I'm old! I write this column as a 57 year old. By the time you read it, I will be 58 years of age.
So for the first time in my life I will be older than the average sheep and beef farmer in this country.
Time and tide wait for no man. It is yet another ageing milestone I can reluctantly tick off.
The first I can remember is the first All Blacks fullback (my position) to be younger than me. That distinction belonged to a Taranaki cow cocky by the name of Kieran Crowley. Then there was the first Prime Minister to be younger than me. That was John Key.
All of which got me thinking about the timeline of my life and the major events, both domestically and internationally, that have struck a chord with me and been ingrained in the collective memories of my generation.
September 5, 1959: Southland wins the Ranfurly Shield, 38 days before I'm born.
September 23, 1959: Southland loses the Ranfurly Shield, 20 days before I'm born.
October 13, 1959: A plump and plain baby is born at Gore hospital, following in the more famous 1950s footsteps of the likes of Jenny Shipley and Stu Wilson.
November 26, 1960: Keith Holyoake wins the general election and embarks on our last four-term government. Unless, of course, Bill English can convince a former MP from Northland and Tauranga otherwise.
October 15, 1962: The world teeters on the edge of World War III for 13 days with the Cuban Missile Crisis.
November 22, 1963: John F Kennedy is assassinated.
April 10, 1968: The inter-island ferry Wahine sinks in Wellington Harbour with the loss of 51 lives. July 20, 1969: Man walks on the Moon.
August 14, 1971: The great Colin Meads plays his record 55th and final test for the All Blacks.
January 1, 1973: Kiwi farmers face the trade shock of Britain joining the EEC, followed later that year by the first Oil Shock, which triggers spiralling inflation and unemployment.
August 16, 1977: Elvis Presley leaves the building.
July 30, 1979: The second Oil Shock sees Carless Days introduced. The scheme was highly unpopular, largely ineffective and was scrapped in May 1980.
November 28, 1979: The Mount Erebus disaster in Antarctica results in the loss of 257 lives.
July 14, 1984: David Lange leads Labour to a landslide election victory. Rob Muldoon refuses to go gracefully. Rogernomics spells the end of farming subsidies.
June 20, 1987: The All Blacks claim the inaugural Rugby World Cup.
October 19, 1987: World share markets tumble on Black Monday. On October 20, New Zealand has Terrible Tuesday.
November 9, 1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall.
December 26, 1991: The Iron Curtain falls with dissolution of the Soviet Union.
August 31, 1997: Princess Di dies.
September 11, 2001: The world changes forever as the Twin Towers fall in New York and the Pentagon is smashed in Washington. Hollywood couldn't have dreamt up this script.
September 29, 2008: The Dow Jones has its largest drop in any single day in history. The Global Financial Crisis is in full swing.
November 19, 2010: The Pike River disaster takes 29 brave miners.
October 23, 2009: After waiting an entire lifetime, Southlands wins the Ranfurly Shield again.
February 22, 2011: The Christchurch earthquake claims 185 lives.
November 8, 2016: Donald Trump is elected the 45th POTUS. Hollywood couldn't have dreamt up this script.
October 13, 2017: A 58 year old celebrates a birthday and wonders whether a 72 year old has made up his mind about who will be New Zealand's 40th Prime Minister? And whether it will indeed be a Black Friday?
