…according to plan. The first day of the year saw me moving dust and bed sheets and peering into the fridge to see if I could see the back wall. I had planned a day of writing and a little introspection but life took on a very different path.

My elderly neighbour had not been responding to calls and I didnt think it was just him avoiding my Xmas cake, as it was accompanied by a bottle of something special. I alerted his next of kin and we were asked to do a welfare check. Basically entering a property to check on someone.

We found him febrile, weak and unable to respond so we immediately phoned 000 and asked for an ambulance. It arrived in 10 mins. The team of paramedics were quick in assessing him, reducing the fever, hydrating him but they still felt he needed hospitalization. So they rang the firies who came in another 10 mins. Six strapping men bouncing up the stairs smiling broadly with a “Happy New Year” on their lips. They put him in a papoose to carry him down the narrow staircase and onto the gurney. We now await news of his hospitalization and his recovery.

A day’s work for all these dedicated people whose job it is to look after the sick and less fortunate, put out the fires, and do so with a smile on their face and now I have gone full circle in this posting.

Last Xmas I asked my boys what they felt was meaningful in life. My reply was doing good for others. George said he thought about that often so this was his present to me this year. It brought tears to my eyes. Those ambos and firies live by this standard every day of the year.