Up until last Friday I thought I was a serious contender in the joy chip championship when it came to soliciting smiles.
Nek minit! - along comes my Ngati Pakeha mate, Peter "Blacky" Blackwell and the annual Police Charity Luncheon, where punters bid for prizes that most of them donate in the first place.
Top prizes paid out were $29,000 for a barrel of Mills Reef wine, $26,000 for an amazing Sheryl Farrow sports star quilt and my favourite, $2500 for a 1991 mint condition Honda Civic.
We all had our eye on the Saint John defibrillator as a few looked like they needed jump-starting as the auction went on and item No19 - a service from a stud - drew plenty of attention, with or without the horse.
Apparently the silent bid on John Key's book was from within the Labour leadership, but given almost every member has applied for the job, we will never know who.
Yes, the irony of a bro called Blackie who wears a Ngati Pakeha T-shirt isn't lost and is the perfect team uniform as a prolific points scorer in my joy chip game.
For the two people left in Tauranga who have not met Detective Sergeant Pete Blackwell, the chances are you may have but it wasn't at a charity fundraising auction or you will do in the near future.
And hopefully that's not en-route to the "iron bar" hotel where they serve out "three hots and a cot" and the chances to score points for your joy chip are about the same as Ewen winning the world cup for Ngati Skippy or Herb winning the NPC for the Steamers next year.
However, there is another Ewen, from out West Auckland way, who was a master at the joy chip game like Blacky.
Sadly, the Westy rode out of town with his mate Robyn Williams - on their happiness horses, bound for a gig at Joy Chip Central where comedy is the currency to measure success.
Consciously making people smile is a cool thing to do in my book of life.
My wife from another life was also a master at the Joy Chip game and her advice of knowing the difference between smart and a smart ass is pure silver, like the chord she held on to during her open mic comedy shows.
At the charity auction was another joy chip champion, guest speaker Greg "Fat Cat" Ritchie, the legend of his own lunch and anyone else's he could eat while waiting to go out and bat against the West Indies or South Africans.
Greg's yarns were side-splitting, from the time he was a 6-year-old "three-pie" from Ipswich, up on dad's shoulders watching the Kiwis deal out a bit of biffo to the Kangaroos, right through to his last wise words - 'Life is all about the books that you read and the people that you meet'.
But this column isn't about sausage rolls and sandwiches, and hitting sixes with a puku full of pies.
It's all about a good bugger affectionately known as Blackie - and his tight-six team, who over the last 20 years have raised millions for our community.
It's about a man of mana.
The word mana, in my opinion, is only applicable to bestow on others who truly deserve it. The word mana was recently interpreted to me from a respected kaumatua as: "Someone who has the ability to do things for the benefit of others".
That being the criteria for this game called life, and joy chip being the name of the game, Blackie you are as your son told me last Friday: cool.
• broblack@xtra.co.nz
