Locally owned and independent
July 28, 2022
The Northern Rivers Times
LETTERS & OPINIONS 15 Stress… a bird’s eye view by Nigel Dawe
F
Bendy Bridge’s 90th birthday bash TIM HOWARD When the Grafton Bridge opened 90 years ago, it was a big deal. The program for the day’s event on July 19, 1932, bore the august title “Clarence River double-decker rail and road bridge” and the dignitary cutting the ribbon with golden scissors was no less than Australian Governor General, Sir Isaac Isaacs. Hundreds of Graftonians turned out on Sunday to celebrate
the passage of those 90 years and relative good health of the the bridge. As Clarence Mayor Ian Tiley noted, these days we are less formal and the engineering marvel that crosses the Clarence at Grafton is colloquially known as “the Bendy Bridge”. But the bash for the bridge’s 90th birthday did attract some firepower with the NSW Minister for Regional Roads and Transport Sam Faraway on site, knife in hand to cut
one of the two special birthday cakes made for the occasion. Cr Tiley noted the historical and engineering rarity of the bending double decker bridge carrying both train and cars across the river. He also noted the original tenders to build the bridge were too rich for the government of the day and instead the Department of Public Works took the project on at a cost of 500,000 pounds.
He compared this to the $240 million price tag for the new Grafton bridge built 100m or so downstream. Sunday’s festivities included a sausage sizzle, an enthusiastic rendition of Happy Birthday to You for the bridge. People queued for the chance to sign the visitor’s book and enjoyed the outstanding weather the Clarence Valley turned on for the occasion.
Officials begin to cut the bridge birthday cakes while people begin to sign the visitors book at the 90th birthday for the Grafton Bridge.
OR well over a century, popular culture has been privy to the expression ‘fight or flight’ thanks to the findings of Harvard psychologist, Walter Bradford Cannon. Walter being the same go-getter who managed to get ‘Mount Cannon’ named in his honour after scaling a previously unscaled peak in the wilds of Montana whilst on his honeymoon in 1901. To say Cannon might well have veered more often down the fight path, as his last name aptly suggests might be an understatement, but one thing that is clear – his turn of phrase for the acute stress response of every animal in nature when faced with danger, has certainly stuck. Not to digress, because I thought the catchy concept of ‘fight or flight’ might only work in English, but it translates ridiculously well across the entire globe. ‘Pertarungan atau penerbangan’ is how it rolls off the tongue in Indonesian; and not to be outdone or left behind in any way is how the phrase ‘takes off’ in Zulu: ‘ukulwa noma indiza.’ Strangely enough, being stressed over any infinite number of things in our surrounds (and how we respond accordingly) is nothing new to us human beings. As far back as Ancient Rome, the leading wordsmith of the day, Horace, coined the all-strife, struggle and altitude conquering phrase: “Remember, when life becomes steep to keep an even mind.” So, that’s the fun part; the more serious side to stress, which according to research – is something 91% of Australians will feel at some stage with regard to one or more important parts of their life. The dreaded ‘S’ word is found to be
a key contributor to many, if not all of the top causes of death (such as heart disease, cancer, accidents and high blood pressure) in the western world. The degree of stress any one of us feel on any given day is largely determined by such things as our coping skills and thinking patterns. It is also understood that some of the main sources of stress in the broader community are derived from issues pertaining to money, work/ job stability, relationships, personal safety, and health. It has been scientifically proven that laughing reduces stress hormones in our body and it also helps to strengthen our immune system. The consumption of dark chocolate is another ‘tonic’ that apparently helps to reduce the hormones that heighten stress; getting enough sleep and sufficient physical activity are other ways to counter the pressing effects of worry on our lives. According to other studies, the topmost stressful jobs were found to be commercial airline pilots, surgeons, photojournalists, advertising account executives and real estate agents. At the other end of the ‘cruisy’ work-life spectrum were dietitians, astronomers, system analysts and software engineers. Irrespective of what you do as a line of work, or what you stress out about the most, Stephen R. Covey was perhaps spot-on by saying: “Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important…The key is not to prioritise what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities
