the metal detectors in airports.

The third and most amazing story is a memoir published by June Collins. Goodbye Junie Moon deals with the Vietnam War. Like the currently popular Australian film, ‘The Sapphires’, June entertained the troops in Vietnam and like the film, her story is a rivetingly good read.

Goodbye Junie Moon is a book that interweaves two stories. June’s childhood, of riches and poverty in Australia during the 1950’s, is juxtaposed with her life as an exotic dancer in Vietnam during the war. Following a failed marriage, she decided to follow her dream of becoming a dancer. After learning her trade and dancing in clubs in Australia, June was obtained a job in the Philippines.  Various engagements in Japan and Korea follow then June is offered a contract in Vietnam importing and selling jewellery to the American Troops. Once there, she has second thoughts about the job description and began entertaining the troops instead.

In 1966, June was a curvaceous young blond. She toured across the length and breadth of South Vietnam performing for troops very close to battle zones. Initially she was a magician’s assistant, then an exotic dancer with her own troupe of Pilipino entertainers. The solders loved her.

When June began to tour her own entertainers she became aware of a get rich quick scheme involving the sergeants running the American Army Clubs. They were safe in the big towns. They never saw active service but demanded money from the performers who worked on the front line. Incensed, June reported them, gathered evidence against them and eventually addressed the US Senate hearings into corruption amongst the Armed Services in Vietnam. She co-authored ‘The Khaki Mafia’ with Robin Moore (The French Connection). That story was fiction based on fact. This is the true story of what happened in Vietnam. It is an absolute page turner with an erotic first chapter that has you hooked from the beginning.  June was a very brave young woman. Her story deserves to be read. She is one of our heroes.

Goodbye Junie Moon can be purchased at www.australianfamilystories.com,.au

*

*

Clancy's comment: thanks, Kay. Great looking website.

http://www.australianfamilystories.com.au/

*

I'm ...

*

25 November 2012 - Robyn Opie Parnell - Guest Author

*

Robyn Opie Parnell

- Guest Author

*

*

G'day guys. Today I welcome a very successful writer, author and screenwriter - Robyn Opie Parnell. Robyn is the author of 86 children's books. She has been writing for children for 15 years; most of her children's books are sold around the world and many have been translated into foreign languages. Welcome, Robyn. Tell us more ...

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.

I wrote my first novel when I was fifteen.

In my early twenties, I submitted a 2,500 word picture book to publishers. I thought the book was brilliant. I loved it. Publishers, unfortunately, didn’t agree. But I didn’t know back then that picture books are usually less than 700 words and never ever more than 1,000. Oops! It’s a good thing we live and learn.

Around the mid-nineties, I read books and completed courses on writing for children. My first three books were accepted in 1998 and published in 1999. The three books are still available today. They are My Bike, Jen Stays Inside, and People Need Trucks.

Thirteen years later, I’m the author of 86 published books. Naturally, I’ve written many, many more that haven’t been published. I’m still hopeful with some of them. Others I now chalk up to experience.

 WERE YOU A GOOD READER AS A KID?

Yes, definitely. I loved to read. I still do. Books are the best escape from reality. And we all need to escape from reality.

*

*

WHEN AND HOW DID YOU BECOME A WRITER?

I wrote my first children’s book when I was fifteen. My English teacher gave me an “A” for every essay I wrote. One day, as he handed back an essay, he said to me, “You should be a writer.” Talk about a light bulb moment! I went home and wrote my first novel. It was a mystery, like an Australian Nancy Drew – too much like an Australian Nancy Drew!

The rest of my journey was described in question 1.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?

Not working in an office from 9 to 5.

