I haven’t posted much on this site but have spent a lot of time reading and enjoying the writings of others.
I have a story I feel compelled to relate about a person I like and admire immensely and I have a feeling you guys will appreciate it and understand where I’m coming from.
I hasten to add, this isn’t an obituary. My friend Geoff is alive and kicking. It’s more of a tribute to his and his wife’s spirit.
On the weekend of February 7th last year, the state of Victoria here in Australia suffered horrendous bushfires in which 173 people perished. The date was later to become known as Black Saturday. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Saturday_bushfires
Shortly after that I posted the following about Geoff on Matt’s JEM site:
A very good friend of mine.....who I also work with, has a property of about 25 acres at Buxton which is a few miles north west of Marysville (one of the small townships obliterated by this fire). He and his wife are both in their sixties and go there every weekend.
They've built a beautiful house and will eventually retire there. They were both born and raised in the country and know very well how to prepare their property to minimize the risk of being destroyed in a bushfire.
As I listened to the reports about the fire on Saturday, I knew it was getting closer and closer to where they were. I sent a txt message to Geoff's mobile phone, wishing him luck and told him to take care. I didn't really expect a reply because I knew he most likely didn't have his phone on and would have been busy making preparations for the fire. I knew he would be one that would make the decision to stay and fight the fire if it approached his house......and so would his wife.
Later in the afternoon, I was hearing Buxton being mentioned a few times in the reports and knew the fires were on them. I sat up most of Saturday night listening to the radio and watching the incident updates on the Country Fire Authority website for any mention of Buxton. Much of Sunday was spent doing the same thing.
On the evening news there was aerial footage of Marysville and to my horror some footage of Buxton which, while more spread out than Marysville looked similarly devastated.
I couldn't wait any longer and tried ringing Geoff's mobile phone. It went straight to his message service so no relief there.......
But I left a message saying I hoped he was ok and wishing there was something I could do to help…….and to please call me back if he got chance.
I knew if he was ok he’d still be very busy either trying to save his house or out helping someone else. The fire front had passed Buxton but the winds were fickle and no where was safe.
On Monday morning my phone rang. The display showed a number I didn't recognise but when I answered it there was Geoff…….
“G’day lad”, he said.
“Geeeezzz Geoff!!!! How are you mate?
“Yes. We’re alright. I tried calling earlier and texting but nothing was getting out and now my battery is dead so I’m using Jill’s phone. Didn’t know if it’d get through but it has this time”.
“….And the house”? I asked.
“Yes it's ok…….we lost everything except the house, the car and the veggie patch. The sheds are gone. The tractor, the caravan, the fences, the trees…..all gone. But we’re ok.”
We talked for a bit longer. Geoff said he’d never seen a fire move as quickly as this one did. They’d seen the glow and smoke behind the ridge between them and Marysville…
Then when the flames appeared at the top of the ridge he’d said to Jill they’d better start the pump…..
They had a feed from their dam to sprinklers around the house. The dam was very low because of the drought so they didn’t know if there’d be enough water….but it was all they had.
Geoff said he’d hardly got the pump started when the fire had swept down the side of the ridge…..a ball of fire 20 or 30 meters high. It covered a distance of about half a mile from the foot of the ridge to the far corner of their land in a minute.
The sprinklers had just started and they had got into the house and sealed the door gaps with wet towels as it consumed their sheds and trees and swept across the dry stubble of pasture and up the small rise to their house.
In seconds the house was surrounded by flame and they moved from room to room checking the windows and doors for a breach. The smoke alarms inside the house began shrieking as smoke found its way into the house. The noise just penetrating through the deafening roar of the fire.
They’d already lost power to the house so in the semi gloom caused by the dark smoke outside competing with the glow of the fire, their two panicking dogs were barking and whining and cowering in any corner they could find.
The water from the sprinkler was vaporising as soon as it left the jets and the aluminium housings for the, now sealed, vents into the house melted.
After the front had passed they went out and began dousing the remaining fire and clearing debris from around the house.
They worked all night moving progressively further out from the house and restoring a buffer between it and anything that could flair up and threaten the house again.
Their work continued all of Sunday, including putting out smoldering fence post which continually re-ignited because of the intense core temperature they held after the fire.
By Monday the work wasn’t finished but they couldn’t have left anyway because the roads out in both directions were blocked by trees and debris from the fire.
I said to Geoff to take it easy….they had to rest. The main danger had passed for them by then. He said he would and they’d get out as soon as the roads were clear….. They wanted to get home and have a shower and a sleep.
The battery on Jill’s phone was nearly gone too so he said he’d be back in touch when he could.
I got another phone call from him tonight
“G’day lad”
“G’day Geoff. How are you?
“Oh…….not bad”
“You sure”?
“Yeah…..well actually, I’m in hospital”.
“Ok…..what’ve you done to yourself”?
“Oh, I was clearing some rubbish down at the front of the block and started getting some pretty severe chest pains……….Jill bundled me into the car and got me to hospital…..fortunately the roads are open again”.
“They’ve checked me out and reckon I’m alright” They’ve got me wired for sound now and I’ve got to stay here ‘till tomorrow".
I said. “Well mate, I reckon the stress, fear and exhaustion have just caught up with you...and the adrenalin you were running on has run out”.
He said I was probably right and not to worry about him….he’ll be ok.
He said, anyway he had to be…….there was “still a lot of work to do next weekend”!!!
…….I like Geoff.
Well, