Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Wie geht's?

This week has been difficult. It was a week in which Irene Purdy passed away at the age of 104 at her home in greater Manchester.

Irene Gaunt, born in 1921, married Tom Purdy in 1942 and together they had two children, David (1945) and Christine (1954). Tragically, Tom passed away at an early age and Irene never remarried. 

She lived a full life, however, and was able to see her children flourish and then see her children's children and her children's children's children.

I will cling to my memories of Irene forever. When I met her for the first time, it felt like I'd known her all my life. In some ways she felt like a mother substitute for me in the early 2000s. Each visit since that first face to face was a delight and a special occasion. 

Jacky and I were lucky enough to be at her 90th birthday celebration at Christine's home. Although covid prevented us from being there for her 100th, we made it back for a post-covid visit as soon as we could.

Irene was such an easy person to talk to. She had a bright, keen wit, a sharp intelligence and such a strong life force. Every time I met her, her face lit up with such joy of being in the moment. Her rich Lancashire accent will stay with me. She was a strong link back to my grandfather, and great grandfather.

Of course, no one survives life and even though she was at such an advanced age, her passing still came as a bit of a shock, if not a surprise. 

She had always been there and had lived through such momentous times. The sheer volume of things she had experienced and the events she'd observed boggles my mind. 

I am so fortunate to her met her, and shared times with her since 2003. I will never forget her.

Until we meet again, Irene, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Love and peace - Warren

Baby love, my baby love (The Supremes)

Wie geht's?

Us? Exciting news!

Our fourth grandchild, third granddaughter, arrived safely on the 20th of February in Denver, Colorado. Billie Jade Kalicki! A huge blogosphere welcome to the world and to the whanau, little lady! 

She joins our amazing three g-kids already pressing their brilliantly vibrant personalities upon the world. Take a bow Asher, Ivy and Poppy!! 

Billie is again the perfect name (being a derivative of William - my great-grandfather was a William). Billie can be interpreted as 'resolute protector' or 'strong-willed guardian', capturing qualities of strength and determination. Resilience and determination are key qualities in life! 

Jade is, of course, named after our youngest Purdette. We're biased because we chose her name, so the combo is awesome.

Significance of February 20:

• It's recognised globally as the world day of social justice.

Three famous others born on that date:

• Rihanna
• Ivana Trump
• Kurt Cobain

Key events:

• 1872 New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art opens
• 1895 Congress authorises a U.S. mint at Denver, Colorado
• 1949 First International Pancake Race is held in Liberal, Kansas
• 1959 Jimi Hendrix (16), rock and roll guitarist, plays his first gig in the Temple De Hirsch synagogue basement, Seattle.

Some current hits:

• Bad Bunny's DtMF
• Ella Langely's Choosin' Texas
• Olivia Dean's Man I Need
• Taylor Swift's The Fate of Ophelia

Big movies right now:

• The True Myth 
• Mavka 
• Wuthering Heights* 

Billie, her mum and dad are setting into parenthood and babyhood nicely. At this age, it's all about feeds and sleep and recovering from the birth. Having said that, Samantha has revealed that Billie's college fund has already clicked into gear!

This is Billie's first appearance on the blog. Like Poppy, Ivy and Asher, she's set to become a regular feature as we watch her grow and develop. She's mos def going to have hiking boots before very long, be climbing out of her crib and up walls, and become a general badass, if Andrew and Fanfa have anything to do with it, which they do!

Love and peace - Papa 

* Fun fact for Billie - Mema and Papa had bought tickets for a special screening of Wuthering Heights for the 20th but then your mum was taking a while to deliver you, so we donated our tickets. We went and saw the movie a week later - knowing that you were safe and sound.

I dreamed of two blue orchids (Glenn Miller)

Photo by Kseniia Ilinykh on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

Joan Didion in her essay, Quiet Days in Malibu, profiles a Californian orchid breeder called Amando Vazquez. Along the way she describes his beautiful greenhouses as having, "the most aqueous filtered light, the softest tropical air, the most silent clouds of flowers".

Reading that reminded me of growing up in Auckland.

My mother had a more modest greenhouse/ shade house that housed her orchid collection. Built for her by my dad, it had three sides of benches above the ground. On them were rows of orchids in large terracotta pots with maiden hair ferns underneath. 

It was always slightly damp and fragrant in the greenhouse.

It was always a peaceful place to go, to look at the orchids, to talk to mum.  

Love and peace - Woz.

I call your name but you're not there. Was I to blame? (The Beatles)

Wie geht's?

Names are interesting things, right? A name quickly becomes synonymous with the person, and quickly fits the personality, or is it, the personality fits the name?

Choosing names for our children is a key moment in our lives, because that name becomes the person and the person becomes the name. For life. Unless the person dislikes it and changes it in some way officially, or otherwise.

Some people change the emphasis to their middle name (never an option for me).

