A Glass Full of Water

On Saturday 22 July Val and I were in a car accident in Hamilton. We were in a friend’s car driving through the intersection of Wairere Rd and Te Rapa Rd. The green light came on so we accelerated. Then it happened… a car on our right hand side ran their red light at speed. My friend Pete was driving. I yelled at him, “Watch out!” He had no time to brake and we smashed into the side of the other car. The car’s airbags inflated and we crunched to a halt. White acrid smoke began filling the car and we mistakenly thought the car was on fire. (The ‘smoke’ was the explosive charge from the airbags inflating). Noeline’s turn to yell, “I think the car is on fire. We have to get out!”  We wrenched the doors open and stumbled out. Silence. Strangers ran towards us. Young men and women strangers. “You guys ok?” “We saw what happened.” They stayed with us for a short time before the police arrived. One of the police wasn’t a stranger. He looked at me and asked,   “Didn’t you teach at Ham...

While teaching at Hamilton Boys’ High School I organised community service activities with students who belonged to the Leo service club. (This group was sponsored by the Lions Service Club).  Friday afternoon was selected as an ideal time to do our service activities as weekend sport and family time was not affected. Always within walking distance from the school, we spent many happy hours painting fences, picking up rubbish from local streets, clearing home and other school’s gardens, raking leaves and once even shifting bricks. We also worked at an early childhood centre and a couple of retirement homes. The local organisations we worked for were most appreciative of our combined efforts and sometimes biscuits and cold drinks were offered and devoured. We had a ritual of before and after photos as the work was often difficult and dirty. Together we enjoyed the physical nature of the work and seeing the appreciative smiles of our happy clients. POINTS to PONDER The students and I...

During my time as a Deputy Principal of Silverdale Normal School in Hamilton, I developed and led a boys’ programme called ‘Guy Time’. This programme was designed to use and develop boys’ learning styles and interests. The programme was popular with the Year 6 boys and to my delight I could hear them running to the classroom it was held in. (Not out!) My practical skills are limited, so dads and male mentors were organised to come in most weeks to share their knowledge and practical activities such as fishing, diving, plane/parachute flying/making, constructing dams in the local gully and much much more. Successful male business role models also spoke with the boys about the importance of a good work ethic and being open to learning new skills etc.  Also  keen on developing the boys reading interests, and with the generous sponsorship of TalkingTech, we established a library of books that boys would enjoy. John Gallagher (Gallagher industries) heard about what we were doing an...

Last Friday we met together (early in the morning) with friends at the Frankton Railway Station in Hamilton. It was the beginning of our ‘Pensioners Big Day Out’ to Auckland. The Train (Te Huia) began its journey in darkness and as dawn broke, landmarks and small towns close to the railway lines became recognisable.  Soon we were in the ‘big smoke’. We enjoyed a walk from The Strand railway platform to the Britomart Train Station, as a member of our group had to sort out some transport card details. We were also organising ourselves to get on the ferry to Devonport. Our conversations stopped when we realised a man standing nearby was soiling himself. Faeces were running down his bare legs, over his bare feet and making a puddle around him. Now he was standing in the mess. He looked so vulnerable, lost and bewildered. We called a security guard over for assistance and he wandered off to get help. We also called a cleaner over and she said, “leave this to me” in a calm, rea...

Val and I were staying for the weekend with our daughter  Rebeccah  in the Auckland suburb of Point Chevalier. The local superette across the road had recently been ram raided. The owner was hit on his head with an iron bar and his forehead still bears the scars.  He  is  a kind, caring man who treats the public with smiles and witty conversation. His wife also works in the shop although mostly at different times of the day. A bit like a tag team really.  First thing on the Saturday morning I started walking over the road to buy a newspaper from them. As I approached, I noticed two men standing outside. Nothing unusual about that, but at that moment it just didn’t feel right. My sense of caution intensified. Walking up to the shop entrance, I could see the owners wife staring at me with terror-filled eyes. In that moment I had a choice. I could walk away or I could stay and somehow help her.  The two men had now gone inside. Time to approach them. They...

Val’s sister Verna shared this story with us recently. Verna was a resident of a rural service town called Pukekohe on the southern edge of the Auckland region. Verna and a few of her jogging/walking club friends were treating themselves after a brisk walk at a local cafe. They noted a customer complaining to a young wait staff member about the heating of their meal. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, but the customer kept on complaining and wouldn’t allow the staff member to speak to the situation. Now the poor staff member was being unfairly harangued. What was happening to her was awful and she was so upset. Verna said, “C’mon” to her friends. The three of them walked past the rude customer and around the counter to silently stand  beside the staff member, with arms linking. It would have been too easy to say something and possibly making the situation worse.                                   ...

Holding a Stop/Go road sign might look like an easy job…I’m sure it’s not. Wind, heat, freezing conditions and occasional motorist abuse plus the monotony of the job must be hard to deal with. While travelling south through Taranaki, Val and I noticed road works ahead of us. The Stop/Go sign woman signalled us to stop. We smiled at her and she smiled back. She had wet weather gear on but still looked freezing. We were in a warm car with radio music and no cares or worries. On signalling us to drive on (and noting that we had just passed through Mokau), Val and I looked at each other, smiled and a short distance ahead turned our car around. Back in Mokau we ordered a couple of coffees and some food treats from a local store and drove back to the road works. We stopped our car and gave her the coffee and food. She was very surprised, grateful and happy. Her work colleague further up the road got the same. Just imagine if he had missed out! POINTS to PONDER Opportunities to care are a...