Happy Boxing Day

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we trust that you have had a pleasant trip with us, and that we will be seeing you again on an Air New Zealand flight soon.”

The leading member of the cabin crew, a well-dressed fifty-something with short grey hair, was busy shoving a set of red reindeer antlers and a huge “Merry Christmas” banner into the overhead luggage compartment above the seats of Row 1 of the Air New Zealand Airbus A320 flight NZ842, as the craft was slowly trundling along the taxi route to the brightly-lit terminal of Wellington International Airport. We sat expectantly side-by-side on seats D and E of row 6 quite near the front. We had just spent the whole of Christmas Day 2013 on flight SA7700 (operated by Qantas) and with Air New Zealand since supper time.

He glanced down at his wristwatch, and continued, “It is now precisely midnight, so allow me, Ladies and Gentlemen, to be the very first to wish you all a very happy Boxing Day 2013. Thank you and goodbye.”

The plane ground to a seamless halt as the jet engines powered down.Wednesday 25th of December at 12:00 midnight in Wellington. We had left terra firma in Cape Town on Tuesday 24th at 12:00 noon, a long flight to the freedom of a new life.

As the crew opened the hatch six rows in front of us, I unbuckled, leaving the past 66 years of my life on seat 06E, and strode down the aisle to meet the rest of my life with determination and resolution. I shall not ask what New Zealand can do for me, but hopefully rather attempt to see what I can do for New Zealand, albeit perhaps an insignificant contribution.  As long as it is a positive one…