Human teachers must remain central in students’ education and must take responsibility for students’ learning. (NZ Ministry of Education)

Wie geht's?

Artificial Intelligence (AI). I haven't written much about it to date and if I have it has tended to be on Baggy Trousers.

I guess I'm suspicious. I like humans and human interaction. Machines though?  Not so much. 

So, I have not to date engaged willingly with AI. By that, I mean I have not used AI to write anything, mark anything, or make anything.

None of the material on my various blogs has been written by AI. That's the truth, Ruth.

This is my preference, but it is not the preference for many. I respect that. BTW - I was interested at the view of my previous employer - AI was strictly prohibited in any form at school, yet all of the parents' businesses used AI. If we were supposed to be preparing them for life after school, shouldn't we be embracing its use at school?

The Ministry of Education warns me about AI on their web page: 'AI can create content that seems plausible but contains nonsensical or incorrect detail'. It also warns about cultural bias: 

AI models are trained on huge amounts of data from different countries and cultures. This means most AI models are built on dominant cultures and languages. The tools may not accurately reflect indigenous knowledge. From a New Zealand context, they are likely to be weak on Mātauranga and Te Reo Māori, as well as Pacifica languages and Polynesian cultures.

Therefore, by definition, many students at my current school are disadvantaged by AI marking.

And yet the MoE is using AI to mark student work and plans to expand the practice to all Year 11 to 13 internal and external assessments! Whaaaat?

Double standards abound. We don't allow students to use AI in assessments, yet teachers at my school use it to mark, set work and create content. The Ministry of Education uses it to mark their work.

Maybe we should just let the genie out of the bottle (oh wait - it's already out). Let's openly allow students to use AI in their learning, let's educate them to use AI well, and let's do away with the pretense that it isn't happening already. While we're at it, let's get rid of all exams too.

I have digressed into Baggy Trousers territory, slightly.

Back to me:

The term 'AI' refers to computer systems that do tasks which seem like intelligent behaviour, such as finding patterns or categorising.

I am aware that Facebook, Google, Pinterest et al use algorithms to target me, i.e. their data-tracking systems of my internet search history and browsing habits are used to show me similar or related material. They're doing it right now!

I tolerate that because I have no control over it. Willingly, I choose to use all three of those platforms, and Blogger. My choice.

So, bottom line, when all is said and done, at the end of the day, all things considered, in the final analysis - let me restate my position*. Just as I have never smoked or vaped anything, just as I have never been drunk (self-control is the only control I have), I now make a solemn vow to the blogosphere - I will never use AI on my weblogs.

Love and peace - Wozza

* A sentence that Chat GPT would never write.

I'm a daaaay person (Elaine Benes)

Wie geht's?

Spring is coming. To prepare for that seasonal change in September, the three amigos are collaborating on a Spotify playlist (you can find it here).

The basic idea being we are celebrating the arrival of spring. That season is usually associated with increased energy, optimism, happiness, well-being, hope, and a sense of renewal (rebirth). Nice huh. As Laney says, "I'm a daaay person", who happens to like The Sunny Side of the Street. In short Here Comes the Sun!

It's been fun researching the 30 songs that I want to contribute to the playlist. They tend to be happy earworms that I end up singing all day long. Like Bruno Mars' The Lazy Song: all day long I walk around singing Today I don't feel like doing anything.

So, if, like me, you live in this Wonderful World, having a Wonderful Life on a Beautiful Day, you may also want to be further Lifted by songs of Hope and Good Vibrations. 

Love and peace, sunshine and rainbows, and hosts of golden daffodils - Wozza

What you leave behind is all that matters anyway (D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings)

Hey dad - been a while since we last spoke. 

You'll be pleased to know though that I am really good at communicating with you and mum on a daily basis - your photo together is a constant in my life. 

Generally, things are going pretty well around these parts - the blogs keep me in touch with family and friends; I'm really enjoying being back in the classroom; and the family has expanded a lot with your great grandchildren, and Samantha's recent marriage to Andrew.

