By Mark Needham
Recent unfortunate deaths have been among us, as death always is.
I personally am at a time in my life where the death of a parrot/echidna/pheasant/frog, or, as is commonly the case, a poor bloody kangaroo will just about bring me to tears. Animals, unlike humans, are the best part of the life on this planet. Losing a pet cat or dog is one of the hard transitions of life that is brought upon us.
To lead a common thread, as I have often remarked to friends, that it is amazing how, when someone dies, young or old, how terrible it was, and that “Such a Lovely Person” their Godly Behaviour was Sainthood personified.
Me, myself, I have often, nay, always wondered, that the little turd got what they deserved. This always, from a position of absolutely “Not Knowing”, but irrelevant to my thinking or reason. Yep, we have all done it, I reckon, but like my thoughts, regarding the above, chances are that I am WRONG. As I often are.
In particular the venom that was forthcoming from the idealogical opposites, to the recent passing of Bill Leak, a cartoonist and John Clarke a satirist. The descriptions I use, to give these two blokes a job, are open to discussion, and not the intent of my comment here.
I will not make any links to a “differing” blog, as it is most apparent to me, “That, WE do not go there”.
Having observed the reaction to these two top bloke’s passing was an absolute eye opener. From either side of the political spectrum, the wishes from the “Other Team” was as usual on party lines, … ( Shite, I wish I were a wordsmith) and normal. Like a five-year old boy, saying “I don’t like girls” and a five-year old girl saying ” I do not like boys”. It was “script written” expected and delivered, by both boys and girls. You know what I mean. Atypical, vitriolic and disturbing (well, to me).
I call your attention to a past article on The AIMN: ‘Speaking freely of the dead‘. I also recommend your perusal to our comments at the time.
Thing is, having made the comment regarding the “terminology used for the dead, the liturgy” decrying its oft discriminate use, we now find that one of our own has passed away. Suddenly the “liturgy” tends to bite our own arse. This is a point in my own life where I have often found myself. Makes one ask the question of our own fallibility. I mean, I know I am good, but how good, and how often … or not.
We all know when we cock up, but to not appreciate the excellent work from these two blokes, the humour, in your face, bite me, up yours, cop this, slap me down, pull me up and, I would dare say that both fellas would like to say also, “f*ck you”.
They were funny. Often said stuff which was … you know what it was … you know what I mean …
John and Bill were picking away at our foibles, our own castles, our inadequacies, predesposed ideas, our own “Gods”, trying to wake us all up, to what was in fact, bullshit, but was actually reality.
Bullshit was the humour, we laughed at that, but the reality was the funniest or bullshitiest bit of it all, and I should have hoped that we could see, that at the end of the day, it was all we were left with.
Laughter.
John Clarke, Bill Leak, you have left us some wonderful memories of your own acerbic wit, charm and humour.
Thank you.
I am an electrician, not a writer nor academic, give us a bloody go, hey!
I also know, that I can be a proper pain in the arse – sorry about that – but the main problem is that my brain is about 30 letters behind what I am typing. Saying what I mean, and then typing what I’m saying, it is pure chance, that anything comes out even half understandable.
