Ode To A Friend

I went to the funeral of a friend today. He was 95 years old when he died last week. I don't know too many people in the 90s, so he has a special place in my heart, if only for his age. 

He was a genuinely lovely bloke, who will be missed by his family and by anyone who truly knew him. I had the pleasure of singing with him many years ago in a choir we were both in, and even back then he struck me as someone who truly loved his life. 

There are larrikins in this world, and there are people who have fun, and then there is my friend. He never struck me as a trouble maker, never made fun at other people's expense. He just truly enjoyed his life. He also taught me to enjoy my own (something I am wont to forget sometimes, when life gets me down).

Thank you, dear friend, for all the laughs you gave us, for the smiles you brought to people's faces over the 9 decades you graced this planet. But thank you mostly for teaching us to value our lives, and to find joy in every waking moment.

Goodbye fellow chorister. You will be missed.

Rainy sort of day

This past month and a half, we've had no real rain to speak of here in the South East of Queensland, but today that all changed. 

I woke up to dark, foreboding skies, and drizzling rain, not to mention somewhat colder temperatures than we've had this past week.

I like rainy days. They are the sort of days that call to you to curl up in a rocking chair with a good book, or bludge on the couch, catching up on whatever is on the television, or just plain surfing the 'net. Today I did the latter, for the most part - when I wasn't trying to convince my dog that he really won't melt if he goes out in the rain for a pee. He's such a sook at times. He's never been keen on water in any form, particularly, but the "great big scary stuff that falls from the sky" is a major contender for him trying to convince me that he really can hold it in until the sun comes out again!

My remaining cats are still finding it hard to deal with the loss of 'She Who Must Be Obeyed'. They seem rudderless without their leader, and I have to admit that I feel much the same way, most of the time, now that she isn't here anymore. Poor 'Mr Vampire Teeth' has turned into a complete Mummy's boy, and lets the younger 'Velcro Twins' beat him up now, eat all his food, and basically treat him as though he's not part of the group. I'm worried about him. He needs his human Mum a lot more just at the moment, for serious amounts of sooking, though the 'Velcro Twins' have grown up with my old cat, and are also not coping with the loss of their 'other Mum'. The world seems a quieter, sadder place just now.

:(