Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
a warm welcome by Gail McGovern, president and chief executive of
the organisation. 'You're amazing. It is such a privilege to meet you,'
she said. When I had stopped blushing, I told her that the honour was
all mine, and so it was. The American Red Cross, just like its branches
around the world, including Australia, is a magnificent outfit. The visit
was a timely reminder of why I am doing this pole-to-pole run and
gave me a surge of strength and determination to run on to Antarctica.
As I prepared to leave, Gail said to me, 'Can I give you a Red Cross
hug?' I readily agreed that that would be a good idea. She was later
interviewed by reporters and camera crews and said, 'Pat Farmer is a
remarkable inspiration. I'm so privileged that I had the opportunity to
meet him and his generosity and his work shining a light on the Red
Cross societies around the world is overwhelming. He lifted my spir-
its, raised my heart, and I just can't wait to tell friends and family and
potential donors what he's doing on behalf of the Red Cross.'
My final stop in Washington DC was at the Australian embassy,
where I was met by an old political foe and all-round good bloke Kim
Beazley, the former leader of the Labor Party, who is now Australian
ambassador to the United States.
'G'day, mate, how are ya?' Kim bellowed and gave me a huge
grin. 'You look just like you did when I first saw you running around
Australia.'
When interviewed by TV reporters later, Kim said, 'Pat's a great
achiever and a great fighter, and this run would be just about the
toughest battle in his life. And he's been involved in politics, which is a
bloody hard life. So to do something even harder than that is special.
He's done so well so far, and all of Australia is right behind him, looking
forward to that day when he's racked up another enormous athletic
achievement and he's standing proudly at the South Pole.' Kim's kind
words and genuine hospitality made me feel a giant.
Despite our differing political philosophies, Kim and I have always
been mates. We first met when I was running around Australia in 1998,
before I entered politics. The Australian parliament acknowledged my
run by letting me sit on the floor of the parliament, an honour usually
reserved for presidents and royalty. Kim that day came over, shook my
hand and offered his congratulations. When I took my seat as the Lib-
eral member for Macarthur on the benches opposite Kim in his role of
Labor leader, nothing changed. We were always friendly.
