Love is all around

The youngest drove up with me over the weekend to visit her grandfather in hospital.

As we headed back down the freeway, there was a traffic jam, caused by the ongoing clean up of the gazillion metal shards spilled by a truck on Friday.

Pieces of shredded tyre lay scattered on the side of the road as we edged along.

You may have heard about the chaos the spill caused – hundreds of cars were marooned by punctures, with towing companies and NRMA in a tailspin trying to keep up with the calls for help.

Wild.

Anyways, as a poor, struggling student, one of the highlights of the youngest’s visit was getting free food, including dinner at a funky place called Pocket Pizza.

The evening got off to a bad start when we walked in and one of the wait staff barked at us to wait outside as we were “8 minutes early” for our booking … at the almost empty restaurant.

So warm, so welcoming!

I was very dark about it. The other staff were lovely once we were allowed inside, but it left a bit of a bad taste, which was partially erased by the excellent pizza and limoncello spritzes.

Then we headed home to curl up on the couch and watch the election coverage, which wasn’t the nail-biting rollercoaster I had been expecting. It was pretty clear after the first hour where things were heading, but I hung in for the official acceptance speech.

I thought both Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese gave moving, heartfelt speeches.

While I do not agree with Peter Dutton’s politics, he was gracious in defeat and I was touched that he called Anthony Albanese and told him that his late mother would have been proud of him.

She would be so proud.

I was impressed that Anthony Albanese admonished the crowd for booing when he mentioned Dutton’s name during his speech.

“No, I know what we do in Australia is we treat people with respect,” he told them firmly.

I suspect the win wasn’t so much a victory for the Labor party, but a rejection of the right-wing fervour that has gripped the US and the bullies leading it.

“Today, the Australian people have voted for Australian values: for fairness, aspiration and opportunity for all; for the strength to show courage in adversity and kindness to those in need,” Albanese said.

As Carrick Ryan noted in a Facebook post: “Australia hasn’t suddenly voted its way into utopia, but it has averted an era of cruelty and callousness that I fear would have irreparably damaged our national character – but the challenges still remain.

“Australia feels kinder today, it feels more humane, and more self-aware than I ever remember it being.

“If we must thank Trump for anything, perhaps it will be this.”

I felt there were echoes of Love Actually in Albo’s speech, especially when he paused to acknowledge his fiancee, Jodie.

“I am so grateful for your support, your friendship and your love,” he said.

“You make me so happy.

“You have my heart, I love you and I look forward to living our lives together.”

I think it’s wonderful that Albo was vulnerable and open in his speech. It gave me hope that love can triumph in a world that often feels too hateful.

As Hugh’s Prime Minister famously said: “Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends.

“When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.”

I hope so. I’m rattled by the anger and hate and ebbing empathy that the news headlines bombard us with each day.

Again, while you might not agree with Albo’s politics or performance, he will lead with his heart and his head, not megalomania and greed.

Song of the day: “All you need is love”