Ian Taylor's open letter to Steve Braunias
SATURDAY
Dear Steve,
How are you? Good, I hope.
Here I am on a train to Paris, staring at your 'Secret open letter of Sir Ian Taylor,' which is staring right back at me. I think I'll be the one to blink first. You may be wondering why I'm on a train instead of a plane. Silly me! I thought de Gare meant airport in French. At least there's a seat on the train … and I can see my bag.
SUNDAY
Dear Steve,
Sorry I'm a bit late getting back to you. I got distracted by the obese conspiracy theorist sitting beside me on the train yesterday. All he wanted to talk about was the All Blacks. I tried to change the subject to Jacinda, but he was having none of it. 'Sacre bleu,' he said, 'that was our C team'.
I said, 'You need to have more empathy.' He ordered another wine.
MONDAY
Dear Steve,
I'm finding this open letter harder to write than the ones I send Jacinda, because I suspect you might actually read it. I made a coffee to steady myself. It was terrible. I blame you. I haven't touched coffee in 20 years, but your writing is so persuasive I couldn't help myself.
TUESDAY
Dear Steve,
I'm at my desk in my Airbnb in Paris. My thoughts are still somewhere over New Delhi, wondering how I ended up on a flight to India when I was meant to be heading to Dubai to see if Jacinda's picture was still on the Burj Khalifa. It reminded me how easy it was to end up in odd places trying to get home to New Zealand during those Covid lockdowns.
That thought came back to me when I saw her cover photo at Auckland Airport. Not that I blame Jacinda, of course. I probably just forgot where I was going. I did turn 75 last week and my mind isn't what it used to be.
WEDNESDAY
Dear Steve,
Do you ever get mental blocks when you write? I don't, usually, but today I'm stuck in the middle of my own thoughts. Not the animated ones that come with being founder and managing director of Animation Research Ltd. More wedged between admiration for your craft and mild resentment that you read my mind better than I do.
You gave me a whole new perspective on my letter to Jacinda, one I simply failed to see. I still have no idea how I missed it.
THURSDAY
Dear Steve,
On reflection, rather than another open letter, I think I owe you a drink, or at least a half-decent coffee, assuming we can find one between Tihar Prison and the Koru Lounge.
I might even bring A Different Kind of Power. We can put it on the table between us and stare at the cover together. Sometimes it's better to look at the photo than open the pages.
FRIDAY
Dear Steve,
Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I'm a huge fan of your writing. I never imagined I'd end up the subject of one of your columns.
Thank you for your piece. Thank you for the mischief.
Long may you keep us honest, and just uncomfortable enough.
Yours, not so secretly,
Sir Ian Taylor
PS. Do you think it was possible that when Jacinda said 'Be Kind' she meant that we had to be kind to her for the decisions she was making otherwise we weren't part of the Team of 5 Million, and we would be thrown off the waka? I remember feeling quite wet during Covid.
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