Phill Thompson

One of my favourite Walt Whitman poems is about an inspirational leader, Abraham Lincoln, who dies when the victory he has been fighting for is close at hand but not yet achieved. On the anniversary of the death of Phill Thompson, national president of the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia, on the 23rd of November 1986, Whitman's poem seems apt.

O Captain! My Captain!

by Walt Whitman

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,

The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,

The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;

But O heart! heart! heart!

O the bleeding drops of red,

Where on the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up - for you the flag is flung - for you the bugle trills,

For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths - for you the shores a-crowding,

For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Here Captain! dear father!

This arm beneath your head!

It is some dream that on the deck,

You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,

My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,

The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,

From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;

Exult O shores, and ring O bells!

But I with mournful tread,

Walk the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

Allergic Reaction to Cortisone Injections - Part Two

As of today, my body has now been covered with itchy red spots for eight weeks. As of today it is now eight weeks and one day since I had cortisone injections in my back.

Welcome Home Parade Anniversary

It's the first weekend in October, so happy anniversary to all Vietnam veterans and their families who made the 1987 Welcome Home Parade in Sydney such a great success.

Dunedoo Centenary of Rail

This coming weekend, the town of Dunedoo will be celebrating its centenary of rail. When I started school, at Dunedoo Central School, I was living in a tent at the foot of the slope at the end of the platform at Dunedoo railway station. The picture below is my family's tent, although the picture was taken before we moved to Dunedoo.

FSB Balmoral, May 1968

I've written an addendum to my story of the battle at FSB Balmoral, because of new information I've received from one of the key participants in an incident in which one of my mates was threatened with a charge of cowardice.

Under the Milky Way Tonight

Today I have added the lyrics and guitar chords for Under The Milky Way Tonight, by the Church, to the My Song Book page in my web site.

This is what it'a supposed to sound like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-mQyRuHluA

Allergic Reaction to Cortisone Injections

As of today, my body has been covered with itchy red spots for exactly seven weeks. Seven weeks and one day ago, on the 9th of August, I had cortisone injections in the facet joints at L5-S1, in my lower back. Coincidence? I think not. Doctors tell me I can’t be allergic to cortisone, but nothing else in my life changed on the 9th of August. The purpose of cortisone injections is to give weeks or months of pain relief, so it is clearly intended to remain in the body for that long. What else could I have possibly been exposed to on that day, that could stay in my body for seven weeks and counting?

Crazy Heart

Lately I’ve been enjoying the soundtrack album of the movie Crazy Heart; not just listening, but learning the songs. I’ve put the lyrics and guitar chords for the seven songs I’ve learnt so far on my web site. They are: Fallin’ and Flyin’, Hold On You, I Don’t Know, Somebody Else (all original songs for the movie, sung by Jeff Bridges); and If I Needed You (Townes Van Zandt), Reflecting Light (Sam Phillips) and The Weary Kind (by Ryan Bingham, the movie’s theme song.)