Things that used to be on a blog.

Never let a chance go by.

August 17, 2013

Way back in ancient history a dam was built on the Jamison Creek near my place to provide water for steam trains. The steam trains have long gone but Wentworth Falls Lake is still there, providing an environment for the survival of such endangered species as the 190 million year old Giant Dragonfly as well as being a place for picnicking, relaxing, watching waterfowl and generally having a good time. There is also a pirate ship that kids love to climb on.

A little while back hysteria broke out about how dangerous the pirate ship is. It has only been there for about fifteen years but suddenly mothers discovered that it is near a body of water and young children might go away from the pirate ship and fall in the water while their mothers are chatting or texting on their iPhones. The solution was to demand that the local council spend other people's money to put a fence around the thing so that the chatting and texting can go on without the need to simultaneously be aware of what your kids are doing.

To the credit of the locals the response in the local paper was almost universal ridicule of the idea, plus suggestions that mothers who are worried about their children going near water should pay attention to what the children are doing when near water. Did I mention that the pirate ship has been there for fifteen years without a single drowning incident? The council ignored the demands and got on with useful business.

I had to buy in to the discussion, but I thought I'd add a little propaganda to what I had to say. This appeared in the Blue Mountains Gazette. It probably didn't increase my popularity with the local anti-vaccination loons, but I consider that a win.