The key to serenity is trusting that the universe has your back (Gabrielle Bernstein)

Photo by JFP in the passenger seat

Wie geht's?

Coming to you from New Plymouth for this edition, where we are visiting Jacky's family including our nephew plus partner's very cool new baby - Rami.

New Plymouth is wet today - been raining constantly all day - that steady, heavy rain that Taranaki can produce with ease. Love it!

Sadly, that means no walk along the shoreline or a visit to Pukekura Park - those items were high on our list of to-dos, but, happily, it does mean a slow down, a catching of the breath, a pause.

Love and peace - Wozza

Keegan

Family Man (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 9 part 2)

I'm a family man
Working every day for my family


Dragon (Family Man)

In terms of nailing purpose, Marc Hunter's lyrics are spot on. This chapter is devoted to family.

I like the way everybody has a family tree of some sort. Everybody has a whanau (an extended family) which expands, always exploding outward, on-going and limitless.

My Purdy family offshoots take in an ever expanding number of other families, some I know well, others are more tenuous but we are all interconnected.

Aside from various Purdy families, right now in 2016, my whanau takes in branches of the Adsett, Holden, Curson, Selman, Dix, O'Neill, Bulman, Smith, Hope, Skynner, Moore, Rowbotham, Peterson, Haigh, Hodge, Kennedy, Kirkham clans.

They all intersect on me! Cool.

In 1984, Jacky learned with some surprise that she was pregnant. All I remember is a kind of dumb elation. She was 22, I was 27. Although we were married, we were just kids ourselves. What did we know?

Keegan Warren Purdy was born in New Plymouth's Base Hospital on December 19, 1984.

He was two weeks late and still wasn't that keen to enter the world, and Christmas was coming. 

Jacky and I went on long walks around New Plymouth to help pry him loose. Fording the Waiwhakaiho River was somewhat helpful but even then he was a reluctant participant in Wozza's world.

Time was a dragging on and finally, Graham Purdy's first grand child was induced to appear but even then he took his own sweet time going about things.

We had gone up to the hospital the day before - the evening of the 18th. Jacky had little sleep that night and Keegan was making slow progress by the morning of the 19th. Little had happened during the day as well. Our GP (Dr David Lyall) was the father of one of my star students and he made the call for an epidural shortly before 5pm. The timing was critical because the anaesthetist went off duty at 5. Hey - it was the eighties, and it was provincial Nu Zild.

An epidural is a cunning little procedure. It works on the spinal column to numb the lower body. So the urge remains to push, but the pain is alleviated. Jacky was immediately able to relax and go to sleep.

Thinking I had some time to play with, I decided to grab some dinner - you should know that Purdys don't operate well when they're hungry. I went off site for a McDonalds combo and returned to the hospital, sitting on the steps of the maternity wing to have my dinner. 

Tanked up on a Big Mac, fries and coke, I returned to Jacky's room just in time for Keegan to finally get his act together. It was all good. When I think back now, I was the picture of calm. Ignorance is bliss!

Jacky was in a lot of pain during labour, a long and slow process in this case. 

Although we'd been to ante-natal classes, nothing really prepares you for the gush of emotions that accompanies a birth. 

As soon as Keegan appeared, two things happened: I cried my eyes out and Jacky said, "Well that wasn't too bad".

The whole experience was completely overwhelming and draining. Jacky slept, while I sat beside her in an armchair and held onto this new life in my hands and was drenched in pride and tenderness for both Jacky and Keegan.

It's one of those moments.

When I returned home, leaving KW and Jacky to get some rest, I immediately started on Keegan's photo album - cards, photos, news cuttings of the day. I wanted a sense of history. I've done this for Adam, Samantha and Jade as well, and I realise a selfish need here. This didn't exist for me and I wanted it for them.

As a baby and an only child, Keegan lulled us both into a false sense of security. As soon as school started for the new term, he slept through the night. During the days he played happily in his cot and rocked himself in a bouncer chair that Grandad, up in Auckland, had bought for him.

This parenting thing was a doddle!!


He certainly had all the equipment as his cabbage coloured parents embarked whole heartily on their new adventure together.

I don't recall any in depth discussion but Jacky had given up work at White's Department store (in the shoes section) to look after Keegan and, now that he was here, devoted all her time and energy and love into his upbringing.

Although she's not maternal, she's an amazing mother. Go figure.

I went on teaching English at New Plymouth Boys' for the next year but during 1985 we decided a return to Auckland was needed. I missed my dad for one thing. 

So, we loaded up what possessions we had (mainly my record and book collection and plants) and my then brother-in-law and I drove the heavily laden van up to new digs in Windmill Rd, Mt Eden, in time for a 1986 start at Maclean's College.

And a whole new adventure!

Love and peace - Abu Keegan

I've waited years for you tonight (Carly Simon)

Tonight and forever (You may say I'm a dreamer - Chapter 6, part 1)

I've waited years for you tonight 

My faith in love has been my guiding light. 

I've heard your voice, I've read your heart, 

I fell in love with you though we were miles apart 

Tonight and forever - I am yours!                  

Carly Simon (Tonight and forever)

Warren Purdy - English teacher.
Pridham Hall, NPBHS
(complete with hilarious board notes)

An omnipotent force with a gruff manner, Headmaster Tom Ryder was a formidable presence at New Plymouth Boys' High School (NPBHS). 

The no nonsense phone call I took in the kitchen at Ramelton Road was brief and to the point. It was Mr Ryder calling. There were a few questions (which I don't remember much about except that I must have answered them okay). Actually Mr Ryder did most of the talking (he was very much that kind of guy!). He told me that my college report was impressive and then he said I could expect a telegram offering me a job the next day!!

