Hi Ho. Hi Ho

So, I'm officially back in the work force. back to giving money to the government instead of standing in the line with my hand out. I don't mind admitting its a good feeling. One of the things I enjoy about my job is the amazing cross section of people I meet & the interesting stories they have to tell. There is one story that I heard last night that I just absolutely have to share with you.

I won't tell you the young man's name for some very valid reasons. I'll just call him George OK ? Neither will I tell you the name of the company he works for. George is my loader & checker at one of the larger freight companies I visit at night. Large enough to be multi national, so its pretty big. What George does is assemble all my freight in one place, collect all the relevant data & consignment notes for my manifest, hand them in to the office so they can print my manifest out then load my truck & trailor. At this, he is extremely good, using his forklift with the precision of a pair of forceps in a skilled surgeons hand. Inevitably, we have a few minutes every night to pass in amiable conversation. George is a quiet, modest, & extremely well spoken young man with a wonderful sense of humour.

He became very interested last week when I mentioned going to see my Mum, even asking on Monday night how she was. It turns out that his Mum passed away recently leaving him with her dying wish that he takes over the care of his 11 year old sister, a responsibility that he has taken on gladly, though I think it does weigh a little heavy on his shoulders at times. Turns out that his Dad was Tongan & his Mum Maori & he grew up in Northland.

Inevitably, we started comparing tattoos & asked after the significance of one of his. He casually informed me, "Oh thats a prison tat." Then his story emerged. It turned out that he had done 5 years for assault. I asked him if he had learned his lesson & he said, "Oh yes. I used the time to go back through my schooling, get a grade 2 certificate in Horticulture & learn about my Mum's culture. When I got out I was asked to do the welcome at a new Woman's Refuge in Hamilton for a special guest of honour." When he got there he found that the guest was actually our beloved Prime Minister, John Keye. After the welcome was over & George had led him inside, the PM asked him what he was doing. George replied, "I'm just out of prison & looking for a job." JK replied, "I may be able to help you there, I have a few contacts in business," & gave him a name & number to ring. So George ended up seeing the CEO for New Zealand of the company he now works for. I thought it an amazing story & told him so. He replied,"Yeah, but I still don't vote National though," climbed back on his forklift & carried on loading my truck.