Hasbeen,

I am very sorry to hear of your loss. It must be absolutely devastating to finally lose a Mother who has been your nearest and dearest for so many years.

You must take it easy and take care of yourself, it is one day at a time for a long time and I sincerely hope that you have people close to you who can support you as you would support them.

A Poem

Now that I am gone,
remember me with smiles and laughter.
And if you need to cry,
cry with your brother or sister
who walks in grief beside you.
And when you need me,
put your arms around anyone
and give to them what you need to give to me.
There are so many who need so much.
I want to leave you something -
something much better than words or sounds.
Look for me in the people I've known
or helped in some special way.
Let me live in your heart
as well as in your mind.
You can love me most
by letting your love reach out to our loved ones,
by embracing them and living in their love.
Love does not die, people do.
So, when all that's left of me is love,
give me away as best you can.

~ Author unknown

Years after my wonderful father died I still find myself reaching for the phone to call him. He lives on in the love of nature that he bestowed on me and my mind turns to him when I see the sunlight beams of morning and the twinkling stars at night.

I am sure she was as proud of you as you are of her.

Your memories will be strong and everlasting. Travel well, it is one day at a time.

Worth thinking about:

"Abstract

- The lack of an evidence base for formulating men’s health policies means existing programs and practices for men are influenced by prevailing cultural norms concerning men or habitual health service attitudes towards them.

- Factors impeding the development of an effective health policy for men include a preoccupation with limited clinical perspectives (an emphasis on the prostate and erectile dysfunction) and a common assumption that all health problems in men are a result of 'masculinity' and 'men behaving badly'.

- Viewing men’s health in terms of gender and health and the socially constructed differences between men and women is important, but does not provide all the perspectives required for meeting men’s health needs.

- A 'social determinants of health' approach to men’s health would help Australia and Australian medical practitioners move away from policies and practices that perpetuate negative views of men and ignore the complexity of their health problems. The result would be a more evidence-based approach to men’s health policy, and the likelihood of improved health outcomes."

http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/185_08_161006/mac10104_fm.html

Hi CJ, I have a soft spot for the Triumph saloons. You might like this tale from back then. One of the earlier ones, the 2000 got me a banner headline in the Sydney Morning Herald in 64, or 65, I can't remember which now.

I was driving a Hillamn Imp, in the Bathurst 500, [miles back then], & was complaining in the Castrol tent, after practice that the poor little thing could not get over 78 miles/hour down conrod straight. A bit slower than the 145 MPH I was used to in my Brabham. I could not even keep up with the faster cars long enough to "catch a tow".

Max Stewart, a mate I raced Forumlar 2s against, was the Triumph dealer from Orange & was driving a Triumph 2000 in the race. He'd put it on the front row, so it was pretty quick. He must have heard me complaining, but said nothing.

In the race this Triumph 2000 passed me at the top of conrod straight, pulled across in front of me, & slowed to my speed. It took a couple of seconds to realise it was Max, & he was setting up to "give me a tow" [slipstream] down the straight.

He accelerated slowly, allowing me to keep up, & by the flying 1/8Th, where speed was measured, we were doing 107 MPH.

The headline next day was Imp does 107 MPH at Bathurst. I often wondered how many people rushed off & bought one of these flying Imps, & how disappointed they must have been at their top speed, about 30MPH slower than expected.

Of course we, [all Ozies] were superior specimens back then. We must have been, as the law allowed us to drive at any speed we deemed safe. Many Ozies cruised from Sydney to Melbourne or Brisbane, averaging 70, or even 80 miles/hour, & did not have any more accidents than folks do today.

Perhaps some of these lonely men should join a racing pit crew , even if all they did was polish the car. They'd have fun, I'm sure.

Thanks Cornflower. Mum lived in a granny flat, next to my home, for 22 years, after dad died.

Even though she spent the last couple of months in a nursing home near by, I still find myself walking down to her place, to see if she would like a cup of tea, or something. Happens 3 or 4 times a day, which doesn't help much.

Even though dads been gone that long, I still think, quite often, how would dad do this? He was a young man during the depression, & learnt how to do just about everything, but drive that is. He used to frighten me when he even got somewhere near a car.

It's a good thing mum never learnt how to drive, or she could never have traveled with him.

Hasbeen, I was sorry to read about your mum.
My condolences.
How wonderful that you had her with you for so long.
Look after yourself.

Suze.

Hasbeen I wish you all the best through this.

You are probably spot on about pit crews, I've never done that but when circumstances permit I try and be part of an interest group. Thankfully my son is old enough now that has become practical again.

I've got my own shed and would not willingly give it up for occasional supervised access to a communal shed. It's amazing the stresses which can shift to a different place through the act of transforming a chunk of aluminum into a useful part on the lathe. Sheer bliss.

R0bert