I hung up the phone in a daze. What had just happened? After no real interview at all, suddenly, after all of those applications, I had a job. Out of the sixty plus applications I'd sent off, no other headmaster/principal had phoned me.

Huh. Destiny. I was off to New Plymouth.

First I had to figure out where exactly New Plymouth was. And what kind of a school it was. And where I was gonna live.

When I was a young kid, we'd passed through New Plymouth on a family holiday, I think. I have a dim memory of a North Egmont car park, dad is backing the car, of snow, trees, and vague strange thoughts that the car was going over the edge, backwards. Yoikes.

Apart from that I drew a blank on New Plymouth. Okay! I was about to leave Auckland and go some place I knew nothing about. Great!! A big challenge, but I was ready. It was my first step.

Unfortunately, it also meant not being close by for mum. Her cancer had spread and I was under no illusions. Things were not going to get better. She realised that, I realised that. But we didn't talk about it. It was too hard. 

Looking back on it, I realise I was pretty exhausted mentally.

She and I both knew that moving to New Plymouth meant only physical distance, the bond was and is unbreakable, but it was hard all the same.

In December, 1982, she and I drove to New Plymouth, staying in a hotel at the base of the hill on Coronation Road. During this trip I finally met Tom, my HOD Terry Heaps, the Deputy Principal Lyn Bublitz, and another new staff member Allan Elgar.

My face ached from smiling, body was sore from shaking hands, and my brain hurt from all the new sights and information.

NPBHS is a great school: the grounds, buildings, boarding houses - all with traditions going back over 100 years. I felt at home, it was so like MAGS. I left relieved that serendipity had rescued me again.

Now I had the summer to find a place to live.

Love and peace - Wozza

You find yourself just standing there (Neal Morse)

It was a busy old week just past. 

It had it all really: joy/sadness, lack of excitement/excitement, new/old, hot/cold, craziness/normality, visits/visiting, and all sorts of other yin/yangishness.

See if you can match the above to the following:

• Ross and Lynda and the troops arrived for a look around Red Phoenix Farm.
• Adam sent us a picture of snow at Ashleigh's place.
• We shot over to New Plymouth to move Brain (sic), a.k.a. the minister of defence, into his new house.
• I snatched a few precious minutes to zap into Vinyl Countdown on the way out of NP to buy Blackfield IV and a Beatles poster for my classroom.
• SWMBO and I had to administer to a fly blown sheep and I had to bury a lamb that died of some mysterious bug.
• The first day of the new school year happened on Friday.
• SWMBO and I had to wrap up warm in New Plymouth during Brain's move.
• We quickly stopped in to see Jacky/MaBelle's mum on the way out of NP.
• We quickly met Jade in Palmerston North on our way home - she's got a new job in the Mall which takes her closer to JB HiFi to pick up my orders (last one was Big Big Train - great proggy rock stuff).
• Otane was sweltering on our return on Thursday.
• Samantha and Jesse sent us a fantastic thank you letter. Yes - letter. Awesome guys!

Just a regular old week upon reflection!

Sadly (that gives it away) I have to report that we also lost Waffles, our perfect little cat, during the week. 

He dropped off a present on Tuesday morning (a perfectly formed tiny little mouse at the back door) and then vanished. He's not returned for food or cuddles since, which is unheard of from Waffles.

We've searched everywhere, rung all the neighbours, looked around the roadsides, made sure he's not locked into any outbuildings, contacted the authorities - all to no avail so far. We haven't given up but it's a case of expect the worst/hope for the best at this stage.

Love and peace - Wozza

I thank the Lord for the people I have found (Reg Dwight)

Where are we now? You ask.

SWMBO and I have just returned from our trip across the north island from Hawke's Bay to Taranaki. Otane to New Plymouth actually.

Along the way we stopped off to check out what DLG (a.k.a. Jade) was up to in Palmerston North before setting up camp with the outlaws in New Plymouth (Mabelle and Gavey babe).

We found time to also enjoy the company of other whanau members during our tour of the central provinces (Raewyn, Paul and Jacoba). We intended to call in on Eric and Jeanette in Stratford until Eric rang me and asked why we weren't home! They were in Otane while we were in Nu Plimff. Crazy. We also wanted to catch up with Graysy and Jansy in Palmy but ran out of time on't way home.

Like Elton in the song quoted above (Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters) I have found some great people.

Nu Plimff was resplendent in sun and blue skies. While I was there Mabelle introduced me to Vinyl Countdown. Great store for cheap (and good) vinyl as well as CDs T shirts and more.

I came away with four albums and two CDs for 22 bucks. Score!

1972/1973 are my coming of age rock and roll years. They continue to have such a solid hold on me. A check of my purchases showed that three of the six items came out in those stellar years: The Guess Who - Artificial Paradise (vinyl); American Flyer (vinyl); and Gentle Giant - Octopus (CD).

I snapped up the American Flyer album for $2. Fantastic. When I picked up the sleeve from the rack I noticed a sticker on the front cover indicating where the album was originally bought in 1972. My first thought was 'What wally puts their business sticker on the front cover of an album??'

Then I took a closer look. It read 'Smiths Radio and TV Ltd' (sic). Under that sober title it listed what the store belonging to Smith sold: Hi Fi - Colour TV - Video - Records - Tapes.

Hmm I thought. Nu Plimff. Smith. TVs etc.

My father-in-law is, as you'll all no doubt recall, Brian Smith. The Smith family had owned a radio and TV shop in NP for many years, including the pivotal seminal 1972. Could this be a long lost artifact from Brian's long ago emporium?

It could, and it was (confirmed by SWMBO and Mabelle who both recognised the silver sticker) and I felt quite chuft.

Funny ole world innit?

Love and peace - Wozza