The pain of a terrorist attack on your country cuts deep … there is the feeling our nation has irrevocably shifted and separated from a perceived innocence thanks to one individuals ‘right wing white supremacist’ views. Together, we are one His target ~ the Islamic community in Christchurch … 50 innocent people murdered ~ men, women and children all due to one mans hatred of Islam and the Muslim religion … he planned and chose to eliminate as many people as he could in their place of...
There is something cathartic about live music … the senses are awakened in a way not easily replicated, your ears pick up an authenticity in the sound of the performance, albeit sometimes intermingled with the out of tune warbling of those beside you in the crowd. Your eyes feast on the stage, big screens and other concert goers, watching the wild thrashing in the mosh pit or those being dragged off by medics for perhaps overdoing it in some way. Your nose picks up wafts of body odour … merging with...
Dear Dad 3 years today dad … since you passed away. I miss you. 3 years since your body let you down and decided it wasn’t going to play ball anymore, that it would allow pneumonia and some sort of dis-ease to take you to the other side. I miss you. This week has been weird. I’ve felt in a different space ~ physically as well as emotionally and mentally. I cried at work yesterday morning when I spoke about you, remembering you and the fact we are commemorating 3 years of your death today …...
August is a special month for me. My son’s birthday is August 21st. My dad passed away on August 30th. Both significant events ~ on any scale. There is another date … that is just as significant … in some ways. That would be the 19th of August … or the 18th if you are in the northern hemisphere, which is where I was when this date became … “significant”. London, August 1998 … 18 months into my overseas experience or “OE” to use a New Zealand colloquialism. I...
I’m lucky to have some good guys in my life. I have good brothers. I have good male friends. My dad was a real good man … I have (and have previously had) good male work colleagues. I don’t have a good partner (or a bad one!) currently which is totally OK most of the time … until my boy hurts. Being a single parent is no walk in the park, and I don’t get ‘every second weekend off’ or have a ‘week about’ arrangement with the kids dad … he lives...