I love the freedom. I love being able to do anything and go anywhere. I’m talking about my imagination. I can have great adventures, from the comfort and safety of my recliner chair. I love being able to explore ideas, themes, subjects, times and places. Being a writer opens me up to anything, all sorts of possibilities, anything can happen.  In my novel Backstage Betrayal, I explored a fear of mine. In Maya and the Crystal Skull, I travelled to Mayan ruins in Central America. I also defeated the villains and saved the world. In Working Like a Dog, I focussed on one of my favourite things. In Black Baron, I tried to save an animal from the ultimate cruelty – extermination. I did all of these things from the comfort and safety of my recliner chair. Basically, I get to dream every day about the things I’d love to do and occasionally about some of the things I’d hate to do. Oh, and I love still being a kid!

 WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?

The hardest thing about being a writer is marketing and promotion. I’m a writer. I love to write fictional stories. But, nowadays, I have to market and promote to sell these stories.  I live in imaginary, fictional worlds. I have exciting adventures. I don’t like the reality of having to sell. Okay, so while we’re here, please buy my books, in particular Maya and the Crystal Skull and Stop! Do Not Read This Book. You’ll love them. Honest!

*

*

 WHAT WERE YOU IN A PAST LIFE, BEFORE YOU BECAME A WRITER?

I was a freelance writer in a past life. Writing isn’t just an obsession from this lifetime. It’s an obsession from many lifetimes. My fascination with the Maya also stems from at least one past life, maybe more.

 WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?

I’d like to say getting my first books accepted for publication … but I can’t. My dog died on 5 November 1998. My first 3 books were accepted by a publisher on 6 November 1998. I was too numb to celebrate.

I’d like to say receiving author copies of my first published books … but I can’t. Author copies of my first 3 books arrived by post during the worst storm in Adelaide’s history. The postman, in his wisdom, left the envelope next to my letterbox because it didn’t fit in the letterbox. When I arrived home, I walked the neighbourhood, recovering little bits of my books which were destroyed in the storm.

Okay, so not a good start …

My greatest writing achievement was either co-writing a screenplay with my husband Rob Parnell or writing Maya and the Crystal Skull. These were big projects compared to what I’d previously written. At approximately 10,000 words, my longest children’s novel was Black Baron published by Walker Books Australia in 2008 and Walker Books UK in 2009. Maya and the Crystal Skull is approximately 40,000 words, which made it a bigger challenge for me.

Hopefully there are greater achievements to come.

 WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?

I’m doing a final edit of the sequel to Maya and the Crystal Skull, which is called Maya and the Daring Heist. Maya and the Daring Heist will be published in early 2013.

Here’s a little preview …

 "Across the world, far away from Maya King, a crystal skull is stolen from the British Museum. When Maya hears the news, she is relieved that this time she is not involved. She has nothing to fear from the thieves. There is no chance of being kidnapped.

A birthday present for her father sets in motion unexpected events. Smugglers, the black market, and Maya’s life is in jeopardy. So, too, are the lives of her father and her best friend. Everything is at stake. The smugglers will stop at nothing, But neither will Maya."

*

*

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

 Waking up every day.

 WHAT GENRE DO YOU WRITE?

I write children’s books. I’ve written 3 books on writing for adults. With my husband, I’ve co-written a screenplay for a family feature film.

 DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW WRITERS?

When I submitted my first manuscripts to publishers, I didn’t know about word counts, age groups, types of books or anything else to do with children’s books. My first manuscripts were rejected. My advice, based on my own experience, is to learn everything you can about writing, especially to do with your chosen genre. I read books about writing, completed courses, joined writers’ groups and organisations. Only then were my stories accepted for publication. After all, you wouldn’t pilot a jumbo jet without first learning how to fly. If you’ve learnt about your chosen genre, so you’re way ahead here, then my advice is persistence. Professional writers often say that the secret to their success is persistence. They never gave up!

DO YOU SUFFER FROM WRITER’S BLOCK?

I don’t believe in writer’s block. It’s a myth. Have you ever heard of carpenter’s block, or accountant’s block, or clerk’s block? There’s no such thing!

 DO YOU HAVE A PREFERRED WRITING SCHEDULE?

