the excitement of saying

"I was there." The day the wall came down, the war ended, the planes crashed in NY, Dougy Walters scored a ton before lunch Cyclone Tracy. You develop a mystique, a wanting to be known as someone who was there, an identity to be envied. "You were there? How tops is that! What was it like? Oh you must meet x. That must have been awesome!" PNG doesn't seem to have the possibility of acquiring mystique giving experiences. It's mundane, regular, struggling, tough but not an "I was there" place. Red Square at the fall of communism, Brandenburg Gate, Trafalgar Square at the end of the war, Times Square, Tianamin Square, Saddam Statue Square, Top Town Lae Square, Boroko Square. Some of these places are iconic for the memories - good and bad. So to have been in Dili or Bali on evacuation day would be as a culmination of a frightening event and talk therapy by sharing experiences comes as relief to have survived. I can live with having been in Top Town Lae on the day I had my mobile phone stolen. Mate, I didn't need to be evacuated or nothin'. I hung in there. How much mystique are we looking at here eh?