Your grandkids are flourishing and living their lives. You would be extremely proud of them.

Jacky and I have been empty nesters for a while now. As you know we celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary in April while in California before flying to Denver for Sam and Drew's wedding (your Pommy granddaughter is now Sam Kalicki).

I still remember your trip to America when I was in primary school - probably around the time of that photo taken on holiday in Tutukaka. Do you remember how you recorded that message on top of the Empire State Building and brought back some exotic presents - sneakers and real Maple syrup? It tasted sooo good! I still have your recording.

I digress. I really wanted to wish you a happy birthday for the 26th. Although I miss you, I want you to know that you continue to inspire me and I still say hi to you both every day when I see that photo of you and mum.

Love and peace (forever and always) - W

A fickle sonance (Jackie McLean)

Wie geht's?

This one's about how I continue to live a charmed life - episode #563.

Last Friday afternoon, I went shopping at the Chemist Warehouse and while paying at the till I dropped my phone onto the floor.  The side pouch of the cover holds a number of cards.

Some time ago I grouped these cards into three sections (there are three slits in the side pouch).

First slot is for my Gold Card, second slot is for fuel cards and third is for my loyalty cards - bookshops, dry cleaning, car wash cards - that sort of thing.

When I dropped the phone I had a nano second thought that I'd maybe spilt some cards but when I glanced at the floor there was nothing there, so I didn't give it a second nano thought.

Blithefully unaware, I pootled home in the Purdmobile, my mind drifting away dreamily in my usual post school, Friday afternoon, brain of mush.

Getting home and emerging from my fog, I was mildly alarmed to find out that all of my loyalty cards were missing from the pouch.

Not the end of the world, right? But it was annoying, as I'd built up a sizeable $ amount on my Unity Books, and Slow Boat Records cards. Plus, the Real Groovy Records membership card was missing.

Not cool man. 

Anyway, realising I possibly did lose them at the Chemist Warehouse I called in on Tuesday during a non-contact period and wohsers - someone had found and handed in some of my loyalty cards - the car wash, Minton Books and dry-cleaning cards were present and correct!  Turns out they'd dropped into the chocolate enticements below the counter somehow.

The shop assistant's face was priceless when I asked if my Real Groovy card was also there. She smiled and I realised how weird the sentence must have sounded, so I had to embark on a lengthy explanation of Real Groovy Records.

Unfortunately, the Real Groovy, Slow Boat Records and Unity Books cards were still missing. 

I thought about seeking a replacement card from Real Groovy but realised I could pick one up the next time I was visiting Auckland.

At 3,10am the next morning, I half woke, and half remembered I may have put some of the cards in a drawer before travelling to Denver 4 months ago.

When the 4.30am alarm sounded I dimly remembered my hazy thought and went to the drawer. Bingo!

The cards that I'd thought missing were all there. 

Charmed life. What did I tell you?

Love and peace - Wozza

"You're such a dirty louse. Go get out of my house". That's all I ever get from you. Your family ties, in fact I don't think I ever heard a single little civil word from those guys (Queen)

Wie geht's?

We've stopped watching Dance Moms halfway through season 2. I can only think of one more show that we have abandoned halfway through - Game of Thrones. Believe it or not there are some similarities in the reasons for these two decisions (apart from the fact that Jade is cancelling her subscription to Disney+ soon).

Basically, all the adults on display got super ugly. There wasn't any redeeming positive character left, and we started feeling icky.

In season 1 we enjoyed watching Abby Lee and the dancers with the titular dance moms (largely) on board.

But by mid-way through season 2 there were a succession of nasty scenes: notably when Abby abandoned the team after her star performer, Maddie, froze on stage; and when the moms subsequently became a pack of hyenas - baying for Abby's blood. There was also the side show of Kathy's Candy Apple dancers who were hell bent on revenge. Yikes!

So, all up - I could sense a Game of Thrones' red wedding scene coming. To that we said, 'No thanks' and therefore goodbye to Abby Lee who had become increasing cruel and obsessed with winning at all costs and goodbye to the entitled, jealous, self-righteous bunch of moms. Melissa caving in and saying she was a doormat was the last straw.

