An Interview With Me

So, Debby had a few questions she wanted to ask me (*smile*) and therefore, without further ado, and for better or for worse, here we go...

If you had a magic wand and could change one thing in this world immediately, what would it be?

Just the one thing? Sheesh. I think that like many others I'd love to change several things across several different aspects of life, but okay, just one. Hmmm. In that case, I'd use my magic wand to cast a spell of empathetic¹ transmogrification² (hereafter referred to as ET) on certain people. How often have we heard that in order to understand the other side of the argument or to appreciate someone else's perspective on things, we need to walk a mile in their shoes? Well, for some people, this concept is not too difficult to grasp but, for others however, it seems nigh on impossible, despite whatever lip service they might pay to saying that they do. So, the ET spell is cast and now, whenever someone discriminates against someone else based on anything at all (colour, race, sex, sexual orientation, body size, faith (or lack thereof), whatever), that someone is going to be instantly converted into the mold of whatever it is that they're discriminating against. Not only will they change physically but they will now be subject to all the heartache and despair and loneliness and frustration and anger and dejection and rejection commensurate with actually being in that position (but at double the intensity, and some might argue that double is not enough). This is going to be a true walk, not a virtual/mental construct. And how long will this process last? As long as it takes. For some, understanding and compassion will come quickly and they'll revert back to their old selves with a far, far better idea of walking that mile. For some, that process will take a mite longer, I imagine. Harsh? Maybe. Necessary? I think so. Maybe my view on things seem a little too altruistic, too simple, too ideal, at times, but hey, I'm a closet philosopher, I reckon.

¹adjective: cognizant of and comprehending the needs, feelings, problems, and views of others

²noun: the process or result of changing from one appearance, state, or phase to another

If you had a magic wand and could change one thing about yourself, immediately, what would it be?

Hmmm. I like to think of myself as a fairly well-balanced guy overall; I've come a long way from my younger, angrier days and I've learned many, many things across a broad spectrum of life experiences. I think my biggest failing, still, is something that someone very dear to me mentioned the other day in a phone conversation. While I have actively sought anger management counseling in the past for some very specific individual issues, I can, apparently, still come across as a little belligerent when expressing an opinion on certain subjects. I'm a passionate person and I guess I don't always recognise that what I consider to be passion can be construed differently by others. I'm learning to be more circumspect in that regard and perhaps, because of that ET spell I mentioned above, I'm getting better at it as I go along.

A sure fire way to make Scotty mad is...

That question is tougher to answer than it first seems. As I said in the previous paragraph, I've worked hard to not let myself get caught up in anger as I have in the past, even though anger can be an effective emotion if controlled and directed properly. Hmmm. I guess one thing that can still make me mad on occasion is being taken for granted or having someone try to take advantage on my good nature. An example of being taken for granted, for example, occurred the other day with my daughter. I give my daughter money to buy the household groceries (she contributes to the running of the household in other ways so this is not the issue) and because she likes Coke, she buys several bottles when she shops. Okay, I'm good with that, even though I rarely drink it myself (I prefer Pepsi). So, I get home from paying some bills and she says, "Dad, there's no Coke left in the fridge." Sure, I earn a good wage and financially, I'm always better off than my kids at any given time, but I didn't like her assumption that I should replace stuff that I didn't use and I told her so. I suggested that maybe she should speak to all those who had availed themselves of the Coke and ask them to replace it to which she replied, "Dad, I can't do that." Really? Try, darling daughter, because although I love you with all my heart, I don't respond all that well to assumptive declarations about the dearth of a particular beverage that I didn't partake of. I think next time she'll probably ask me if I would, "Please, pretty please with a cherry on top, buy some more because I haven't got any money myself," ya know?

What is the funniest thing you've ever seen in your life?

Apart from Funniest Home Videos or what you can find on You-Tube these days? Hehe. Gosh, my sense of humour is such that I can find humour in a lot of things that others can't, but okay, lemme think a minute. Okay, okay, one of the things that sticks in my mind is how pets can bring us so much joy at times. The last dog I owned (Arial) was a blue-heeler (very, very similar to this, actually) and when she was about 9 months old, I was playing with her in the back yard of my House in Darwin. It was a hot day and when I turned the sprinkler on, she would come running and try to bite the water stream (that in itself was giggle-worthy) - when I turned the tap/faucet off she would look quizzically out to where the water had been falling and then back at the sprinkler, even cocking her head at the nozzle as if she was trying to look inside it. I would then turn it back on, make her jump, and then she would bark and try biting the water stream again. This continued for quite some time, I might add. Damn but I miss that dog; I had to have her put down but that's a whole 'nother story...

When did you choose to become a fire fighter? And why?

I come from a family background of military service; my Dad was in the British Navy and both my Grandfathers did Army time so I knew from my early teens that I was going to do some time in the military. The thing about joining the military is deciding what trade stream one is going to choose (and I guess you'd appreciate that, right, Debby?) When I was fourteen, I was walking home from school one day when a car accident took place several hundred yards away from where I was (and quite coincidentally, several yards shorter to where the local fire station was). I ran over to help (I had no idea what I was going to do; I only knew that I wanted to do something, anything, ya know?) but about halfway there, the car burst into flames, and it scared me shitless. The fire crew arrived and they were able to control the fire and cut this guy out of the car; I think it was at that moment that I started thinking of ways to combine military service with firefighting, hence, I became a military firefighter. The primary role of a military firefighter is to deal with aircraft emergencies so I was able to combine that initial need not to be afraid of fire with a love I'd always had for model planes. A secondary role of the military firefighter is to deal with building/automobile emergencies too and while I've dealt with my share of both, there are times when I'm glad I haven't had to deal with death as much as, say, a paramedic or ambulance officer.

That might partially answer the question 'why' as well. I'm a helpful person by nature and you've probably been asked at some point, "What's the meaning of life?" That's my meaning in life; to be helpful in the best way I can manage, whether it's to my kids, my partner, my friends, or even total strangers. I'm not afraid of blood and gore because I've had my share of those as a firefighter but I don't think my heart is strong enough to do that every day of my life; that's why I always take my hat off to medical personnel who deal with it every damn day. Ask me how I feel about the corporate executive who gets a gazillion-dollar financial package for sitting in a leather chair watching the world go by from a glass-clad office, compared to the nurse/paramedic who's only asking for a CPI increase in wages and there's something I could have offered as an answer to previous questions...

Anyway, Debby, there ya have it - hope that gives you some insight into the weird, wacky, sometimes wise and wonderful package that is, well, me.

:-)