This is not a story unique to myself, but it is part of the story of places like South Auckland, Porirua, Aranui, Highbury—anywhere where our peoples have put down roots. My parents met in the tradition of that story. What I mean by that is they met at the pub where my dad was the bouncer and my mum was trying to get in. My parents weren't the richest, but we were rich in the things that matter: love. We would sometimes work in the school holidays helping my dad mow lawns for a living, but I never went without. Education was really important to my parents. I remember once my dad saying to me, "Hey boy, you want this encyclopaedia set?" and I remember saying to him, "No, thanks." And just like magic, I owned an encyclopaedia set. 