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<tt>
I live in the northern outskirts of this little city - it take me less than<BR>
40 minutes to reach the southern suburbs - and as I write, the sunset<BR>
singsong of Mr Magpie, Mrs Galah, Mrs PeeWee and the tuneless laughter of Mr<BR>
Kookaburra are all but drowning out the last sloppy, romantic tune of<BR>
Judging Amy.<BR>
<BR>
But this afternoon, just 15 minutes away, I was in a place where there are<BR>
no birds left to sing. I visited a friend and my journey took me through<BR>
the suburbs that just a fortnight ago were in the mouth of the fire-dragon.<BR>
And I just couldn't stop weeping. The beautiful forests still stand tall<BR>
but instead of their green cloaks sweeping the ground, their naked fingers<BR>
point starkly to the sky, frozen in that awful moment. Some trees have not<BR>
even straightened up - they are bent over as though trapped in a perpetual<BR>
wind and rigor mortis has set in.<BR>
<BR>
Street upon street looked like mouths of uncared-for teeth. Every now and<BR>
then there were homes still standing, but there were more gaps than houses.<BR>
Ruins of what were happy homes now stand abandoned, piles of rubble with any<BR>
valuables found already taken away in a little bucket, beribboned with<BR>
yellow and black Keep Out tape and sings saying looters will be hung.<BR>
Already the crew that cleared Ground Zero have moved in and in four months<BR>
all that will be left of 30 years of hard work will be ash-soaked bare<BR>
ground.<BR>
<BR>
There were no animals - 99% of our precious wildlife in the local<BR>
Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve has gone - yesterday they found the sole<BR>
remaining koala. She is seriously burned, but the rangers have christened<BR>
her Lucky and put her in the care of those who can. You have to think that<BR>
a similar percentage of the free-roaming wildlife has not survived.<BR>
<BR>
The images and the smell and the silence will be with me for a very long<BR>
time.<BR>
<BR>
When I came home I started to create some webpages about the appeal for<BR>
teddy bears, but I found myself having to include some of the pictures that<BR>
I found on the web. I will put the happy pages together during the week as<BR>
I start to unpack all the teddies that have arrived already. I keep<BR>
thinking of this as the Phoenix Appeal - it has risen out of the ashes.<BR>
<BR>
There is a link to what I have done so far from the main page of our website<BR>
<a href="http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au">http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au</a> but for
now I am going to sit outside as<BR>
darkness falls from the first clear skies in two weeks and listen to the<BR>
serenade.<BR>
<BR>
Barbara<BR>
<BR>
Barbara Braxton<BR>
Teacher-Librarian<BR>
Palmerston District Primary School<BR>
PALMERSTON ACT 2913<BR>
AUSTRALIA<BR>
<BR>
T. 61 2 6205 6162<BR>
F. 61 2 6205 7242<BR>
W. <a href="http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au">http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au</a><BR>
E. barbara@austarmetro.com.au<BR>
<BR>
</tt>
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