Courage. Poem by Michael Walker

I have always been attracted to courage as a virtue. My life has been about searching for moral courage, rather than showing physical
bravery. I had to overcome nervousness and a lack of self confidence in my first years of teaching. This was not helped by an ever-critical Training College lecturer who undermined me on teaching sections. I did gain confidence later at the chalk face.I am too afraid of heights to venture there, however.
Cast of characters: Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008) a New Zealand mountaineer, who spent his later years getting schools and hospitals built for the Sherpa people of Nepal. Sir Edmund worked alongside carpenters on the building projects, a tremendous effort.
Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986) , a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa, who worked for overseas expeditions, and a first-rate climber in his own right.
Junko Tabei (1939-2016) , a Japanese mountaineer, who climbed Mt. Everest in mid-May,1975, on an expedition, but climbing the last twelve days solo, leaving her companions in camp. Juko said later, 'I did not want to be the first woman to climb Mount Everest, but the 36th. person to do so'.
Captain Robert Scott (1868-1912) , reached the South Pole with four companions in December,1912, some weeks after Amundsen. Tragically, all five Englishmen perished on the return journey north. Scott's Diary of the Terra Nova expedition remains a fascinating document in book form. I own the book. Scott's opinion of the South Pole: 'Great God! This is an awful place and terrible enough to have laboured to it without the reward of priority'. The last sentence in the Journal is, 'For God's sake look after our people'.
Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) the American astronaut who stepped on the moon in mid-1969, is famous for his quote, 'A giant leap for mankind'.
Yuri Gagarin (1934-! 968) a Soviet astronaut who was the first man to fly in outer space and orbit the Earth, effectively winning the Space Race for Russia against the U.S.A.

All the unknown, ordinary people in the world, like extras on a movie set, who are not on television or in the newspapers andhave to find moral courageto cope with extreme situations in their lives. They are just as important as the media stars, in my opinion.