Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Mate, it has been nearly 35 years since we last caught up. Sadly I missed the chance to do that a couple of weeks ago and now deeply regret it.
I remember meeting you on my first day at St Marys Technical School Geelong and was lucky enough to be sitting next to you in most classes during those years. We often got in some trouble at that school. We once or twice received "6 of the best" from the Christian Brothers due to our antics there. You were a funny bugger with a weird sense of humour. You also had a mean (and incredibly accurate) right punch - that we often traded when we were joking about. I remember staying at your place in Geelong on a number of occasions and camping out at an uncleared block of land out past Merideth that your parents owned.
I have been thinking about you a lot over the pass couple of days. It is funny how some things seem to keep coming back: how you called your Dad "Ralph" and how you two sometimes would argue about anything; your interest in the outdoors and adventure; your admiration for your older brother Chris who was a police officer and later found out that that you had a cool sister, Elise. You were also the only person I ever knew that kept rabbits - although in contrast we sometimes went shooting/spotlighting for rabbits and foxes on a Saturday night.
Although you had many friends, you were probably my best mate during those early days at school and certainly the only one I stayed in touch with after I joined the Navy. Many years later I always wondered what happened to you, what you were up to and how you came to live in the US? Sadly, the chance to meet again and discuss all of that is now lost. We had a lot to catch up on old mate.
You were a good friend John. You were a character with character, someone I will never forget.
