24 I’m told that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. My two dogs, however, have been able to teach me a thing or two, despite my advancing age. Observation of their daily behavior illustrates with just how much gusto and intent they conduct their daily activities. From excitedly engaging with other neighbourhood dogs, through to booby trapping the neighbors’ verge, and tugging on the leash, everything they do is done with meaning and enthusiasm. In dog terms they take on their daily activities with enthusiasm and dogged responsibility. On these daily walks, we pass by a locally wellknown and long-standing monument to human non-endeavor. Half a decade ago, on this very site, a volcanic eruption occurred that tore up the road and pavement. OK – so I exaggerate a little – it was a water pipe burst that broke up the road surface. The Municipal rapid response team was dispatched, arriving in record time, after working hours, to dig up the road exactly two weeks later. The pipe was patched, and the emergency team departed, no doubt to claim overtime and catch up on some well-earned rest. They left a crater in the road, visible from space. Residents have subsequently made a fortune ever since by advertising guided tours of our local canyon. It was disappointing therefore to see, two years later, another emergency team arrive to fill and tar the crater that we had grown so fond of. The fill material and topping that was imported however, was shy by at least half of the volume actually required to complete the repair. The attending team therefore did what was appropriate. They half-filled our canyon, creatively decorated it with the minimal topping material and departed… again to count their overtime earnings. Every time I pass this location, I wonder just how different things could have been had the attending teams done their jobs with similar enthusiasm and gusto as displayed by my two mutts. There used to be nothing better than to occasionally relax with a cup of coffee and listen to the news. I use the words “used to” with reason. Firstly, as a baby boomer, I naturally (Rob Thompson – Member Services Manager) aspire to FM radio much to the disdain of the Millennial’s and Gen Z’s that surround me with their thumbs implanted onto cell screens and their brains hot-wired into the Internet. Secondly, the news, as we enter the “Silly Season” (read Election) has become so mediocre that it is simply not worth keeping up with. The news is filled with prominent individuals with no substance (read Politicians) waxing lyrically about literally zero. Promises made, lies told and exaggerations debated ad nauseum. Once that is done, the process is repeated, again and again to no end and with no positive outcome. Returning to my original school of thought, imagine if these individuals (and by definition our leaders) really attended to their functions and positions enthusiastically and with meaning, as illustrated by my dogs, which presumably only act on instinct… what a different world we would be living in right now! At this point, and before I get to the gist of this article, I have to have a quick word about Millennial’s and Gen Z’s. A colleague and I were chatting about the new incoming generations that are now snapping around our older heels. He assured me that we had nothing to be concerned about and that we were not even close to being chased out of the herd yet. The reason he gave was an interesting and compelling one. He asked me if I could recall the owner’s handbook of the first car I had ever owned. I clearly remembered the two-page brochure that had sat in the cubby hole ready and waiting to guide the process of changing the sparkplugs or replace the engine block gasket. He then asked me to compare that version to the handbooks provided to modern day Millennial and Gen Z vehicle owners. These contain detailed encouragement and guidelines about not drinking the battery acid, to never consider mixing diesel with your soft drink of choice and to preferably remove your fingers from the door frame before slamming the door. He concluded by asking, “So, who’s cleverer then?” Most of the readers of this article have jobs or professions within the forestry industry. Well actually, in my opinion, you don’t really have jobs at all!
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