Page 53 - My Memoirs - Max Kurz

1990-2000 At the Halfway Point of my Life (maybe!)
My fiftieth year, unbelievable so much time and water had passed under the bridge. The memories, the experiences, the present and now the future. On my fiftieth birthday I was taken to a music restaurant in the inner-city area by Niccla and Wayne and noticed a poster promoting salsa dancing by Jose Prates. I enquired and attended his class. As a result, I became hooked on salsa and South American dancing and rhythm. It became an integral part of my life dancing 3-4 days per week, 4-5 hours at a time plus social dancing. I developed a whole new network of friendships, as well as an improved physical and mental state of health. I discovered that I possessed musicality therefore I found dancing came naturally. I had enjoyed dancing and the music from the fifties when I was in my teens but from there on in, it all went on hold until re-discovery in the nineties. South American and Argentinean Tango rhythm (which evolved for me later in the 2000s) became addictive.
Life in the nineties was about work, dancing, fishing, family, and social activities. Not to mention becoming a grandfather to Kayla born 1990, Jacob born 1992, Ariel born 1995 and Tommy born 1997.
1991 saw the dawn wedding for Wayne and Niccla which was picture perfect and a beautiful event. They became partners in life and work. They are both enterprising, risk takers and hard workers all of which paid dividends. It was not without its difficulties, nevertheless they succeeded. I participated with them in joint ventures firstly in a deli café in Belrose then onto a café in Waterloo, from there into a cake baking business known as Mondo Kitchen which commenced in 1995 and remains in their ownership as at today’s date. Somewhere in between Wayne tried his hand in other business enterprises i.e. furniture removals, cleaning companies etc. All this evolved from a butcher’s apprenticeship which set him on the pathway in business. He cut his teeth the hard way, learning from his experiences, anxiously wanting to prove his worth both to himself and his family, and to that end, he succeeded.
Wayne and Niccla can take pride in spending 30 years together; they are both devoted parents and to each other. Niccla has been and still is the glue that keeps this family together, she has been integral to our family. The irony is that she at her own election converted to Judaism and took on all the traditions inherent in
53