I write every morning, 7 days a week if possible, until at least lunch time. I like to spend a minimum of 4 hours a day on my own writing. I usually give myself a target word count each day and that target is usually 1,000 words. I keep writing until I’ve reached 1,000 words. Occasionally, I have an appointment and I can’t write 1,000 words. On those occasions, I aim for whatever I can do. I prefer to write every day, even if sometimes I can only add 100 words to a story. The target of 1,000 words, though, means that 98% of the time I write 1,000 words a day. Writing is a habit. I’ve created habits that enable me to write a lot and to write as efficiently as possible. After I finish work on my own writing, I answer emails, promote, market and work on students’ homework. (I offer writing courses on my website.)

*

*

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE WRITING PLACE?

Yes, my trusty laptop and I usually create from a recliner chair in my lounge room.

 WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST JOY IN WRITING?

The writing itself. I love words. I love to disappear into a fictional world. I love to create. I love the challenge of completing a novel. I just love everything about writing.

 WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND WHY?

James Patterson. It’s hard to put his books down. I love the way his writing is so concise. Every word is necessary. In other words, there’s no chance to get bored. He uses “show, don’t tell” like the master he is. I fell in love with some of his characters. The good guys, that is. Not the serial killers. I don’t have a favourite children’s author. I love good books.

 WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?

During school visits, I was asked if I‘m going to write a sequel to my novels Backstage Betrayal and Black Baron. Apparently, the kids love the books so much, they want sequels. It’s great when kids want more.

 WHAT WAS THE WORST COMMENT FROM A READER?

Touch wood, I haven’t had any yet.

 WRITERS ARE SOMETIMES INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?

Yes, definitely. The inspiration for Maya and the Crystal Skull was a lifetime in the making.
When I was a teenager, I became interested in the ancient civilizations of the Maya, Incas and Aztecs. In my spare time, I read about these cultures and learned what I could about them. Life moved on and I forgot about the Maya, Incas and Aztecs. About seven years ago, I developed a fascination for clairvoyant mediums, life after death and the spirit realm. In the last few years, I added the law of attraction and quantum physics to the things that fascinate me. I’m also a greenie, as in I used to work for Greenpeace Australia. To cut a long story short, one night my husband wanted to watch a documentary on crystal skulls. How awful, I thought. But I agreed because I love my husband. The legend of the crystal skulls is linked to indigenous peoples such as the Maya, Aztecs and Native American Indians. I was once again hooked on these cultures and curious about the crystal skulls. After a month of research and an inkling of an idea, I sat down and plotted Maya and the Crystal Skull. This story – and ultimately the series – includes my favorite interests: the legend of the crystal skulls, the Mayan culture, clairvoyant mediums, the spirit realm, quantum psychics and the environment. Most of my books are based on my interests or experiences. The Pony Game comes from playing with my dog when I was a child. Our Secret Place was inspired by a true story told to me by a friend. The Mad Mower is based on a fantasy of mine.

*

*

HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE YOU PUBLISHED?

86 at this point in time.

 HAVE YOU WON ANY PRIZES OR AWARDS?

I’ve never entered any, so I’ve never won any either.

 WHAT WILL THEY MEAN TO YOU?

I’ll let you know when I win one.

 OTHER THAN WRITING, WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?

My husband! Reading, metaphysics, the paranormal, spiritualism, dogs, animals, walking, sunshine, nature, travelling, stories of all kinds (movies, TV etc).

 DID YOU HAVE YOUR BOOK / BOOKS PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?

