I do know though a feeling I'd carried a long way since then. It was hollow, aching, and deep within was a confusion of pain and negative commands. Yes I certainly learnt some things so grim for just a 6 year old. But it certainly didn't finish there, in fact it has just begun. The next trial would prove to come from the school yard.
Every crowd has one.
The bully, the teaser and fully rounded pest. John was a gentle boy, choosing to ignore or flee the jeers and chastisement of his school room peers. Although he found a few good friends, his best was a bicycle and the neighborhood land he would choose to befriend. All the paths, reserves and beaches were known well, and by his own company most afternoons he would spend. At the age of 9 John and his mum went to live in Kerikeri with mums boyfriend, a man called Ted Handcock.