Editorial: Workmates show they care

MacKersey Construction is shining a welcome light in this very wintry summer.

Writing a story on its efforts to raise money for a sick workmate (see page 3) was a welcome break from the dire stories I spend most of my time penning from the press benches of our district courts.

Sam Ebbett, by all accounts a keen worker and pleasure to have next to you on the building site, is holed up in Palmerston North Hospital battling the curse of cancer.

While the rest of us were no doubt toasting our good health on Christmas Eve last year, Sam was diagnosed and told his health was not the subject of celebration.

He went straight from Karamu High School into the trade he was born for. His apprenticeship has been cut cruelly short.

By all accounts, the 19-year-old is not responding to treatment.

That's horrendously young.

When I was that age I too was holed up in small room in Palmerston North. My Massey University hostel unit was damp, noisy and smelly. It was such a tiny room I could almost spread my arms out and touch opposite walls. I spent the year in books, fighting the cold, wishing I was back in the Bay's sunshine.

I'm guessing Sam wishes the same.

His workmates have taken to his cause like family members. One, Willie Murdoch, even volunteered to run all the way to Palmerston North to raise money.

Others have been out pounding the pavement training, picking up much needed sponsorship in the meantime.

While this speaks volumes about his generous colleagues, such support also suggests this young man is of huge character. Builders are a stoic bunch - getting them to drop their tool belts on a Saturday to race around a country park is quite the achievement.

So folks, if you're after a bit of fresh air and have a few spare gold coins, head to Pakowhai Country Park at 8am this Saturday and beat the feet.

You'll be subjected to a wealth of builder's crack, but that's a small price to pay.