Vale Johnny Boy

John  and Raylene and Lib at Lakes Entrance 2007

Last Thursday was quite a day. A memorial service for John Harkins was held at Dandenong South at 3.30pm. John was married to our friend Raylene, who worked with Lib for twenty odd years at Salisbury House and lived at Emerald until moving to the Peninsula, maybe about five years ago. We shared many happy times and it is hard to believe John is gone. He was 62. He had heart bypass surgery a couple of years ago. John and Raylene broke up some time before that. We kept contact with Raylene but not John which sadly is often the way of it when a marriage splits. No intent on our part, just how it went.

Thursday was also Lib's birthday. I arranged to pick her up at work at 2.30pm or shortly after. Gord and I in Gord's car were a bit late at 2.55. Leaving Berwick I decided not to take the freeway, continuing instead south along the Clyde Rd to pick up Thompsons Rd which would take us across to the Dandy Frankston Rd where the service was to be. I'd had a quick look at the Melways in the morning. I took Glasscocks Rd instead thinking it too went right through. On the Melways 2010 there were two sections of the road marked with broken lines, and I wrongly assumed they'd have been built by now. We became lost in all the new estates where the roads all seem to go around in circles with roundabouts and bollards and fancy light poles everywhere. Not good for the blood pressure.

We arrived at 3.45, 15 minutes late. John's children Nicholas and Emily were giving their tribute and we heard John's sister's eulogy in entirety. The poignant slide show of John's life to the music of Joan Baez and Cat Stevens brought welling tears. John loved music, song and good wine and I don't think any evening in his company passed without him pulling out his guitar and leading a sing along.

The service concluded at about 4.15 and after ten minutes or so afterwards talking to Raylene and family we were on the road at 4.30 as the rain started to fall heavily and the heavy cloud darkened what was left of daylight well before it should. We were entrapped in a massive traffic jam. It took 90 minutes to get from Dandy South to Narre Warren where we had planned to buy Lebonese takeaway for Lib's birthday dinner. Robbie was coming up from Melbourne for the birthday. It was close to 7.30 when we arrived home after picking up Lib's car at Upper Beac.

Almost a five hour round trip from the time Gord and I left home.