Life in a year full of Saturdays: Belgrade

Monday, August 31, 2015

Western Europe - Keep calm and drive on tour

BELGRADE

01 SEP - 14 SEP 2015

Sometimes you know the mistake you've made even before you make it. You can read the lay of the land, the pitfalls, the hassle, the trouble. I knew, the moment we drove out of Belgrade that this road trip was going to be a lot of pain for a little gain.

Originally the idea of this road trip was just going to be a cruisy Summer vacation undertaken by my cousin and I. With him it would at least have only been one person. I know how he operates, what he doesn't like to do and what he can handle. With just him things would on this trip would have been alright. Somewhere along the line my aunt and my mother decided to change their plans to spend a couple weeks in the Greek sun in order to spend a few weeks with us road tripping...sigh...that's two 70 year old women that are nice in their own space, where things are comfortable, but, when things become even a little difficult, well, that's where 'stress management' comes into play

So now, in the tradition of all my other kick-off write-ups such as Life in a year full of Saturdays, the wing and a prayer tour, Don't call this a comeback, 43: The tour of awesome, Argentina - the two timer tour and trienta y cuarenta - the tour of never say never, I now bring the tour of Western Europe - 'Keep calm and drive on'.

This was to be a two week driving tour of Western Europe. I had my doubts as to how this would play out, but still, we went with it. This is how things unfolded.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Sydney: All the easy shots down the line - this one is for you dad

Sydney (Australia)
23 December 2014

Yesterday I saw your car parked outside of the house and for a split second, before my brain allowed me to truly remember, I got excited because I thought you were home, and then when I realised what I'd done, I tried to hold onto that feeling of you still being with us for a few seconds longer. I took those few seconds for all they were worth.

I still have the 2014 World Cup chart pinned up on the wall next to my desk, it gives me a chance to assign a day, time and place to the games that we watched. That was our thing. Waking up at 3am, making coffee, watching Australia play or watching any world cup match that we thought might be interesting. Sometimes I'd dose through the second half of games but I'd try and hide it from you, I'm sure that you knew I was sleeping, even when you would ask 'Henry, are you watching?'.

I hated hearing the racing channel blaring at anytime. I couldn't stand the sound of live race calls, but now I wish there was a reason for me to hear it again other than it allowing for me to remember you in my mind. I watch games of football and I know I lack the insight and intuition that you had to be able to analyse a game and see events before they happened. I never quite understood how you were able to do that, but you could do it, just as in the same manner you were able to read the character of a person so much faster than anyone else.

Now I look at photos and can't seem to reconcile the images of you smiling as you sailed on past Notre Dame, or the surprise on your face when I met you in Paris, with the memory of you. For now you exist for me in memory and in spirit, and whilst I'm thankful for all the great memories I have of you I would much rather be talking to you about them rather than thinking of them in order to give context to such a great person that was you, my dad.

So now, I leave this. Times that we shared whilst travelling. I was lucky enough to have had some fabulous moments with you in the last few years and they will stay with me for the rest of my life. This last journey however is one that you must do on your own and I hope that wherever your destination is that you have a chance to sit back, watch a game or two and back a winner. Let me just say that for right here and now, the space that you left is enormous and I miss you being in it, maybe we'll meet somewhere and sometime else, maybe not, but for the last 39yrs you were fantastic person and I feel more than lucky to have had a father like you.