HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS

Press, 17 March 1977, Page 30

HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS

The problems and pitfalls of parenthood are compounded by the holiday period. At such times youthful holiday makers are charged with an exuberance which leaves parents perplexed and pondering on their unfortunate lot. The situation is considerably worsened by the intervention of wellmeaning and childless relatives. In a spirit of misguided helpfulness tinged with an air of carefree bravado, maiden aunts and uncles indulge this seasonal appetite for adventure as though reliving their own uninhibited youth. One Christchurch man, determined to preserve the spirit of true adventure and recklessness in his 11-year-old Dunedin nephew, recently assisted in the construction of a

life raft made from discarded motor car tubes and an old much-faded airbed of most doubtful reliability. In the hands of a less optimistic mariner such a craft would have hissed briefly and ccftitemptuously before subsiding into a limp and amorphous heap. Instead, as though inspired by the spirit of the occasion, the unlikely craft bulged encouragingly. Caution was then thrown to the wind, which happened to be blowing off shore. A life jacket proffered with parental concern was rejected as an unnecessary encumbrance, and unmindful of the receding tide and deceptive current the youthful adventurer set forth under the watchful gaze of worried parents. The improvised raft complete with lone occupant was soon well

clear of the outward line of breakers and was within a few minutes receding in the general direction of a large cargo vessel standing off shore. Casting aside caution, his clothing and the torpidity of the postluncheon period, the erring youngster’s father entered the water and utilising the elements of life saving unpractised for many years was soon successful in returning the young adventurer and his craft to the comparative safety of South Brighton beach.

It is perhaps unnecessary to add that when uncle turned up next day with two sets of paddles for the improvised craft he was not met with quite the warmth of enw thusiasm which his handy work would otherwise have evoked.