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An historian was at the National War Museum in Canberra where he was studying the exploits of General Monash during World War One. The historian was trying to establish why Monash had been so successful and in particular why his troops had been so good at charging the Germans. Again and again, Monash's men had taken far more ground than all of the other allied forces. It turned out that Monash used a special reserve unit made up of accountants. In his diary Monash wrote, "When it came time for them to charge, boy did they know how to charge!" Some years ago late on a Friday afternoon at Canberra Airport there were people everywhere. A thunderstorm had caused delays and the terminals were very crowded. There was a long queue at the check-in desk when a well know MP who was a Minister in the Government barged up to the front. "Get me on the next flight! First class!" he demanded. The check in clerk replied, "I'm sorry Sir, there's a long queue of people before you." The MP was outraged. "Do you have any idea whom you are talking to? Do you know who I am?" he demanded. The ticketed smiled, reached for the PA microphone and turned up the volume. "May I have your attention please. We have a passenger here who doesn't know who he is. If anyone can identify him please come to the counter." Some years ago an Australian was chosen to be the fourth astronaut from our country following Andy Thomas, Philip Chapman and Paul Scully-Power. He addressed a press conference before blasting off in the rocket. Yes, he was proud to be included in the NASA team. However he did admit to some disquiet. "There'll I'll be, sitting on the top of 500,000 moving parts, every one supplied by the lowest tenderer!"
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