The only ones to come out of the show with any credit were the young dancers.

I'd also become sick of the weekly goal to beat others, rather than to strive for personal best.

The over-riding fear of losing, the fear of making a mistake and receiving Abby's wrath became too much for me. It no longer became entertainment and something pleasant and diverting to watch after a day at the chalk face. 

Instead, we'll concentrate on the much more positive Alone Australia where contestants do the best they can to survive the elements and receive bountiful personal rewards in the process. They are only competing with themselves, that's all they control, and they grow as people as a result.

Love and peace - Wozza

Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most (Buddha)

Wie geht's?

Back to school this week, which means kicking back into routines.

Richie McCaw's 'start again' mantra comes to mind as this happens, because every day - I do indeed have that 'start again' feeling. That daily reminder that I have to prove myself again today.  

For me, it's relatively easy to get back into familiar tropes - one of which is 'Mondays are hard'. And a Monday after two weeks of study break? Fergetaboutit!!

Nevermind. Start again.

Love and peace - Wozza

The more I get to know, the less I find that I understand (Porcupine Tree)

The coastal view looking towards NP from Oakura

Wie geht's?

Visiting a new baby was one of the reasons for our recent trip to Taranaki in the second week of my study break. Kerry and Shamara's latest son is a bonny baby - all are looking good and doing well. Along the way we caught up with some friends and family, which was cool! 

I kinda realised (again) how many old friends we have in the 'naki - more than we can visit with in two days that's fersure.

One of the other reasons was to commemorate the anniversary of Patricia Smith's passing (Jacky and Michelle's mum). That meant a visit to one of her old haunts - The Teahouse in New Plymouth's majestic Pukekura Park. Unfortunately, they didn't have any lamingtons in their cabinet (a poor show). Never-the-less, it has become a fitting ritual. 

Rest in peace Pat. And thanks again, for producing two rather remarkable girls!

We missed seeing a few friends and I didn't get to A Records (a new shop in Fitzroy), so we'll need to revisit in the near future.

Taranaki!! A happening place!

Love and peace - Wozza

I'm going to wrap my love around you (The Waterboys)

Wie geht's?

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I would sometimes  spend nights on my own at Ma's place in One Tree Hill.

Ma was my mum's mum. She lived alone at 11 Kawau Road and she could cook trout to perfection.

My brother is allergic to fish. I love fish.

So, from time to time, mum would drop me off at Ma's and I would do some gardening jobs and Ma would cook a trout meal for me and it would taste like heaven.

I'd sleep over, so together we'd watch some TV programmes that I was never allowed to watch at home, later than I was allowed to stay up at home. Most notably The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

I'm keen for Asher to have something like that experience.

Study breaks are a great opportunity for this. Recently, we picked him up from Palmerston North and he stayed overnight at Maple Grove. He even helped me out with getting the firewood in, so he earned $1.

We watched the first episode of Star Wars, the under-appreciated The Phantom Menace, up to the end of the pod race before he went to bed (a bit later than normal). We finished it after breakfast.

Will he love his times with Papa and Mema at Maple Grove as much as I did with Ma? I really hope so.

Love and peace - Papa

It's the energy between all things, a tension, a balance, that binds the universe together (Yoda)

Wie geht's?

Thanks to Star Wars, dualistic opposites continue to be on my mind of late. Particularly while watching TV programmes like Alone where survival opposites are either find food/stay warm or tap out, and Dance Moms. Yes - Dance Moms. It's a matter of winners and losers.

On the surface Star Wars is about an evil, sinister, power-mad Empire and a group of freedom-loving, worthy rebels with a Princess on their side, but it's way more nuanced than that.

Anakin, Luke, Kylo Ren, for instance, have on-going inner battles with their various instincts and emotions like anger.

Recently we re-watched Episodes 7 to 9, Solo and Rogue One. In each there is a clear interplay between truth and lies, appearance and reality, goodness and evil, being active and letting events play out. The key word being 'interplay'.

