September, 1996 (continued):
One of the most memorable moments of this New Zealand seminar trip occurred during the second day of Air Personality Plus+ seminars for David Brice and Radio New Zealand. The first was in Christchurch; the second was the following day in Auckland.
The NZ rugby team, the All Blacks (named for their all-black team uniform), had just won a test match series against their arch rivals from South Africa, and they were feted with a huge outdoor celebration immediately outside the Carlton Hotel (where our seminar was held).
That evening I flew to Hamilton for a return engagement with The Radio Works (thanks to Steven Joyce and Kate Rigg).
Last week I described the huge suite I had been ensconced in at the Carlton Hotel in Auckland. I mention this again only to describe how small the 15-seater airplane that brought me to Hamilton was: It was smaller than the suite’s living room. (Seriously.)
I was especially happy to return to Hamilton, because that was the first New Zealand city I ever visited…during my maiden Kiwi visit a year earlier. Of course, I didn’t have time for much reminiscing there, because when the seminar ended I headed directly back to Auckland. Darryl Paton found himself “volunteered” to drive me there.
The following day was spent with the on-air staffs of Median, in another return visit arranged by Guy Needham and Mike Regal.
And then it was off to the airport to fly to Taupo for the Radio Broadcasting Association’s annual convention. (Actually, this, too, was a return engagement. On my first trip to New Zealand I had previously met only one of the Kiwis I’d be working with, Steven Joyce. On this trip, however, most of the time I felt like I was with old friends.)
At the convention — once again quite well produced by Janine Bliss and Brent Impey — I presented How To Create Maximum Impact Radio Advertising and also moderated a no-holds-barred “debate” between male & female broadcasters at the RBA banquet.
The day after the convention ended, Janine allowed me to hitch a ride with her on the 5-hour drive back to Auckland (from where I would fly home to Los Angeles).
Periodically along the side of the highway I noticed small, white crosses. Janine explained that these marked the spots where people had been killed in driving accidents; the crosses were placed there by the loved ones of the deceased.
Seeing all of those crosses was both touching and, in view of their number, very sad.
Janine dropped me off at the airport, I checked in for the flight, and settled in at the United Airlines lounge at 2:47PM; I wouldn’t board the flight until 5:00. But I was quite happy because a boxing match was scheduled for 3:00 — Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon.
There was one television set in the lounge, stuck in a little corridor on the side. I went directly to it, found the right channel, and commandeered it before anyone else could lay claim to it.
Being rather tired at the end of a very full week of seminars, I couldn’t think of a better way to pass the time than to watch the fight.
(If you’re a boxing fan, it’s obvious to you that I didn’t know at the time how lame the match would be.)
There were four preliminary bouts, however…And my flight was called just before the main event began.
Oh, well.
