Just got back from attending Maxie Pinch’s memorial service. There was a massive crowd there; Max’s workmates from Wollongong Council, his family, many of whom who had travelled a long way to get here and, of course, a huge roll-up of Max’s motorcycling mates.
The minister read a eulogy prepared by Max’s partner, Judy (too distraught to speak in public, understandably) and reminded us again of the fragility of life. It seems so unfair that a guy who had just come back from a 17000km circumnavigation of Australia on his bike, without incident, should die on a short afternoon cruise through the Valley.
I was stunned when the minister then read my tribute to Max, published on this site last Sunday. I was already pretty fragile, so that knocked me a bit but not as much as when they played Rod Stewart singing, “Have I told you lately that I love you?” Not ashamed to say that I shed a tear or two, knowing how close I came to sharing the awful fate that befell Maxie.
Tell people what you think of them and how much you appreciate them while you can – you mightn’t always have the opportunity to do so.