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| Crowds lining the Auckland Wharf at noon |
Being surrounded by strangers at the Auckland Wharf was in
some ways overwhelming. Everyone was
moving around brushing up against each other.
Having traveled through SE Asia and Europe I am well aware of the
presence of those who pick pockets, grab purses and just steal for a
living. Our guide in Vietnam told me I
had to take my necklace off before I could leave the bus, and my bicycle
peddler made me put my camera away as it would be snatched. In Barcelona 3 women were foiled, in grabbing
my purse and all of our valuables on a train, by a more savvy gentleman from
Germany. So I have a habit of watching
my purse and clutching it when strangers become ‘too friendly’ and this was
just wrong at the Auckland wharf. My
bench partner put me off with her plastic sandals which didn’t compliment her
chic, gauzy dress at all. But, as we
chatted, I realized that she was really more of a world traveler than I could
ever be. She had obviously dressed for
Kate and Will, but the plastic thongs were ‘over the top’ in her personal deprivation;
maybe for the Queen, I would guess!
One gentleman, who was carrying a small microphone smiled
and told me I looked nice on the bench.
I smiled and said, “Thanks” but held my purse closer as he was dressed
in messy jeans and a sports jacket, which was thread bare in patches, and
stretched to almost splitting across his back.
His hair cut was rough and I determined that his TV Channel ID was
probably purloined. My neighbor laughed
when I told her about my interpretation of my encounter with him because he is
indeed a well-recognized TV newscaster. There
is crime here, but apparently not like some other places I have been.
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| Puppet Show |
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| Kid's Train |
So this is a place of people who still try to keep the
spirit of community alive. On Saturday we
walked into Howick Village and saw clusters of balloons lending a look of
festivity to Picton Street. Signs proclaimed it was ‘Town and Country
Day'. I stepped into a local real estate
office and asked the receptionist what Town and Country Day was all about. She didn’t know and asked an older, fellow worker who
said, “Oh it’s just something to celebrate!”
A small train bustled up and down the sidewalk giving free rides to
small children and their tenders, on getting off the train the children got
their faces painted and then enjoyed a side walk puppet show.
I still marvel at the sense of festive
enjoyment of life I remember from events in my youth. I hope these children remember these times as
fondly as I do, at 5 years of age in 1955, sitting on my father’s shoulders, on a sunny day, enjoying the
air show at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska.
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| Sidewalk Eateries |
Still learning, J
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| NO Festivities Without Pipes! |
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