In Alone, the battle to survive the harsh elements is also of the inner variety. We've started watching Alone: Frozen (6 returning contestants need to last 50 days for a share of some prize-money). Very quickly two men decided they couldn't continue. The interplay between expectations, the pull of home and a knowledge of what was to come made them reflect on what they were doing in a freezing Labrador.

In Dance Moms there is a raging battle going on every episode within the moms - do they intervene? Do they swallow their thoughts? Do they confront Abby? And the on-going battles between the moms are fascinating as well.

Abby Lee Miller (the owner of the studio) is no saint, that's for sure, but she also doesn't hide her dark side or her intentions (win at all costs).

Nuances within nuances. That's what keeps me tuning in.

Love and peace - Wozza

If you live among wolves you have to act like a wolf (Nikita Khrushchev)

Wie geht's?

Lately, we've been binge watching Alone - season 10, 11 and now 12. Samantha and Andrew got us started on this series and it's retained its appeal.

For the uninitiated: Alone is an American survival competition. It follows the self-documented daily struggles of 10 individuals as they try to survive alone in the wilderness for as long as possible using a limited amount of survival equipment. With the exception of medical check-ins, the participants are isolated from each other and all other humans. They may withdraw from the competition ("tap out") at any time, or be removed due to failing a medical check-in. The contestant who remains the longest wins a monetary prize.

The early episodes of each season are all about settling into who's who, and predicting who will tap out first. Once the ten has been reduced to about five, the show develops a different kind of intensity.

I hadn't realised that so far there were only two episodes of season 12 to view on TV One on demand, so we'll need to wait a while for it to stockpile more episodes before returning to this one.

In the meantime, we figured we would return to Dance Moms for season two. Oh my! This programme is so hilarious and frightening at the same time: Episode 1 and one of the moms calls Abby a whore!! Twice!! Yikes. 

These women are more vicious than any of the predators the contestants experience on Alone!

Must watch TV? Yessireebob!

Love and peace - Wozza

Breathe, breathe in the air; don't be afraid to care. Leave but don't leave me (Pink Floyd)

Photo by blocks on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

Recently, Jacky and I were talking about where my love for records came from, and I had to go back to my parents' influence to explain it.

While watching Alone, we were both struck by how much the participants discussed the influence of their parents - notably fathers.

The success with which human beings grow, mature and enhance their power as psychological agents depends on their ability to properly internalize the personality traits they've inherited, on their ability to properly negotiate between being active and passive, self-assertive and receptive, independent and dependent, in relation to their parents and other role-models (Star Wars and Philosophy Strikes Back).

Interestingly, while Jacky also had music and records featuring heavily in her childhood, the record collecting bug never bit. While for me - gazing at magical record covers in my parents' collection (along with books on their bookshelves*) lit a burning fire in me to collect records and read books.  

*An aside: some of the books I remember still from gazing at my parents' collection beside the fireplace at 18 Korma Ave.: the Doctor in The House series by Richard Gordon; Alistair McLean novels; Nevile Shute; Hammond Innes. I can still see the spines.

Love and peace - Wozza

The temples are the links to lead us through our past (Mike Pinder)

Photo by John Moeses Bauan
on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

Robert Bly's summary of the Wild Man's qualities in Iron John rang a bell with me.

The Wild Man's qualities, among them love of spontaneity, association with wilderness, honoring of grief, and respect for riskiness, frightens many people. Some men, as soon as they receive the first impulses to riskiness and recognize its link with what we've called the Wild Man, become frightened, stop all wildness, and recommend timidity and collective behavior to others. Some of these men become high school principals, some sociologists, some businessmen, Protestant ministers, bureaucrats, therapists; some become poets and artists.

Risk involves the possibility of failure but failure is good. The Wild Man path involves 'intensity, awareness of the wound, alertness to impulse, the possibility of a fall'.

It's good for former high school principals to keep that in mind.

