Vale Mick.

My last post was about absent friends. And three days later another old friend, Mick, joined them.

His lovely wife very kindly sent me a message letting me know he had passed peacefully in his sleep following a battle with cancer.

I first met Mick around 25 years ago. I became a member of the ASV (Astronomical Society of Victoria) through another friend, and started spending weekends out at the dark sky site. One evening, I met Mick. It was a quiet night with only a few of us out there. Mick introduced himself, showed me something through his scope, and offered me a drink. We spent the night observing, chatting and laughing. We got on well - music, humour and the stars, and we became firm friends quickly.

Many evenings were spent stargazing with Mick. We even hung out sometimes away from the dark sky field. Mick built my first telescope for me - a beautiful device nicknamed Woodstock - which I loved and used a lot. 

Sometimes we were the only two on the field, and those evenings were special. We would play some music while we observed, usually acoustic albums, (I introduced him to Neil Young) and just talk about our lives. We often spoke about our inner feelings and emotions, things we never spoke about to others.

Over the years I started drifting away from the ASV for a number of reasons, and Mick and I saw each other less frequently. Mick didn't do social media at all, and so when I moved here to the UK we lost touch, apart from a few second hand messages sent to me via his wife.

Mick means a lot to me. I cannot think of one instance where we argued or had a disagreement. Ever. I only remember talking, laughing and stargazing. Especially the laughing - we did that a lot.

I send much to love to Ree and their sons.

You will be missed Mick, as you walk beyond the stars.

Absent Friends.

A couple of years ago, in quite a short time, I lost three good friends to various illnesses and diseases.  Although I knew they were all seriously ill, only one of them was expected.  But even that was sooner than we had all thought.

My other two friends had given me reason to believe they were improving, and that everything was going to be fine. It turns out one was mistaken, the other was simply keeping it all to himself.

I miss them. I think of them often, and wish that they were around so we could hang out and chat.

Since their passing, I have dreamed of each of them. And each of these dreams was meaningful and personal.  They indicated things to me that were deeper than a normal dream. There are some who would suggest these might even be messages from beyond - at least in two of those dreams.

Recently there have been some situations in my life which one of my friends would have loved. These events were right up his alley, so to speak. And I know he would have been overjoyed to discuss them at length. And I wish he were around for us to do that.

My best friend is back in Australia, and I wish I could spend time talking to her - just like we used to on oh so many occasions.  Cos these events are also something she would be deeply interested in.

Hopefully she'll come to the UK to visit again soon. Til then, I'll just have to reflect and ponder.

And raise a glass to absent friends.

Connections and Re-connections.

I recently reconnected with a community with whom I had lost touch. Good people all, with shared interests and similar values. But for a number of reasons, I was no longer in contact.

Last month, I decided I needed to reconnect, and so I reached out to a couple of them. Boy, am I glad that I did!  It has been fantastic, and I have truly realised how much I value their friendship, and all that comes along with that. These are dark times, as we all know, but their mentoring, encouragement and support has really lifted my mood.

I have another, smaller community. A bunch of guys with whom I catch up weekly.  We have a chat, tell tall tales, poke fun at each other, and generally laugh a great deal - all over a couple of pints.

These connections are important. I spend a lot of time working from home, faceless behind a computer screen.  I mostly communicate with others through email and messaging, and so I live a lot inside my own head. I need to be social with others, I need to talk and to learn and to laugh. And to share.

I am grateful for these people, these wonderful people who provide me the opportunities to do so. The calm my mind, bring me inner peace.  And I hope in some small way I contribute to their wellbeing.