Willie – Browns Bay
“My last text I sent was to the doctor, because a man like this and no o-zone – I’m really concerned about my skin.
I live in the States, but they have this so-called winter there, which I’m opposed to, so I protest by coming to New Zealand for about three or four months a year. Browns Bay is probably my favourite place, maybe perhaps in the whole world. Auckland is just another city, but everybody’s got to be somewhere.
I really like the people in New Zealand; they’re such social creatures, and it’s so much fun to be here. I play a little music for them, hang out, enjoy the flat whites and the carrot cake. It’s wonderful; very welcome and very safe.
The North Shore is one of the safest places I’ve ever been. Sometimes I get lost, and I ask somebody for directions and they’re not satisfied with just giving me directions they want to take me to the place I’m trying to get to. So I get there quickly and safely and politely.
When it rains, and you’re walking in the rain, somebody comes out on their front porch and says, ‘I think you need to come in for tea’. So you go in and you have tea with this person you’ve never met before, because it’s raining outside. It’s pretty amazing. Being from America, you know, and the whole gun thing; it’s very safe here, it’s a really cool place.
I think that the more technology and the more dense that your country gets, the more challenging it’ll be to feel that word humanity, because crowding and traffic and iPhones and all that kind of stuff tends to separate people more than humanitarians would like. But there’s nothing wrong with privacy, and there’s nothing wrong with, you know, just going out to the beach by yourself and playing your guitar, just because you feel like it.
It isn’t necessary that we have all that touchy-feely stuff all the time. I think that would be the last thing that you’d have to worry about, is New Zealanders not connecting with each other. As long as there’s flat whites and carrot cake, I think you’re in good shape.
Sometimes I travel with my wife. I’ve travelled probably more of New Zealand than anybody who doesn’t live here. I travel all over the place and I never worry about anything, because I always know I can walk up to any person at any time and say, ‘I’ve got an issue, can you help me with it?’ Invariably, they do. I mean, it’s just a really nice country and there’s just nothing but goodness about it – in that regard.
I’ve been all over the South Island, all over the North Island, some of the outer islands, and New Zealanders are such beautiful social creatures. Sometimes it’s a little annoying that you want to go into a store and there’s six New Zealanders sitting in the doorway having a little chat, and it can go along for quite a long time, but that’s a small price to pay for all the kindness and friendliness that you all put out.”