Love and peace - Wozza

Love and marriage, love and marriage: go together like a horse and carriage (Frank Sinatra)

Wie geht's?

Robert Bly on marriage:

In marriage, there can be boundaries, and valid
points of view on each side of the boundary. They don't have to merge into one view.

This seems a no-brainer to me. Although couples merge in many ways, each person in a marriage is distinct. When I think about my parents' marriage, they merge as 'Dulcie and Graham'. 

However, they were two distinct people with clear differences in background, personality, interests, and characteristics. By the same token, they are forever united in my brain as one unit with the same core values and the same approach to parenting.

I tend to see my own marriage in the same way. We merge as 'Warren and Jacky' - but we are also a unit with the same core values. That said, we still each have valid points of view on each side of the boundary.

I think that view also holds up for the marriages of our friends and whanau.

Love and peace - Wozza

But in you, there was that glow and a coat of Indigo. Problems will come and go In my coat of Indigo (Pendragon)

Wie geht's?

I spoke in the previous post about moving closer to my father via the creation of this blog. The thing of it is, I only clearly felt true closeness to him twice in my life. Once when my mother passed away and he was really vulnerable, and then, as he passed away.

This came to mind when I read this passage from Iron John recently:

It is possible that we will never have the closeness we want from our fathers. "Male," John Layard says, "symbolizes that which is 'set apart.'"

Bly indicates that 'whatever the father gives us, it will not be the same kind of closeness that our mother offered'.

Although that was also true for me, I don't feel any angst around that situation. Those two moments were enough.

Love and peace - Wozza

I broke through the trees and there in the night - my father's house stood shining hard and bright (Bruce Springsteen)

Wie gehts?

Robert Bly in Iron John makes an interesting statement about a son's movement from his mother to his father when they enter their early forties.

Idealization of the mother or obsession with her, liking or hating her, may last until the son is thirty, or thirty-five, forty. Somewhere around forty or forty-five a movement toward the father takes place naturally - a desire to see him more clearly and to draw closer to him. This happens unexplainably, almost as if on a biological timetable.

Interestingly, it was a little bit later than that - from 45 to 50, before I strongly felt that desire and the urge to draw closer to my father. 

Although - the beginning of that process was forced on me with my mother's passing in 1983, and it continued after Keegan's birth with our decision to move back to Auckland to be physically closer to my dad in 1987.  

After those green shoots of the reawakening process, which lasted about ten years, on July 1, 2008, I began this blog.

The stated reason on that first tentative post, was to communicate more and therefore get closer to my father. Although I left it late, he would pass away a year later, the blog had the desired effect in that it definitely brought us closer together. 

Now, this blog has morphed into a different kind of thing, but it still allows me to have greater contact with my family, and wider whanau.  

Love and peace - Wozza

Old man take a look at my life, I'm a lot like you (Neil Young)

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

Recently, we spent a day/night in the E.D. and an observation ward at Palmerston North hospital, while Jacky received treatment for Influenza A. in the bed next to her was an elderly dementia patient who was treated with impressive respect and compassion by the nurses and doctors. They were remarkably kind and patient, even when he failed to communicate with them.

However, another patient in the ward was not so compassionate or tolerant. She loudly complained, made jokes and loudly huffed and puffed.

Yes, his continual loud exhortations of 'help' and his regressions to childhood (he referred to 'mummy' a few times) were testing. It was hard to hear him often say, "I'm going to die" amongst other things, but there for the grace of God go all of us.

I couldn't help thinking about his life. There was no one with him, either from his family or the rest home that he'd come from, but he must have had a life, right? Maybe a wife, maybe children. He wasn't always like this.

I also wondered about his what-next. We left the ward and came home, but what's next for him? My heart went out to him, and I was ashamed of the response from that other patient. When she tried to enlist me in her shenanigans, I just said that I felt for the poor guy. At that, she turned around and walked away.

Love and peace - Wozza

Iron John

Wie geht's?

I'm re-reading Robert Bly's Iron John (A Book About Men) so things from that will naturally filter onto my blogs as I go.

