AN OLD FRIEND STEPS UP.

During the last twenty-odd years of my triathlon travels I have met and made friends with a great many people who have turned up at various events I've entered.There was,for a time,a large group who I considered very good friends and people who would be part of my life for a long time.Sadly,it seems that as life progresses and priorities change many of those who I have shared so much with over the years have moved on and I am no longer considered a valuable part of their lives.I guess that is the way life is but for some of us who travel through life alone this revalation can come as quite a shock.
It has interested me no end that those who once held my opinions in high regard now choose to dismiss most of what I say as trivial bullshit.I don't know if it's because that some have moved on to supposed respectability and our shared history does not fit in with thier chosen evloutions in life.I was once told by someone in Penticton that the reason many of my old triathlon cohorts no longer wanted to have me around is that is simply I"know too much" about a past which doesn't jive with the present incarnations publicly portrayed by certain individuals who have now gained "respectability".
When a person is struggling to figure out if the next day is worth waking up for they sometimes need for someone to step out of their comfort zone and remind them that they are of value and that their shared history is part of their everyday memories.It doesn't take much.Maybe a phone call,maybe an email-something,anything to be reminded that those shared times were not a valueless and insignificant.I have one such friend and even though I have not seen him for about six years he does still contact me every now and then to see how things are going.
We met here in Cairns in 1991 and he, like me,was a triathlete who was hooked on the idea of travelling the world racing in Ironman events.He sold me his bike and trained me up on how to ride it.We travelled to Canada in 1991 to compete in my first Ironman together.He was on my crew when I won my first Ultraman event we and spent many years hanging out and racing all over the place.As our triathlon life became busier we drifted apart but always remained friends even through the odd argument and disagreement.
It seemed that every time I needed something he was there.In 1999 I needed a new bike for Ultraman and out of the blue he contacted me and had a new frame shipped to me in Penticton just in time for me to win my second Ultraman.Even though he wasn't there he was still part of that weekend.
The following year I was going through my first bout of severe depression and was in all kinds of trouble.I had chucked in my job and isolated myself in my apartment in Surfers Paradise speaking only to the guy at the gas staion on the corner where I bought all my food.It was not long before the money ran low and I was reduced to eating as little as possible in order to get through each day.I would go to the local grocery store and search for the food that they were about to throw out and ask if I could buy it at cheap prices.It wasn't long before they realised my plight and began to let me go through the boxes of vegetables that were about to be put into the dumpster and fill my backpack with food not considered fit for human consumption.
This continued for a couple of months and all purpose had left my life,except for one thing -my training!I trained every day swimming in the surf and running on the beach and those who know me know how much I hate to run.I began to get really,really fit and pushed myself more and more all the time realised finally that if I hurt every day then it meant I was still alive.It really hurt but finally I felt something.
One day I was on the verge of eviction with absolutely no money left and a couple of months behind in the rent.I didn't know what to do so I called my old friend.I didn't know why but something in my subconcious made me call this guy I hadn't spoken to in over a year.He asked what was up and I told him I needed help.I needed money right away.He didn't even stall for a second and asked for my bank details.The money was in the bank the next day,my life turned around.
A couple of years later my new girlfriend and I moved up to Cairns and at his request we moved into his apatment.Sadly he had been diagnosed with cancer the previous year and we arrived at the end of his final round of treatments.He looked a shocking sight and was nothing like the Ironman triathlete who had raced countless events with me over the years.He was sick,really sick.It got to the stage where he just said,"fuck it , no more treatments" and he took off to the UK to essentially die.The thing is he didn't,he thrived and survived his encounter with death.Truly amazing!
Now as I try to figure out if it is worth planning for a future past this season of events he has stepped up again.Like many people I know he has become interested in reading about my travels and was very sad to hear of my accident last year while I was riding to the Deca Ironman.He has emailed me many times telling me how much he thinks what I am doing is great(many of you do) and really hopes one day that his new wife will actually meet the guy he has talked about so much.He thinks my fundraising for Athletes in Kind is a great cause and supports me in my effort but it took an email conversation for me to realise a couple of things.Of all the people that I have met over the years,of all the people I have called friends and shared my life with,of all the people who know me personally,of all the people who tell me my trips are an inspiration, only one (thanks Dave Barstis)had actually donated one solitary cent to my Athletes in Kind cause.NOT ONE CENT!!!!!The eight people who have donated are people who have never met me but think what I'm trying to do is worthy and I thank them but really guys I'm not that much of an ass,bloody hell!!!!!
There are those who have gone above and beyond the call and without Steve and Maria Brown,Neil and Frank from Peach City Runners,my running girls from Penticton and Dave and Claire my year in Penticton last year would have been hell.The odd email from Mori keeps me laughing and in the game of life as well.They made me realise just what friends are worth.I have lost friends along the way and none pains me more than losing Dave Bullock as a confidant but we seem to have taken different paths.Luckily some paths take us back to our true friends and my old mate Lloyd Wallington has done it again.Out of the blue he has sponsored me in the first two events of my epic year this year.Without having to ask he has put forward just under $2,000US of his own money to pay for my entries into the Double Iron in Levis and Ultraman Canada in Penticton.His generosity is amazing and I am thankfull that he is able to show me that in a world that can be shrouded in darkness there are some bright lights out there to show me the way.
Thank you Lloyd,I'll try to make you proud.