Geography
He may have traveled far, but his is a Brisbane story. Vulture Street runs like a thread through his life. He was born on it, went to school on it, went to church on it (both at St Paul’s Anglican and West End Methodist), married on it and died on it. As Dad passes, so passes the shadow geography of Vulture Street that we all knew so well from his stories.
These themes I have sketched out miss so much. Dad was a man of nooks and crannies, of contradictions and convictions, simple as well as complex.
Bronwyn remembers Dad as:
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“Unconditional love, unconditional support, warmth, surf and sunshine: the safest haven in the world. He was a: writer, raconteur, stargazer, futurist, inventor and original greenie;a surfer, bee keeper and devoted son, husband, father and grandfather.”
For Hélène:
“He taught me that it was fine to screw up and make mistakes, provided you learnt something from it.
“He taught me that if someone holds out their hand to you in friendship or need, you take their hand and welcome them into your life.
“He taught me that everyone has a story worth hearing if you just make the time to listen.
“He gave me the courage to pursue my dreams and the strength to make them reality.
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“He taught me that family and friends enrich our lives in a way that material things never will.”
I had great times with Dad, including time spent carrying his tools, and a couple of fantastic trips on my own with him on ships. For me it’s Dad’s will that finally defines him. As his heart physician said - it was “indomitable”.
As I’ve tried to come to grips with his going, I’ve reached for secular texts. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam - Dad’s favourite - and Tennyson - mine.
For me, the final stanza from Ulysses, a poem about another sailor, of a much less reputable type sums him up:
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in the old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal-temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Good-bye Dad. As you would have said, “Cheer-up. Worse things happen at sea!”
This is an edited version of the eulogy, delivered by Graham Young, on the occasion of his father, Lionel Young's, funeral. Lionel was the major financial benefactor of On Line Opinion.
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