I was taken by this statement early in chapter 1 (The pillow and the key): 

The possessiveness that mothers typically exercise on sons - not to mention the possessiveness that fathers typically exercise on daughters - can never be underestimated.

Possessiveness. Interesting.

I've just finished reading Earth To Moon by Moon Unit Zappa. Frank Zappa had an extremely complicated relationship with his four children. He and his wife Gail had two sons, two daughters (as I do). It's a peculiar possessiveness exercised by Frank, and Moon has spent a lifetime (and her book) trying to figure it out.

I spent Sunday grading my Year 13 students work analysing One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest from a Freudian perspective. They came up with some great insights as they speculated on the relationships the characters had with their parents.

Mothers and sons. Fathers and daughters.

Fascinating. 

Love and peace - Wozza

What's the point of having countless books and libraries, whose titles could hardly be read through in a lifetime? (Seneca)

Wie geht's?

Revelation: I can't see a time ahead when I stop buying records (according to Jacky, music is my oxygen) but I think I need to stop buying books for a while.

Currently, I have 28 books in those three to-be-read piles in the picture above (non-fiction/fiction/music). At my current rate I will read all of those in the next 6 to 7 months, but I keep adding to the pile!

I need to continue to prioritise quality over quantity in my book buying (and delay a visit to Unity Books for a few months).

Love and peace - Wozza

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read (Groucho Marx)

Wie geht's?

One of the 26 highlights that didn't quite make the cut for my top ten (even though Iron John was mentioned) was a trip to a mall in Santa Rosa. It contained a huge secondhand bookstore with all proceeds going to the local library.

There were some great finds, and some super helpful staff, all volunteers. I mentioned to one lady that I was looking for some books about Harry Truman and she produced a whole pile. I grabbed two, plus 4 other books that were on my list (novels by Iris Murdoch and Penelope Fitzgerald among them) and took them to the counter to pay.

The guy added the number of books I had in my pile (there were six), and said, "Six dollars please". I'm sure my mouth fell open!

"Six??"

"Yes, sir - all our books are a dollar each".

Wow! What a great deal. The Truman book at the bottom of the pile is super big and super heavy but when I started reading it, I was hooked, so it had to come home with me.

Love and peace - Wozza

I'm thinking about eternity, some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me (Bruce Cockburn)

Wie geht's?

Facebook often distorts people's lives. It can varnish the truth and lapse into a look-at-the-great-life-I'm-living approach. I get that. Who wants to present the reality of things when the platform exists to air-brush that stuff out.

Travel can have its strains and stresses fersure, and, unfortunately, we were not complete as a family because of Keegan's absence.

I note all that as a preamble/caveat to my top ten highlights from our roadie in California and the wedding in Denver.

The three weeks certainly had travel's usual mix, but I easily listed 26 moments from my travel diary that were mind-blowingly great. However, 26 rosy-tinted moments would be OTT, so - here are my top 10.

10) Celebrating our 41st Wedding anniversary and Jacky's birthday (twice as we crossed the international dateline).

9) Capitola - staying at The Inn at the Depot air B'n'B and dining down by the sea.

8) Babysitting/spending time with Poppy and Asher at 3236 Arapahoe St, Denver.

7) Finding Arsenal kit at the Soccer Warehouse in Anaheim.

6) S'mores at Fanfa/Drew's house with everyone (toasted marshmallow with chocolate inside a Graham cracker).

5) Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland with Jacky, Jade, Chris and Asher.

4) Best scenery - the Big Sur coastline and listening to two whales slapping the water with their fins.

3) Best finds - tough one to select but I've whittled it down to two. Both had that rush of can-I-believe-my eyes. First would be finding copies of three albums by The Cowsills. The best being a copy of Captain Sad for $6 in Wax Trax Records in Denver. Second would be finding a copy of Robert Bly's Iron John book in a secondhand tool store, also in Denver. Another big plus: loved my record shopping expedition with Adam, Ashleigh and Poppy - three generations of record lovers is special.

