Bruce | Auckland
“I grew up in Gisborne. I was born in Hastings, and adopted from the hospital, went to Gisborne, lived there until I left and went back to Hastings, again to work with architecture, and then I left Hawke’s Bay and came up to Auckland. I don’t really know why, but I did. I’d quite like to go back to Gisborne again, but it’s sort of a long way away, and my daughter’s are here so I’ll be staying here.
Probably the last time I talked to my daughter, so I’m very thankful I’ve got two beautiful daughters and they’re around. Probably one thing I’m proud of in my life and I’m very thankful for. I think I’m very close to my daughters. I brought them up mostly by myself, and they’ve turned into two wonderful young ladies. They’re beautiful, they’re doing well in life. Yeah, they have their ups and downs and their fun but they’ve both got a heart of gold and they both care. So, I’m pleased that they’re like that, and it makes me feel good. If there’s one thing I’ve done in my life that’s been a success, I think I can count those as my success. Everything else is probably not that relevant.
I guess one of the things I’ve probably learned in life is people, they’re important, and I think people should be kind and nice to people; not rude and arrogant. I think a big thing in life is to listen, learn and read on. You listen to everyone. Everyone’s got something to say, there’s lots of important stuff, learn from what they say, and read on in life. I think we go back and we listen to people, whether they’re a young child or an older person. Everyone’s got some wisdom.
If they listen to each other then they’d understand that people do have problems, and probably need someone just to listen to them, and to understand what they’re going through. We all have those, and some people can’t solve them by themselves, and we should have respect for people, whether they’re babies, older people, animals; doesn’t matter.
I think everyone should get up in the morning, be thankful they’ve got a life, and put a smile on their face. I know I wander around the place and I smile all the time at people, and I sing and I’m probably a bit of a clown, but I think if a smile goes a long way, and if everyone smiles at each other, the world would be a better place to live in.”