As far as our children go:

• Keegan came from a book of names. Jacky liked it and I thought it was unusual, so - cool. Keegan it was.
• Adam was a name both of us liked.
• We had no girl names sorted before Samantha came along. We were convinced the baby was going to be another boy, so Ethan was on the list. It took a while to settle on Samantha - I wanted a three-syllable name or a one-syllable name.  
• Jade was a one-syllable name that was inspired by our friend Liz. Her stepson was Jade. We loved the name. 

I can't envisage any alternative names for our children.

Jacky suits Jacky (even though her name is Jacqueline), and I guess I suit Warren, but I don't have any distance on it. Whatever, I do like my name.

I'm thinking about names because I'm trying to remember about 120 names that my new female students have in my classes at Iona College, plus about 30 staff. That's not easy.

Some of the girls walk up to me and say, with a mischievous glint in their eye, "What's my name?" 

I'm getting there. It takes constant repetition for the name to match their personalities and lodge in my brain. Certainly, if they are in my classroom, it's easier, but if I come across them away from that context, I tend to make noises like a blocked drain.

Which they obviously think is hilarious.

There are also many girls with the same name, or a close relative like the Ellas, Ellies, Evas. Girls that look similar are also problematic. I always get them switched around for a while.

Then there are the tricky ones to pronounce. I got Farah wrong on Friday which brought hoots of laughter from the class. It's Far - rah, not Fair - rah, she pointed out. 

As I said, names are important, so I need to lock in and get it right.

Love and peace - Wozza

Well, there's them that do and them that don't; them that will and them that won't (The Hollies)

Wie geht's?

My post on The Purdzilla Show yesterday has had me thinking today as I had that root canal procedure in Palmerston North.

Yes, two hours lying on my back staring at the roof while my endodontist does his thing will do that to me.

In case you missed it - I highlighted a passage where Mrs. Marsh shares some advice to her daughters in Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women:

Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life becomes a beautiful success, in spite of poverty. 

It's a challenge employing your time well in such circumstances which is exactly the point. The assistant asked me what playlist I'd like to listen to so I chose WTWMC - Fresh finds and settled back to think about all the meds I'd been taking for the last 10 days to manage that pesky tooth (Prednisone, Codeine, Amoxicillin, and Panadol).

I also thought about Samantha and Irene, football, school stuff, and a colleague's comment at lunch one day that my words were slurry thanks to being hopped up on Codeine.

When I mentioned it to Jacky, she agreed!! What the...

So, I've appeared as a Codeine addict at school for the last two weeks? Sheesh. I had no idea.

The two hours drifted by, my back got sore, my mouth ended up so numb Jade told me afterwards amidst guffaws that I looked like a stroke victim.

But this morning, my smile was back, no codeine, and I ate my three Weet-bix with cold milk for the first time in two months. Huzzah!!

Love and peace - Wozza

You know you'll have to pay it all. You'll pay today or pay tomorrow. You fasten up your beaded gown, then you try to tie me down (Steely Dan)

Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

Dental work. As a colleague said to me this week - hard to know what hurts most - the actual dental work or the bill.

I liken dentists to hair stylists, as in I can't cut my own hair, nor can I perform complicated dental procedures on myself. Asher recently took great delight in removing one of his wiggly teeth to assist the tooth fairy, but he's much more adventurous than his papa.

So - off to a variety of specialists I go for a root canal on a complicated molar that is dying a painful death. First was the consulation and fancy as scans. Twenty minutes work costing $400.

I lay back and thought of England.

Love and peace - Wozza

Now the darkness only stays at nighttime. In the morning, it will fade away. Daylight is good at arriving at the right time, it's not always gonna be this grey (George Harrison)

Wie geht's?

The Truman biography remains a fascinating experience, (I'm up to page 558) and it is inevitable that I would compare Henry S. Truman with the present incumbent in The White House. 

Truman was an exemplary leader. He showed exceptional diligence in his job. He was, according to those who worked for him in The White House, 'an extremely thoughtful, courteous, considerate man' who 'spent virtually every waking moment working at being president'. 

The staff was continually amazed by the President's knowledge of the country.

Truman would say sitting in the Oval Office, "It is ignorance that causes most mistakes. The man who sits here ought to know his American history, at least".

Check out this clip from Jimmy Fallon.

If ever there was a "clean break from all that had gone before," Truman would say, the result would be chaos.

That's certainly the reality of now. Screeds have been written about Donald Trump. A lot by him on social media. He thinks he's great. This is known as Figjam. He thinks he's the least racist President of all time. This is known as denial.

He has a pathological need to sow chaos and dominate the headlines. He is at the opposite end of the Presidential continuum to Harry S. Truman - who was a principled, hardworking man with integrity. Everyone who ever knew Truman said he was a man of great character.

In comparison, Trump is a Shakespearian villain like Edmund in King Lear. A bastard and a schemer, wreaking destruction upon virtually all of the other characters.

At the moment we all have to live through Trump's frippery and chaos, but, as George Harrison says: All things must pass away.

Pretty soon he will go the way of all things; history will have its say on the Trump Presidencies, and he will slip into the past like everyone else. No longer relevant. No longer a stain. His name will live in infamy, while Truman's will continue to grow in stature,

Back to the book. It really is a tonic!

Love and peace - Wozza