WRAP


I have always kept an eye on the weather.  My first 23 years were in Nordic Canada.  There were four distinct seasons.  Winter could kill you!.  The next 60 ( almost ) years have been in Aotearoa / New Zealand.  Here there is essentially one season:  spring.  Sometimes it is warmer, sometimes cooler, always windy and dry on the east coast of the South Island where I live, but it is always spring-like to me.  Many of my friends have skin cancers removed, thanks to the hole in the ozone layer.  Nordic summers were hot and humid and I escaped the burning of the body in order to look brown. The brown people just got browner.
Spring in Canada meant receding snow piles, maple sap overflowing the buckets in the sugar bushes, changing wardrobes, finding golf clubs and tennis rackets in the attic and reveling in the warmth of the sun.
Summer was hot, humid and generally calm.  Swimming, golf, baseball, bike riding, sixteen hours of daylight and non stop play.  Bliss.

Autumn was colourful and the start of the school year.  As the prelude to winter it was about getting ready for cold, dark days.
Winter brought snow and ice and the need to be careful.  Flooding the outdoor rink, finding the fur boots, hats and boots in the attic, waxing the skis, sharpening the skates, getting ready for Christmas and the new year, house parties, sleigh rides, baked beans, reading, watching TV and staying warm.  I think I was about 10 or 12 when I was entrusted with an axe, a toboggan and instructions on the size, type and shape of our Christmas tree.  Mother was very particular.  She began planning Christmas in early November.  The tree was decorated on 23.12 and the pile of presents were strategically placed.  It was a performance and I loved it.  I can’t muster the same enthusiasm here in my adopted homeland.
Each season brought its own charm and pattern.  In New Zealand there can be many seasons in one day and you need to be prepared for that.  I have often reflected on how I miss a real winter and as I mentioned above, I still struggle to embrace a summer Christmas.

I came to New Zealand voluntarily.  I have thrived here.  Stephanie, my partner of nearly six decades and my co author, is the love of my life.  We have grown, changed and developed a life, some of which you can read about in these pages.  Good stimulating work, hundreds of friends and acquaintances, trips to the regions and 10 or 12 trips to Canada have kept me engaged.  I do miss my family and Canadian friends, but modern technology has shortened the distance.
I have referred to my working life elsewhere.  Now in my early 80’s I meet new clients and still endeavour to help their transitions.  Becoming a parent in 1988, however, reduces everything else to a footnote.  When Tom arrived my life took on new meaning.  Watching him grow and develop character, poise and maturity has filled my cup immeasurably.  He has found his life partner, his profession, his passion and is living his life in his own chosen way.  I think about the role I have played in his life and I suspect he may be continually assessing that.  Parenting is intense for about 16 years, less intense for the next 5 years and then, poof, he’s gone.  Living without us! Making his own moves, making his own decisions and developing his own relationships.  My hope is that a lot of us has rubbed off on him.
I’m trying to figure out how to conclude this tale as it is still ongoing.  I’m working about 40 hours a month, playing golf twice a week in the summer and doing the things I have been doing most of my life.  What does life look like from where I stand now?  Does the future inspire me or frighten me?  Maybe that's another chapter later.
The first half of the 20th century was dominated by war, depression and oil.  The second half was diametrically different.  The 21st century will be about technology, dictatorship and water.  AI will transform lives and some pundits believe it will be as monumental as the Gutenberg printing press. The dry countries will battle the wet countries for their water.  The Smartphone will isolate users and make them dumber.  The gangsters will eventually be railed in, but not before they have altered the global order.
Each generation brings their own reality.  I have lived in the most prosperous era ever.  I leave the telling of my tale with optimism, that right will prevail and that the human spirit and our innate curiosity will find a way for us to walk tall and free.

I said at some point earlier in this story that I felt I might be a bit Greek. Many people have asked me over the years what kept me going, how did I deal with the sadness of others. Relevant questions.  I have read and watched many versions of the adventures, joys and mishaps that Odysseus encountered.  Like him, I say to many individuals, that I am just another pilgrim trying to find my way home.

Ruakaka Wedding. . 1969

David with Steph and Tom. Napier. 2024

Ace Henderson smiles  to Stephanie ( photographer ) at the Bishops University  Reunion.  class of 1962,  Manoir Hovey,  North Hatley Hotel,Quebec. To his left, friends  Jill and John Martland. 2019

David and Leila. George Street.  Rangiora. 1978. 

Langlaufen.  Andermatt. Switzerland. 1970

Dinner with Steph's friends Vivian Lynn and Jurgen Waibel. Wellington. ( Unidentified friend of a son Simon )  1983

I’m a paragraph. Drag me to add paragraph to your block, write your Tom. Clay Model. c 1993

Tom and David. Vancouver. 1994

Mitchell Collingwood. Tom Robinson. Taylor's Mistake. c 1996

At the zoo. New South Wales. 1996

Sheila and Bill visit us in 2014 Akaroa. Photograph by. Stephanie Beth.

The International Match flag display. Christchurch golf club.  New Zealand. 2020. Photograph by Stephanie Beth.

Top images.
Tom and Joshua. 1994.
Tom. Tutukaka. 1994.
David. Tug of war Lake Louise.  1962.
David, Monro folk. Whangarei Heads. 1984.
Ruakaka beach revisited 1983
Tom and David. Gore Bay. 1990.

  Tom and David. 1996.   Tom  1995.  Tom 1993.  Tom and David 1993.  David and Tom. 1988. 

    David. Golf player. Waterville.  Quebec. 1956. 

David and Sheila Clarke. Raspberry picking. Christchurch. 1984.

David and Tom. 2023

David and Tom. D's 80th. 2024.