We have just come back from a week and a bit of holiday. We drove to Christchurch, spent a night with our son Simon and his partner. The next morning we flew to Auckland and caught a ferry to Waiheke Island where we spent Monday night till Thursday with our son Phil and his wife. On Thursday we hired a car and with Phil we drove down to Tongariro National Park, where on Friday Phil and I walked "the Crossing." On Saturday we sent Phil home on the train, while we proceeded to Palmerston North. We caught up on Friends there on Saturday and Sunday then drove to Wellington on Monday. On Tuesday we flew to Christchurch, picked up our car and drove as far as a nice motel unit with spa bath in Oamaru. This morning we came home. We have travelled some distance down the length of this beautiful country of ours.
Noisy people - the bad news.
I have often thought that as a rule Australians were more noisy than we more reserved New Zealanders. But I am not sure. I kept coming across annoying noisy people. In a Timaru bar/cafe/restaurant 4 older teenagers were having a beer and chatting about movies they liked and why they liked it. That was nice, but they chatted at a volume that the whole bar heard. I put it down to a little extra beer loosening up the vocal chords too much. In an outdoor area at a Whakapapa village cafe a woman was conducting a staff appraisal with an employee. She was scored on a 1 - 5 scale for several attributes. That's OK, I have a staff appraisal in the local Starbucks. .. but thankfully my boss does not discuss it at such a noisy level! We were two tables away but could hear why she only scored a 4 on "dependability" and a 3.5 on "hospitality"... etc. I felt embarrassed for the girl being appraised. In a Palmerston North Bookshop in George street, there were two senior shop assistants who were noisy in an annoying way. It was a good serious bookshop with quality books, but these two dignified looking women were discussing a mutual friend's marriage relationship, including surmises about her sex life, in loud voices that could be heard all around the shop. While I was enjoying browsing, I left the shop annoyed with the noise and style of chatter. Soon after my wife emerged similarly peeved, saying we did not have to hear the "local gossip". It may have been nice they were concerned for their friend, but have the discussion a bit more discretely please. Staff in Te Papa Museum cafe talked with each other from a distance and were virtually yelling to make each other heard. We went in for a quiet late lunch? In an Ashburton cafe the young man in the line in front of us received a business phone call. In a big voice he discussed business details about a delay in delivery of goods to his client. He ordered his lunch while talking on the phone, pointing and grunting at the girl behind the counter. When he sat down with his mate (Both in "Galaxy" uniforms) they both ended up continuing to make business phone calls, but discussing business in such loud voices that we could all hear. I hated one bloke's slimy style, his conversation dotted with words such as "Bud" "Mate" "Buddy" and "Cobber". My wife commented later that she thought he was in part, putting on a show, "Look how important I am! I take business calls during lunch!" At the same time as this the mature boss behind the counter working in the kitchen area, began to sing! Not very well I might add! After a while, (after the annoying phoning men left) she conducted a job interview at one of the tables in a loud voice with an aspiring candidate who was to get a trial. I heard her "do's and don'ts", her hours of work and her pay rates. OK, do it if you must, but keep the decibels down!
Lovely people - the good news.
In Palmerston North we caught up on the widow of a friend who died last year. Her and her daughter hosted us for a meal on Saturday, we had morning tea with her on Monday and we so enjoyed catching up. It was sad at times. She wept. She showed us photos. I got a lump in my throat several times. But it was good to finally be with her.
On Sunday we went to Church. Between 1976 and 1981 we had six years of ministry there. We sat behind a 50 year old lady, and I belted her on the arm as I went to my seat. She turned and her, her husband and others sitting nearby exclaimed and came rushing up to greet us. I did listen to the sermon, I promise, but as I sat there behind this woman I recalled how she and I and about three other young people went for a big Saturday bike ride once - I was the "responsible adult", she was 16 then I think! I began to realise how old I really am. At the cup of tea after Church she asked if we were doing anything for our evening meal. We were invited to a barbecue that night. She invited others, some people who were children and teenagers when we were there and other long standing members of the congregation. They all came with their partners and teenage children and we were introduced as someone who had been important when they were young. Suzanne gave a particularly meaningful prayer as she led in grace before the meal, speaking of "people who have touched our lives and meant so much". Straight after a woman came up beside me and said, "Yes ... it was because of you I changed my life and went off to Bible College"... she became a minister. I had been a bit annoyed. I was on holiday and a "church barbecue" did not feel like "holiday". But I went and was quite moved by the warmth of the reception. They were jokingly scheming how they could get me back there. Many mentioned things I had done that I had long forgotten. It is strange too, this fifty year old (she looks much younger ... I could not believe her children were university students!) that I had gone biking with so long ago (and heaps of other Church youth group experiences.. at one stage I could carry thirteen of the youth group in my old ambulance!) has taken up running and we compared our running experiences, injuries like longstanding old friends. To find myself among such spontaneous warmth and to feel we had contributed to these lives was really special.
Photos:
* A quick snap shot of some of the people starting to eat at the spontaneous barbecue.
* Mother and son discuss some issue while on a walk near Tongariro.
* Some falls we walked to on the Saturday morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment