February 22nd was my fathers 69th birthday. A day to remember. A day to rejoice, unless you live in Christchurch. Unless you have been living in a cave for the past month you will be away of the devastating 6.3 magnitude aftershock that struck Christchurch on Feb. 22nd. It terrorised those who were in it & paralysed the rest of the country as we took a deep breath & anxiously waited for the dust to start settling.
The constant figurehead through this crisis has been mayor Bob Parker. Day after day, hour after hour in those first few harrowing weeks it was Bob facing up to the media furore, marshaling his troops & trying to bring news, peace & closure the best he could to his shattered city. Everyday that enduring figure of silver hair & trademark black & orange jacket met the world. His years of media training stood him in good stead, his strength, clarity & compassion bolstered us all.
So what I propose is this - a message to John Key, when you are compiling the names for the Queens Birthday honours list, put Bob at the top of the list. I know there have been many hero's during this crisis, shining examples of individuals & communities coming together, but if there is one man how shines above them all, it's Bob - or please, Sir Bob.
No comments:
Post a Comment