Michael Linke - As I see it...

As I See it…The Joy of Pets

In 2007 we bought a brand-new Audi A3. It took us about 10 minutes to make the decision. A few years later we adopted the most gorgeous red nosed pit bull that we’ve ever seen. But it took us about three weeks to make that decision. Normally Mardi and I are quite decisive, and we…

An image from Brooklyn, looking between two warehouses, which frame the Manhattan bridge. In one of the arches in the bridge in the distance is the Empire State Building. It is a bright sunny day and the sky is a deep blue. Image was taken on November 23, 2019 at around 3.00pm

As I see it…How I see it

I am often asked, “so how much can you see”. Or I hear comments from time to time from folks who don’t me, “you’re not blind”. Blindness is a spectrum, it’s not a black and white thing, pun intended. You can see some of my photos and some might say, no way a guy with low…

Selfie from my room, with Cairns in background

As I see it…Catching Covid

The Chronicles of Cairns… As a regular traveller for Vision Australia Thursday night in early June 2022 before I travel to Cairns was like any other night. I pack. I review my itinerary. I check in with my wife to see that she has everything she needswhilst I’m away for two nights. Then as always, the last thing I do before I go to bed is a Covid RAT. As with the 30 or…

As I see it…the COVID Chronicles

Two years ago it started. None of us knew what we were in for. There has been highs and lows, days when we thought it was over, days when we though it would never end. One week I am travelling for work or to go and see a game of footy, the next, locked down…

As I see it…it is more than a game

It’s 1975, a week before Grand Final day in Sydney, my father tries to convert me. He is an avid Roosters supporter: they’ve overcome Manly and are playing St George in the Grand Final. One of my earliest football memories. He buys me a Rooster’s jersey. I’m ten. Dad, Mum, two of my brothers are…

Image o clouds taken form aircraft, sunset

As I see it…searching for normal

A topic of discussion among my friends, family, colleagues has been: will life ever get back to normal? I’m no Nostradamus and I suppose what is normal? Normal 100 years ago was not flying anywhere. Normal 500 years ago was drowning, burning witches. Normal 1000 years ago saw the Roman Empire as the super-power. And…

As I see it…300 days between flights.

As a frequent traveller pre-COVID, I enjoyed (endured) 300 days between my last flight pre-COVID and my return to flight as Australia came to grips with a COVID normal state. My first flight was Canberra to Melbourne. Canberra had pretty much avoided the dramas, while Melbourne had finally negotiated a harrowing winter and extreme lockdowns.…

As I see it…travel and photography

As a family, we often travelled in Australia: Gulgong and rural NSW, the Snowy Mountains, Canberra, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. My first memory of overseas travel is a trip to Lord Howe Island. We flew out of Sydney Harbour on a sea plane to Lord Howe. I loved the flight, everyone else was…

As I see it…hard Work

Mum, bless her soul, writes in her journal in 1982 how happy she is. She has four wonderful boys and a loving and hardworking husband. She writes that Dad has worked so hard and he has provided her and us with a wonderful life. She discusses his work at the pubs we owned, his hard…

As I see it…time and memory

The concept of time weighs heavily with me, even before that crisp August morning. The day you, Mum, died. 29 August, 2017. Judgement day. I have always been fascinated with time, so much so that one of my major assignments in high school was based on time. I researched the great philosophers who have examined…

Author: Michael Linke