An indulgence (and if you will, forgive me I’m a bit pissed).
Forty years ago I had a long distance relationship with a wonderful girl who lived in another city. I'd met her while I was knocking around Europe and reconnected when I returned home in late 1980. Unemployment was bad in those days and I was working shifts in factories for **** money. I would scavenge what I could after paying my rent and bills to buy the airfare to fly up to see her every fourth or fifth weekend. And whenever she could she would come down to Melbourne on her semester breaks from Uni for longer stays with me in my flat. It was magical time while it lasted. We floated on air and were devoted to each other. But after a year in a relationship that was treading water, and pressure from her family and friends, she told me she wanted to end it all, and I had to understand why.
That was back in 1982. I found out earlier this year that two years after we broke up she had married and had kids, and that made me smile for a moment. But then I heard that she had died of cancer on this day about ten years ago age 48. I was pretty devastated.
The song that always reminded me of her when I was sitting alone in my flat wishing she was with me was America’s Sister Golden Hair. And I’ve been playing it today, with joy, in loving tribute to the girl that stands at the crossroads of my life. Thanks for making me a better person Sally.