13 July 2010

Better Off Ned

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Ned Williamson, passed away July 13, 2006. A very dark day for so many people. http://nedwilliamson.tributeforyou.com/

He passed away the day before my 40th birthday. He and I had a lot of hilarious banter about my pending Big-Four-Oh (esp since he had just only turned 36) and his absence, the lack of his snark...   was beyond deafening. I now go through a bittersweet annual ritual of mourning one life and then celebrating another.

We were at a wedding w/a gaggle of friends who glommed onto the fact my father's name was Ned too. From there on, I became "Ned Jr." or "Junior" for short. The surname that stuck like glue. Amen.

This was Lucy's (aka Mrs. Ned) homage to Ned at his service, and it's still spot on:
There Is A Light that Never Goes Out
by The Smiths

You all hear me say this often, "Life is not a dress rehearsal." Show up to play, my friends. Let this be a cautionary tale.

Ned, we miss you. Thank God we have Lucy, Ella, + Charlie.

This song's for you
~Junior

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Take me out tonight
where there's music and there's people
who are young and alive
driving in your car
I never never want to go home
because I haven't got one anymore

Take me out tonight
because I want to see people
and I want to see life
driving in your car
oh please don't drop me home
because it's not my home, it's their home
and I'm welcome no more

And if a double-decker bus
crashes in to us
to die by your side
is such a heavenly way to die
and if a ten ton truck
kills the both of us
to die by your side
well the pleasure, the privilege is mine

Take me out tonight
take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
and in the darkened underpass
I thought Oh God, my chance has come at last
but then a strange fear gripped me
and I just couldn't ask

Take me out tonight
oh take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
driving in your car
I never never want to go home
because I haven't got one
no, I haven't got one

And if a double-decker bus
crashes in to us
to die by your side
is such a heavenly way to die
and if a ten ton truck
kills the both of us
to die by your side
well the pleasure, the privilege is mine

There is a light that never goes out

~ The Smiths  
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4 comments:

  1. Ned was my friend, too. We worked together... or should I say we laughed our heads off and pushed a few papers back and forth. I miss my friend. Thanks for the post. It was nice to have him remembered so beautifully.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was fortunate enough to have come across Ned through volleyball. He was one of the most intensely focused players that I had the pleasure of playing with and competing against. One tournament in particular, The Motherlode in Aspen, CO, still resonates with me today. Ned and I dropped the first match (of a 64-team tournament) and had to claw our way back through a series of gut-wrenching, narrow-margin victories. Although we bowed out of the tournament with a respectable seventh place finish, the more important intangible of that tournament proved to be the time we spent together. Ned played a large part in creating those feelings because of his character, integrity and self-respect.
    Although I have been away from the game for quite some time, I often think of Ned and am grateful for bumping into him before his passing. Ned made a profound impact on me and I am indebted to him for the friendship that we forged together.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was fortunate enough to have come across Ned through volleyball. He was one of the most intensely focused players that I had the pleasure of playing with and competing against. One tournament in particular, The Motherlode in Aspen, CO, still resonates with me today. Ned and I dropped the first match (of a 64-team tournament) and had to claw our way back through a series of gut-wrenching, narrow-margin victories. Although we bowed out of the tournament with a respectable seventh place finish, the more important intangible of that tournament proved to be the time we spent together. Ned played a large part in creating those feelings because of his character, integrity and self-respect.
    Although I have been away from the game for quite some time, I often think of Ned and am grateful for bumping into him before his passing. Ned made a profound impact on me and I am indebted to him for the friendship that we forged together.

    ReplyDelete
  4. what a stud muffin -charlie

    ReplyDelete