Rex in the City

Today whilst driving along the Citilink Autobahn, over the new Bolte Bridge with its close up view of the glistening glazed super city on the right and of the underwear festooned windows of the 1960s housing commission high rise on the left, I was struck by the sight of a huge azure billboard featuring this sentence.

Life… is too short to get bored

Neitzche

I was captivated by this little piece of philosophy in the morning, and was intrigued by the caption underneath: “Where else but Queensland?”

Further up the road there was another. A different philosophical observation but the same source. Clearly Queensland was trying to tell me something, but what could it be?

I pondered this for a while. Quite a while actually, for I stay well under the speed limit when driving in this State, especially now, knowing that the authorities must make up their revenue shortfall after caving in to the demands of Herald Sun readers on land taxes.

Travelling at 15kmh everywhere is really the only certain way of avoiding triggering those hand held speed detection devices. Indeed many a time I have crested a hill and seen a motorcycle copper standing feet apart, Starsky and Hutch style, Ray-Gun in hand pointed directly at me. Finger itchy on the trigger, waiting to take me out. It’s a battle of wits as I inch down the hill. The copper still braced, then realises that I am barely getting closer and that not only won’t he nab me, he’s not going to nab the 30 or so cars lined up behind me either. With this, he generally stands at ease and takes a short breather from his otherwise punishing routine.

Eventually when I reach his location, I like to wind down the passenger side window, and yell out a cheery “Morning Officer. Fine day for a bit of peackeeping”. I find that people are generally proud of their work, and it far too often goes unremarked and underappreciated.

Anyway by the time I reached the exit ramp, where I noticed that my arm was starting to get tired from waving back at all the passing traffic who were waving to me, I had resolved the perplexing matter of the Billboards.

Queensland, In a generous act of public service is giving we Melbournians a bit of a “chin up lad, it’ll get better soon” as we plunge into the depressing grey depths of our football drenched winter. Queensland is offering us a little philosophy with our tea and toast in the morning.

I was unaware that, apart from the Bahnisch family, Queensland was such a centre of philosophical wisdom. And not only that, they are prepared to forgive us for infecting their otherwise virgin, native sporting landscape with that tenacious pest Australian Rules Football.

I’m looking forward to more of Queensland’s billboards to get me through this Winter.

I find these inspiring:

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
Thoreau

The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.
Shakespeare

I never think of the future - it comes soon enough.
Einstien

I thank you Queensland for your utterly generous act and I call on my Victorian brethren to consider what we might do in return. I know I’ll be getting into the car more often and keeping an eye out for more of Queensland’s thought provoking billboards this Winter.

I’m certain that all Victorians will be behind me on this.