My books are edited by the publisher but mainly for house style. I assume my books were accepted for publication because they didn’t need editing. Nowadays publishers don’t have the time and budget to do extensive editing of writers’ manuscripts. It’s up to us, the writers, to produce the best possible work. I always ask a writer, usually my husband, to read my books and provide feedback before I do a final edit. It’s good to get the opinions of experienced writers who can view our stories with fresh eyes. Recently, I swapped manuscripts with a writer friend. I critiqued his manuscript and he did mine. That was a great experience, very worthwhile. But you need to pick people who know what they’re doing, otherwise you might not get the quality of help you desire. But I always edit my own work. I do three or four complete edits, sometimes more if necessary. Many of the stories I’ve edited for other people have been published.

*

*

IF YOU HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO THE ENTIRE WORLD, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

What I would like to say to the world is clear from my novel Maya and the Crystal Skull, and will become even clearer as I progress with this series. The main character, Maya King, has to rescue her father from kidnappers, risking her own life in the process. Ultimately, Maya has to save the world. A theme in Maya and the Crystal Skull is that people do things every day, that these things make a difference and that it’s best to make a positive difference. Maya learns about life after death, the spirit world, spiritual guidance, the Mayan culture, the environment, universal consciousness and living in harmony with the land. All of this wrapped up in an Indiana-Jones-type adventure. You have to read it!

 DESCRIBE YOUR PERFECT DAY.

A warm, sunny day. I wake after a good night’s sleep, make a cup of tea for myself and coffee for my husband. We drink our tea and coffee, talk and cuddle. When we get up, I check my emails. I meditate, before writing until lunch time and for another hour after lunch. My husband and I go for a walk. At home again, I answer emails, update my blog, promote my books and respond to students’ homework. I have dinner with my husband and cuddle up to him on the sofa to watch a good movie or TV show. This is my perfect day and luckily this is how I spend most of my days.

 WHAT ARE YOUR GREATEST ASSETS AS A WRITER?

Persistence and patience. I’m a hard-worker. I’m logical, which helps in creating believable storylines. Talent, experience, instincts, child-like fascination of the world. I get bored easily, so my stories are fast-paced and action-packed. I don’t want to do anything else. I have a stubborn-streak, which helps with persistence and patience. Discipline and determination. I guess I should add imagination but, interestingly, I use words like persistence, patience, hard work, discipline and determination before imagination.

 IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONE PERSON, WHO WOULD YOU LIKE IT TO BE? WHY?

My husband, Rob Parnell. Rob is my soul mate. We’re both full time writers working from home. We like the same things. We’re rarely apart. There’s no chance I’d be stuck on a desert island without Rob. We’d definitely be together.

*

*

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?

I’ve been busy. My books Stop! Do Not Read This Book and You’re Amazing – the Law of Attraction for Young People will be released in paperback in 2013. I’m doing a final edit of the sequel to Maya and the Crystal Skull, which is called Maya and the Daring Heist, for release in 2013. I have other books in the pipeline, including a picture book Wiggle Jiggle All Around and a short chapter book If Not Jannah. Despite two false starts, I’m still hopeful of seeing our family feature film (a screenplay co-written with my husband Rob Parnell) on the big screen.

*

LINKS!

Please visit the following links for more information on Robyn and her books:

http://www.robynopie.com

*
http://www.robynopie.blogspot.com

*
https://www.facebook.com/robyn.opieparnell

*
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maya-and-the-Crystal-Skull/194081397336766?ref=hl

*
https://twitter.com/robynopieparnel

*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NwL7zjB6kM

*
http://www.youtube.com/user/robparnell2008/videos

*
http://www.stopdonotreadthisbook.blogspot.com

*

New Release! Maya and the Crystal Skull (R & R Books, January 2012)

*
http://www.rnrbooksfilmmusic.com.au/maya.html

*
http://www.amazon.com/Maya-Crystal-Skull-ebook/dp/B0069WE3GK

 *

Coming soon! Maya and the Daring Heist (R & R Books, January 2013)

*

Clancy's comment: thanks, Robyn. Sounds like you are well on your way. Well done! - CT

I'm ...

*

Email me if you wish to subscribe 

or unsubscribe to my daily blog

clancy_tucker@hotmail.com

*