David H Hunter - Biography, introduction

THE MOVING FINGER WRITES AND HAVING WRIT,

MOVES ON: NOR ALL THY PIETY OR WIT

SHALL LURE IT BACK TO CANCEL HALF A LINE,

NOR ALL THY TEARS WASH OUT A WORD OF IT

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam - verse 50 (C1100) (Translation: Edward Fitzgerald)

Photo of the author taken May, 1998

Introduction:

To the casual observer the idea of a private individual who is not a public figure writing a memoir seems the ultimate in pretension!

The inspiration for this tome came to me after reading part of an autobiography written by Henry Adams at the turn of the 20th century who named his "The education of Henry Adams". This was not only the story of his life it was also his philosophy and to some extent the story of his recent ancestry in as far as he personally knew people like his grandparents and even his great grandfather.

It was therefore not just a dry chronology of his life and achievements it was an insight into his thoughts and the influences which created the individual.

While I have no pretensions to a great life story, we all have a unique history and hopefully my story will be an interesting read.

The story is also to some extent the story of the various relations I came in contact with as I saw them. The section about the farm for example; is a look at the Hunter family and how they all helped my dad when he settled there and cleared the land. All the black and white photos were taken by the family on their visits to see the two brothers working the land in the period before the WWII. My memories of my visit to the farm are all depicted through those photos.

In quoting a poem from the Rubiat as a preface to my story, I would like the reader to ponder the question of fate ( or "kismet") Is our path in life pre-ordained? - is all of it made up of the decisions we make; or is some of it inevitable.

The paths we take in life can be perpetually analysed and we can spend much of our time bemoaning the decisions or situations that have happened to us.

As the poem points out; we cannot change the past. All the worrying in the world will not change an iota of what has happened. That is not to say that we are not able to makes amends for some hurts which we have inflicted on others or carry out plans we have delayed, but our course in life is set in many cases and in fact time is usually our greatest enemy.

When you are young you see the future as a long road ahead and perhaps a decision today may be reversed when you seem to have both the time and opportunity to make the necessary changes that are required. In middle and at later ages of your life the opportunities diminish and eventually disappear.

Now that I am in my 60th year I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the past and while time is beginning to run out perhaps there is space left to consider and perhaps make plans to do some of the things which I would have liked to do.

I now leave it to you, the reader to make of my story what you will.....

David Hunter June, 2000

It is not to be reproduced or copied in any way all or in part, either written, electronically, photocopy or otherwise without the permission of the author and when such permission is given full acknowledgement of the author and source must be stated.

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