2) Best Meal - While in Sonoma we drove to Bodega Bay and the Armstrong Woods. Driving back to Petaluma via Highway 116 along the banks of Russian River, we stopped at a roadhouse for lunch - grabbed a pizza slice each and a House Coffee. OMG. It was amazingly good sitting it that almost empty roadhouse having that simple meal with Jacky.

1) A solo father-of-the-bride dance with Samantha to Bruce Cockburn's Wondering Where The Lions Are was my personal number 1 highlight. Some context: when the kids were little I'd wake them up by singing the opening lines to the song:

Sun's up, uuh huh, looks okay
the world survives into another day
and I'm thinking about eternity
some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me.

Samantha clearly remembered that and honoured that memory by choosing it for our dance. It's a moment of ecstasy that I will cherish forever.

Love and peace - Dad

Wherever you go - there you are

Wie geht's?

Weird how time works, or rather - how it's been constructed to work by humans.

We left Denver on Sunday May 4th (yes, may the force be with you, always). Two Ubers, three flights, and a drive home from Palmerston North to Takapau later and it's Tuesday May 6.

I won't even try and work that out.

Point being - one instant - you're there - standing in a doorway in Denver (3236 Arapahoe Street) with your loved ones, and the next - you're someplace else (and so are they).

That moment (captured above), and other moments from the last three weeks, are preserved in memory now. Very precious.

Next post I'll whittle down my 26 highlights into a top ten.

Love and peace - Wozza

'Cause the Rocky Mountain way Is better than the way we had (Joe Walsh)

A reunion for three of the four Purdettes: L to R - Jade, Samantha, Jacky, Adam

Wie geht's?

We flew to Denver from LAX last Sunday to spend a week here prior to the wedding. More family also flew in, which meant a reunion with Adam, Ashleigh and Poppy among others. I'll detail some highlights on Saturday's Jewels For The Thirsty, but in the meantime, this post focuses exclusively on family.

Our two grandchildren - Poppy and Asher

Mema, Papa, Poppy, Adam

Galaxy's Edge (Disneyland) with Asher, Chris
and Jade.

Jade, Poppy, Asher, Chris in downtown Denver

Poppy, Asher, Mema

Asher and Fanfa at Bass Pro Outdoor.

Love and peace - Wozza

Without a family, man, alone in the world, trembles with the cold (Andre Maurois)

Griffith Park Observatory, April 22, 2025

Wie geht's?

Family times are precious, that's not an original thought on my part. We rarely get a chance for group shots with Jade, Chris and Asher, but the time in America this week has given us a few cherished opportunities. And some great memories.

Universal Studios, April 23, 2025

Love and peace - Dad

P.S. Also remembering my mum on her birthday - April 23. She knew a thing or two about creating an amazing family.

Food for thought

Wie geht's?

I'm not sure where the axiom that everything-is-big-in-America originated, but it's certainly true of meal and drink sizes. I am only semi-surprised now when Jacky orders a meal, and it is hugely oversized. It's especially funny because she doesn't ever have big portions at home.

One of the best meals we've had so far on this trip was at a Roadhouse close to Armstrong Woods. We bought a slice of pizza each and a small house coffee (still the size of a large in Nu Zild) and it was ample sufficiency. Plus, it was delicious!

Less is more, America!!

Love and peace - Wozza

I just wanna drive my beautiful machine up north on some Sonoma Country road (Jimmy Webb)

First stop - Air BnB in Santa Rosa (the old school house on right). We shared with geckos, a hummingbird, chickens (4) and turkeys. No squirrel sightings yet, or banana slugs.

Wie geht's?

Sonoma Country has not disappointed. No siree. From the beautiful coastline around Bodega Bay, to the Russian River, and Armstrong Woods' redwood trees to the house coffee and slice of pizza at the Gold Coast Coffee & Bakery - all has been te pai kē!

Riding the 101 north has been a blast (driving has not been stressful - courteous drivers mostly, even though they are driving way over the speed limits). 

Now we've moved down the Pacific coast a spell to Mill Valley/San Francisco for a few days. 

