Looking back on 2017, I sought to focus on a highlight.

I don’t know about you, but nothing really stood out.

Does this mean there were too many horrific occurrences?

Maybe too many good and exciting things happened? For me, nothing lifted itself out of the mire that was 2017, it’s gone, let’s move on.

                    WITS

I have six little stories that might take us on into 2018 with positive thoughts.

Once all villagers decided to pray for rain. On the day of prayer all the people gathered but only one boy carried an umbrella. That’s FAITH.

When you throw babies into the air, they laugh because they know you will catch them. That’s TRUST.

Every night we go to bed without any assurance of being alive in the morning, but we still set the alarm to wake up. That’s HOPE.

We plan big things for tomorrow in spite of zero knowledge of the future. That’s CONFIDENCE.

We see the world suffering, but still we get married and have children. That’s LOVE.

On an old man’s shirt was written a sentence, “I am not 78 years old; I am sweet sixteen with 62 years of experience.” That’s ATTITUDE.

Take what you will from these stories and have a great year.

                    WITS

I have one thing I hope 2018 can bring us. Positive government and no more negative opposition.

State and federally I am absolutely sick of governments making decisions and opposition spokes persons getting up and making inane comments in response.

Opposition politicians should consider themselves to be an alternative government. Inane, and often derogatory remarks do nothing to sway potential swing voters who realistically determine the results of elections.

My advice, if you haven’t got constructive criticism, or genuine alternative ideas – SHUT UP!

If all politicians wrote this advice as a new year resolution, it would be broken with the full stop.

                    WITS

The hottest topic on talkback radio over the last couple of weeks has been road safety.

With a much higher road toll than we’ve had for a while, 2017 could be marked down as a black year.

There have been suggestions aplenty flooding the airways ranging from zero alcohol tolerance (as is expected of P platers) to cars being fitted with speed limiters with a maximum speed of say 130kmh. Use of mobile phones, drugs have all come into the discussions, and more. The carnage we saw over Christmas must stop.

There are people on the roads who should not be there such as the 40 year old avoiding a breath test station, being chased and pulled over by the police and testing well over the legal limit – Plus licence suspended until 2035. The courts have a lot to answer for.

The bottom line is, it’s responsible driving that is the solution, the balls in our court. Driving is a responsibility, not a right or a privilege.

                    WITS

The other hot topic on talkback was politicians. Boy oh boy, not many people out there have anything nice to say about them, and, I might add, the political system they work under.

Things might change if they listened to the people, but then again, they are politicians so us suggesting that they heed these words words will probably only be taken aligned to these famous words:

“You gotta be dreamin’.” (Michael Caton – The Castle)