Fern Ridge (Safla Rama) Digest

Papa Sam. Be Inspired: Prepare for the Age of Wisdom through personal viability. (Port Moresby: Human Resource Development. 2019): 222 pages. One of the reasons I agreed to review Papa Sam’s book is because I had a chance encounter with him as we lay side by side at the Pathology lab at the Port Moresby General Hospital some time back many years ago. We were donating blood that day. I was there to donate blood to save my wife after her surgery from uterus cancer. He smiled at me and said he was donating his blood because he had too much and that it was a way of releasing stress and anxiety. I had a long smile and a wonderful memory of that day. Be Inspired: Prepare for the Age of Wisdom through personal viability , is book written by Samuel Tam Senior, better known as Papa Sam. The book is a memoir about the principles of personal viability, education for life changing thinking for a better world, and true education and mind development. In short the book is a gem...

Genesis 1: 29-30 —“Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground ---everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.” I love plants. These photos are of plants that are planted around the house. I especially love the orchids and the palms. They add a natural tropical landscape to the yard of the house. Many of these plants were bought in different plants sales around the city of Port Moresby. Port Moresby city is located in the dry arid savannah environment. The plants add green landscapes and beautify the house. Planting and caring for plants bring a lot of satisfaction in my life. At home among plants always restores my health. Having green plants and flowering plants softens the heart and brings pea...

Beautiful Sandy Beach @ Budibudi Island. Photo: Winduo In 2007 I made it into Budibudi Island from Gizo, Solomon Islands. Budibudi is a coral atoll with a less than a 100 people living a life of fisherman without much modern communication. It is really isolated from the rest of Papua New Guinea. Budibudi is one of the atoll in the Woodland Islands group, in the Trobriands ring. I remembered Budibudi vividly as if it was only yesterday. It remained unspoilt, untouched, and remote to most of us. It’s contact with the rest of Papua New Guinea is infrequent. Until recently that was the impression I had of Budibudi Island. I may have been wrong all along. An article,   (Monday 24 June 2019), in The Guardian , written by Kate Lyons , read: “Bust in Budi Budi: the day a fisherman hauled in $50m worth of cocaine” catches my attention. How could this be? It is possible given the isolation of Budibudi straddled in between Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the rest of Woo...