Some highlights thus far:

Kiwis spotted in Sonoma County

Bodega Bay was the location for The Birds

Paparazzi visit Bodega Bay

Armstrong Woods - fire damage obvious as
the flames went pretty high up the trees

Beware of snakes Jacky

Told you!

Keep truckin', like the do-dah man

Love and peace - Wozza

Living in America (ow!) (James Brown)

Wie geht's?

Day one and day last in NZ overlapped as it will do when you charge hell for leather across the international dateline. The epic journey to eventually give Samantha away (symbolically you understand) began, er, today - car journey to Ashurst to drop off Laney, Jade dropped us at Palmerston North airport, plane ride to Auckland, bigger plane ride from Auckland to San Francisco, rental car (Alamo were terrific) to Santa Rosa and this cute little Air BnB cabin...

The owners' recommended Mary's Pizza Shack and so off we pootled to have a lovely meal and our first questions from our waiter about - Where are you guys from? leading to - What do New Zealanders really think about America?

I said, "My best man 41 years ago was from Seattle, and we love Andrew". He smiled.

We're exploring/enjoying Santa Rosa for a few days. Updates to follow.

Love and peace - Wozza 

In California you watch the shadow dancer, floating gently, gently on the sea (America)

Wie geht's?

Excitement is building for our trip to the land of the free and the home of the brave for Samantha and Andrew's wedding in Colorado.

Jacky and I head to California this weekend.  Of course, I'm looking forward to the best of American food - donuts and pancakes. Jacky's thing, we've decided, is more Mexican delights like tacos, and burritos. I am also a fan.

Along the way to our ultimate destination (Denver in May) we'll be visiting classic cultural totems like the happiest place on Earth, Amoeba Records, IHOP, and some of those iconic surfing beaches made famous by The Beach Boys. 

Packing decisions will be a tad tricky as it's springtime in America but temperatures on the Pacific Coast will be very different to mile high Denver (they had three days of snow last week).

Your next Wozza's Place edition should provide an update on our journey, inshallah. You might even get some pics.

Love and peace - Wozza

Nec aspera terrent

Photo by Karim MANJRA on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

Wondering about 'Nec aspera terrent'? It means - don't be frightened by difficulties.

Box on. To get to easy you often have to go through hard.

Speaking of Latin mottos - I'm reminded of the M.A.G.S. one - Per Angusta Ad Augusta - through hardship to glory.

I love that idea. 

Love and peace - Wozza

P.S. I've moved on to my next book by Ryan Holiday - Courage is Calling. Bound to be some references to that in the next few posts, as we gear up for our trip to America for Samantha and Andrew's wedding.

Everybody grows and so it goes (Graham Nash)

Wie geht's?

Watching Adolescence on Netflix has dredged up some memories of working and advising in some UK schools (more on this on Baggy Trousers tomorrow).

It's easy for me to view living in the U.K. with nostalgic rose-tinted glasses, but there are obvious negatives. I love many things about England, Scotland and Wales, but modern life, phones, and the omniscient social media pressures have added so many complexities that everybody has to deal with.

Of course, all of those things exist in New Zealand as well, but for some reason the toxicity levels seem way higher in the U.K. Maybe it's tribalism, sheer numbers, or economic reasons - I'm not sure.

I like a simple life and when I get scenes from Leigh-on-sea on my Facebook feed that feature idyllic scenes around old Leigh, it is easy to lapse into misty-eyed longing for a life living in Victoria Avenue, shopping at Cost-Cutter, Wimpy's, Fives, moseying along The Broadway and walks along the shore toward the Leigh-on-sea C2C train station.

Even living in The Grand for a couple of weeks before we found the Victoria Rd flat can bring a smile to my face. Then I remember Jacky saying, "I want to go home", the girls being sick from the flight, the pigeons in the bathroom, the sticky floor in the bar as we had breakfast...I'm sure you get the idea.

And yet...and yet...

Then I remember those scenes from Adolescence.

Love and peace - Wozza