DIARY - We used to know......
Date: 2008-12-08 19:00:50
Author: Pat Kent
If the week a couple of weeks ago was odd, then last week was odder still and a lot sadder.
Last week I heard, unexpectedly, that the Mum of one of my closest and oldest friends had died. She was a very, very nice lady and whilst this is probably not the sort of site to formally celebrate a person's life, I have to write something that pays my acknowledgement to someone that I truly respected a great deal.
Mary was a lovely person who went through some very troubled times in her life, but she was from that school of people who just "simply got on with things".
She was Irish by birth and settled in Bermondsey, London to live and raise her family. She also played a sort of surrogate Mum to an awful lot of the rabble that was me and my school chums when we visted our friend, her son, at their home; she was always there with the drinks, food and a kindly smile.
The eulogy read at her funeral service last week told of her times and her troubles and to my mind set against the backdrop of today's "me" culture made me realise how strong this generation of people really were. Not only did they just get on with things they also worked themselves into the ground to better themselves through making opportunities for their children to develop and prosper.
At her funeral service last Friday listening to her eulogy also made me realise how strong and committed my parents were to me and my brother's futures, and I'm in no doubt all the parents of my school contemporaries took the same approach to their children as well. This generation went through some very rough times but they instilled values in their children, making us understand the value of most things as well as the value of ourselves. They also taught the value of our friendships as well, since not everything has a simple monetary equivalent.
They were a generation of people the like of which we may never see again; so for all those parents lost, and for those still around being supported in ill health, I wish the best and say thank you, it was a privilege to be around you and your kind.
Please excuse me, I'm heavily into lyrics and prose at the moment and this seemed as good a set of words as any to express a few feelings.
"Whenever I get to feel this way,
try to find new words to say,
I think about the bad old days
we used to know.
Nights of winter turn me cold -
fears of dying, getting old,
We ran the race and the race was won,
by running slowly,
Could be soon we'll cease to sound,
slowly upstairs, faster down,
Then to revisit stony grounds,
we used to know,
Remembering mornings, shillings spent,
made no sense to leave the bed,
The bad old days they came and went
giving way to fruitful years.
Saving up the birds in hand
while in the bush the others land,
Take what we can before the man
says it's time to go.
Each to his own way I'll go mine.
best of luck with what you find.
But for your own sake remember times
we used to know."
[Ian Anderson]
All the best
Pat Kent
© Pat Kent 2008 – All rights reserved.
Pat Kent exercises his right to be identified as the author