The bed bugs were angry, and biting me like crazy.

The air conditioning wasn’t working and the mattress had lumps in it.

When I turned over, I felt another spring in the mattress go ping.

F*ck 😡

I was stuck in a very dodgy Motel 6 out at LAX and it was my very first night in the US of A.

It was also my 33rd birthday.

I knew one other person in the entire country, it was my buddy Kelvin from film school and he was going to pick me up in the morning.

It was a long dark night.

I came to the USA to sniff out a dream. I had written two film scripts while working part-time as a Veterinarian in London.

I had meetings arranged with Bonnie Bruckheimer, the EP of Lord of the Rings, and a possible in at Warner Brothers.

My story never makes sense to anyone in the traditional context.

In the end everything that was promised in the movie business fell apart.

And yet, I’ve always believed that life is short, and that when the blows you should sail with it.

So I have taken loads of risks, chased after all my dreams, been broke more than once.

Have I ever regretted it?

No.

Have I often felt misunderstood or judged in the pursuit of my dreams?

Yes.

The closest I’ve ever come to regret was my first night in America in that motel 6, with the voracious bed bugs and the mattress springs that went ping.

I felt like I was living on the edge of foolishness.

And yet…

When the sun came up and I got moving into my new American life I discovered something else.

Amazing American people.

No where else on earth have I encountered such a profound spirit of optimism.

No where else on earth have I seen such kindness to strangers.

There is a warmth and a sense of adventure that so many Americans carry so very bravely.

It’s the thing I miss the most actually.

I am not living in the USA anymore.

I bought my America-Kiwi kids back home to New Zealand spend time with my elderly mum before she passed in 2023.

They like it here, so I like it here also.

I will always love the American people though.

G.x