HE WENT THAT WAY

This is my autobiography and is written by me: "You will laugh with me and you will laugh at me. You will swear with me and you will swear at me. Some of you may even shed a tear when you learn about several of the people, I will introduce you to. Some of you will draw comparisons with events of your own life and on one hand be thankful for not doing some of the stupid things I have done. On the other hand, perhaps, just perhaps be disappointed for not having experienced some of the good and rewarding events I write of." My life begins in 1956. I was born in Hamilton, New Zealand. Early childhood were days of wander, adventure and excitement as I grew up in a farming community. That was soon shattered when we moved to Dunedin. I hated the place and at age nine ran away from home but was caught three days later by police in Lyttleton, approximately 400 km to the north. I had two brothers one older and one younger plus an older sister, a nice economic round figure of four. My college schooling, apprenticeship as a carpenter, falling in love, excelling as a rugby player and freestyle wrestler, throw in some sailing and boxing and yes, I loved my sport. Let's not forget to mention the finer points of altercations with the law due to fighting in the streets and in general just being a prick occupied my teen years which I spent in Nelson. My yearning for adventure and excitement first took me to Australia. Employed in a variety of jobs; Bellboy at a hotel within Sydney's Kings Cross red-light district, construction in Darwin, traveling salesman in Central Queensland just to mention only three. 1979 I found myself in the UK as a recruit in the British Parachute Regiment and with high marks I passed the P Company selection. During the following thirteen years I bounced around NZ and Australia a little like a balloon out of control but searching I guess for some form of stability. I worked a variety of jobs in cities such as Perth and Auckland, mining camps in NW Australia, deckhand on an American Tuna Purse Seiner from which I was very unceremoniously dumped and left on the shoreline. Recovered from a slight mental breakdown, rekindled a teenage romance and became engaged. Engagement collapsed after five years and so my search for myself continued. I found myself employed as a cook on a Tug Boat operating off the coast of NZ. It was here I finally found what it was that I was looking for and over the next fifteen years whilst employed by several different companies and on different oceans I worked my way up to the position of Captain. Working a roster of six weeks on and six weeks off allowed me to spend a large amount of time in Thailand and latterly Cambodia which was where I moved to after retiring from the sea, but my time in Cambodia belongs in another book. It didn't matter if it was work or play whatever I took on I had to climb the ladder to the very top. This stubborn and selfish attitude at times alienated me from friends and stopped me raising my own family. I was always the leading wolf or loan wolf but seldom part of the pack. I currently live in Thailand.