o sung wu,
What happens when your role model turns out to be gay like Ian Thorpe.
All those wasted years trying to be just like him and bingo thorpedoed.

G'day CHRISGAFF1000...You're a bit of a pessimist I think Chris ?

Your earlier days in the job (early seventies), did you ever work the infamous '4 Wheels' (police habeas) ? Carting our hapless clients from boob to the Courts, and in the afternoon, back to boob again ? If so, you'd probably remember the functions of 7 wing, at the Bay ? The place was packed solid with thorpedoes. How times have changed ? These days, you can't even speak ill of them, less you run the risk of ending up in court !

Apropos role models...You identify and then select the 'role model' that most closely corresponds with your own aspirations, if at all possible. The trouble being, good role models are few and far between. So if it's competitive swimming that 'floats your boat', then the thorpedoe might be the only viable option available ? If swimming is your goal, then all you need do, is concentrate exclusively on swimming and not be involuntarily manipulated into exploring, more nefarious or other egregious pursuits ?

Should we continue to ignore many of the issues associated with rebellious and defiant youth, society may well pay dearly. They gather in packs around the larger suburban Shopping Malls, where many of the shoppers feel intimidated. Therefore it's only a matter of time before some of these young miscreants erupt ?

"Soooooooooo Paul, you do have some conservative friends, ay!" Yes SPUD, I do indeed, even a couple of Liberal Party members who I am friendly with. But I don't have any from your party. My mate, wrong he's a rusted on Labor voter, so his politics seem to indicate. But you never know in the secrecy of the polling booth, you never know. There could be you SPUD, potting a great big NUMBER ONE, right next to the name BOB BROWN, THE GREENS, we'll never know. I could vote for The Socialists Workers Party, but don't get too excited.

o sung wu,
Fortunately I missed the 'transport' brigade but I do remember '7 wing'.
When I was in "Fraud", remembering that "kite fliers" made up half the courts work,now its not even a crime, we had a callout to '7 wing'
We actually went in to the place through the woman's prison and the wing was apart of their gaol but walled off.
It seems that the government of the day were having drivers licenses and vehicle registrations printed and processed right through to the mail out there in a workshop attached to 'wing seven'
I housed the overtly gay and protected prisoners and apparently they had a pretty good lifestyle.
Anyway the temptation was too much I suppose and they started printing licenses and registrations to order.
A bogie taxi license cost a couple of hundred quid and a new rego for a stolen car around the same.
The racket went on for years until it came unstuck and we got the brief.
A couple of guards got locked up and the workshop shut down and they were all moved to Cooma

Yes CHRISGAFF1000... 7 wing infamously housed the 'cattery'. All of whom were on protection as you say. Times have changed appreciably, and so must I. No longer is the term 'non-associate' applied to those who previously would've tenanted 7 wing, as it's no longer a crime. The crime now, if anyone was injudicious enough to publically voice a derogatory remark concerning their sexual proclivities, they'd hit you with a writ of such proportion, you'd be lucky to retain your shirt.

Mate, it's for this reason that I no longer understand this enlightened culture, in which I scarcely exist ? What was once wrong, is now right - albeit a physiological abomination and to some, including myself, a complete anathema !

Dear chrisgaff1000,

You wrote, "What happens when your role model turns out to be gay like Ian Thorpe. All those wasted years trying to be just like him and bingo thorpedoed."

Thorpe's fame is due to his swimming - not his sexuality. It is reasonable that one can try to set Thorpe up as a role model in excelling in swimming or in other ways one finds Thorpe admirable. Regardless of sexuality one can still be a role model. There are women I greatly admire. Mary Ann Evans (aka George Eliot) is one of them. She is a great role model to me in her independence of mind. However, my admiration for her does not mean that I want to be a woman.

Your admiration of Thorpe is not wasted unless you admired him for being heterosexual.