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| Joe at back door of his family home when it was up for sale |
Just learned this afternoon that a childhood friend died yesterday at home*. I say 'childhood friend', but though we first met in 1965 and were friends into adulthood, I stopped having anything to do with him in 1982 as he could no longer be relied on to keep his word. Around 2010 we resumed our friendship, but in the interim he had become an alcoholic and a drug addict, adding those vices to his chain-smoking. I fell out with him again a few years ago as he'd become a bad-tempered, paranoid, surly, unpleasant, rude, irritating individual (too much cannabis) and the occasional fleeting glimpses of the person he'd once been weren't sufficient to enable me to overlook his excesses when they reared their ugly head. His name? Joseph Walter Beattie and he was a year or two younger than me.
We'd lived in the same street in the 1960s and, together with the late Alan Adam Bowie, the three of us comprised 'The Adventurers', a name I'd chosen because of the numerous escapades in which, in the innocence of youth, we became embroiled back when we thought we had forever in front us. Whether Alan or Joe ever applied the appellation to themselves I have no idea, but that's how I envisioned us whenever we were exploring places we had no right to be or were even safe to go or not. Ah, what fun and excitement we had, often escaping the potentially dire consequences of our exploits by the skin of our teeth and living to tell (no doubt with a heavy helping of hyperbole) of our excursions into spectacular situations and scary scenarios. I'll never see days like that again, nor will Alan or Joe.
Perhaps they're both now in a better place, reminiscing about old times and wondering just where their 'leader' is? Given the state of my health these days, who knows - perhaps it won't be very long 'til I join them, but I continue to hope I've got at least another 50 years before that happens. So long, Joe - here's to the person you once were before you fell in with bad company and allowed yourself to be led along the wrong path in life.
******
(*Since first publishing this, I've been advised he actually passed away at home so I've amended the post. He'd been in palliative care, but didn't want to die in hospital so returned home for a short while 'til the Grim Reaper claimed him.)
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| Joe in the living-room of his family home when it went up for sale after his mother died. Incidentally, the Moon photo in the previous post was taken in this house's back garden |
Kid, you clearly hope to live a long life and I hope your wish is fulfilled if that's what you want but would you really want to live into extreme old age if you were suffering from constant ill-health? Being 95 years old and in permanent distress due to chronic health problems doesn't sound like much fun to me. My parents died aged 71 and 77 and I'm rather relieved they avoided extreme old age.
ReplyDeleteI'm near-enough suffering constant ill-health at the moment, CJ, and have been for some time. As long as I still have my hair, my teeth, my astounding good looks (and my sense of humour), as well as my hearing and mental faculties, yes, I'd like to live to extreme old age. In fact, scratch that - I'd like to live forever.
DeleteSometimes it's better to say nothing than to post a 'tribute' where you tell all and sundry a man's personal demons.
ReplyDeleteI didn't describe this as a 'tribute', it's merely an acknowledgement of his death and certain aspects of his life that led him to it, in the hope that others might learn from his mistakes. Sometimes it's better to say nothing than to submit a comment where you reveal your own lack of insight.
DeleteI wouldn't like to live forever as the world appears to get worse as time goes on. I was thinking the other day that I would like to have been born in 1931. I would have missed WWI, been too young to be sent to WWII, would have lived through the birth of The Dandy, Beano, Superman, Batman and all other comics and superheroes. I would have seen Elvis and The Beatles appear and been around for 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s music. I would have seen the beginning of Doctor Who and all the great films and TV from the 30s to the 80s. The only flaw in my plan is that I would have been too old for the great toys of the 70s and 80s. I'd have happily gone in the year 2000. As David Bowie said, the 21st Century is a great disappointment.
ReplyDeleteWhen you get down to it, M, life itself - whatever age we're born in - can often be a great disappointment. Personally, I'm glad I was born when I was, because I got to see all those great toys you speak of - and actually own some of them as well.
DeleteMy mother was born in 1932 so only just missed Monty's ideal birth year.
ReplyDeleteIt's not too far out, CJ, so we'll give her an honorary inclusion.
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