Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Herbert and Children

Herb and Netta were not able to have children, something that was always a disappointment to them both. As their extended family noted, children would have enjoyed the richest of lives with them. Yet, and perhaps because of this, Herb had a great compassion for children and a remarkable capacity to connect with them, regardless of their age. His memoirs are replete with anecdotes of his connections with kids – perhaps not surprising given one of his core passions was primary education.

Dr Money was known in our house as “Dr Wow Wow”, an appellation he unwittingly created for himself with a toddler sibling. When she was upset this tall old man would bend down, pull faces at her and waggle his fingers in her face and exclaim “Wow wow Becky”. Dr Wow Wow stuck and he never minded being addressed as such, even many years later.

Dr Money came and spoke at a retreat held at a remote site near the Nugget Point lighthouse, in Otago. It must have been in the early 1970s. The old building we used faced out into the southern ocean from where it always seemed to be blowing a gale. Herb was caught standing there one afternoon, gazing out to sea with a guilty look on his face. When interrogated he confessed he was standing there playing postman. “You see, Frank (about 7 or so) comes along and hands me a letter. Then he disappears. When Brenda (similar age) walks past I hand over the letter from Frank and take hers in return”. In his seventies he was not above playing matchmaker and was quite content to be “helping them along”.


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