ON THE WALLABY- 2nd May 2006

”How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between between Heaven and Hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man” – the late Johnny Cash, country music legend and the subject (along with his wife June Carter) of the hit movie “Walk the Line”

MATTHEW RYAN- ANOTHER YOUNG AUSTRALIAN DIES NEEDLESSLY

I have deliberately used this quote of Johnny Cash, one of my heroes, to introduce this OTW as it revolves around the tragic death in Sydney a week or so ago of 24 year old Matthew Ryan, son of Rugby League great, ABC sports commentator and good bloke Warren Ryan and his wife Pam.

What made Matties death all the more stark for me when so many other young Australians are dying in a similar and unnecessary manner, is that I was involved closely in getting him into his job and in getting that position for him, I came to know and admire him personally.

To meet your Maker huddled away unconscious in a small inner city flat with friends (if one would call them that given what apparently transpired) partying around you is a scenario I would wish on nobody.

I readily admit that I do not understand in any way what makes people become drug users ,for to be quite blunt, it stick out like “dogs balls” that you are playing with dynamite and the road, for many, many of the users is but one way and that is downhill.

In saying that, I suppose I am to a certain degree guilty of cynicism here for when I was a young bloke, just after leaving school and starting to ”feel my oats”, I and others of my generation, especially growing up in the bush with the B & S (Bachelors & Spinsters) Ball scene alive and well, drank heaps of grog, drove cars pissed without seatbelts and equipped with cross ply tyres and drum brakes, a combination that would make safety experts today shudder!

Be that as it may, it was a different scene to that of today and for someone who has neither ever touched nor been interested in drugs as such, maybe it is a Puritanical streak in me that sees this as being stupid.

Maybe, with the pressures of life today (but are they any really harder than in previous generations?) that we see about us, and the picture where we are all becoming islands in a sea of frenetic activity and not a crew manning a community ship as it were, young people feel the need for drugs to increase their self esteem.

One thing I do know is that I do not have the answer, for drug addiction is not the province of any specific socio economic group, as Johnny Cash, one of music’s super stars, showed graphically in his life before he beat that addiction.

It is when I see a personable and talented young bloke, as Mattie Ryan was, with a burgeoning career in real estate in front of him , to have life and therefore his career, whisked away, I ask simply “why?”

Can governments do more?

I am sure they can and I have no doubt the influence of the drug “big guns” is brought to bear on those who have the power to change “things” and it is not until we as a community have the courage to say ”enough is enough” that the situation will change.

As the “Bali Nine” are finding to their eternal regret no doubt, it is always the pawns who are swept up and the ”untouchables” remain very much that.

Can we as a community do more?

As Edmund Bourke said over 200 years ago “evil prevails when good men remain silent” and in the meantime, youngsters such as Mattie Ryan continue to die chasing that ”quick fix”.

To Warren and Mrs Ryan, I am sure all my subscribers would wish their sympathies passed on in the loss of their only child.

Carpe diem

Tony

Tony Fountain

Professional Speaker, auctioneer and author

Sydney NSW Australia

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