southernfa
Well-Known Member
The conqueror, with Tenzing Norgay, of Mt Everest passed away in his sleep here in Auckland yesterday morning. He was 88.
The media here is already whipping itself into a lather as he was a national icon and hero. I don't normally subscribe to the overweening sentiment that saturates such occasions but the man was a personal hero.
By his own estimation, his greatest achievement was not Mt Everest but the work he was subsequently able to do building schools,clinics and so forth in Nepal.
His understated, somewhat laconic modesty and reserve and his unfailing service and interest in the welfare of others over personal fame, fortune and achievement made his a real role model for the rest of us. In a real sense he embodied Gandhi's dictum to "be the change you wish to see in the world".
It's a shame but the inexorable passage of time has finally "knocked the b*****d off".
The media here is already whipping itself into a lather as he was a national icon and hero. I don't normally subscribe to the overweening sentiment that saturates such occasions but the man was a personal hero.
By his own estimation, his greatest achievement was not Mt Everest but the work he was subsequently able to do building schools,clinics and so forth in Nepal.
His understated, somewhat laconic modesty and reserve and his unfailing service and interest in the welfare of others over personal fame, fortune and achievement made his a real role model for the rest of us. In a real sense he embodied Gandhi's dictum to "be the change you wish to see in the world".
It's a shame but the inexorable passage of time has finally "knocked the b*****d off".
