Every time I resolve to pay more attention to my virtual life, RL jumps up and smacks. Hard.
It has been an inordinately difficult patch - a few weeks, no months. Not just for me (I wrote about it here).
The person to whom I was alluding, was Shaun: a long time and close friend of mine, and of The Husband's. He died earlier this week.
He had demons and, in some respect, his biggest demon was himself. He never could appreciate himself: smart, kind and generous - to a fault - and when he got going, very, very funny. His biggest flaw: he could never do anything well enough. Or so he thought. He'd often go not just the extra mile, but 500. And then 500 more. And when that was not enough, he was gutted.
I cannot remember the number of times I tried to lift him up out of his own mire. Until he no longer wanted to be lifted. His health issues were an enormous burden. I cannot imagine the weight.
He was a prodigious taker of selfies. Good ones. These are two of the best.
The last, because he also gave The Husband and I our lasting, and special friendship with Selma and Andre. For which I shall be eternally grateful.
I know he lived his life very much in his own terms. This is how I choose to remember him. I also have to believe that his next journey will be a happier one.
PS. This is a somewhat extended version of my tribute to him on Facebook. These are his photographs.
Until next time
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa
Photo: Selma
Post script
I blog here, on Instagram and via WordPress to my own website. I write for love and a living and you'll find out more about that here. Content for the first two, and sometimes the last, cross pollinate
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Original artwork:
I create graphics using partly my own photographs as well as images available freely available on 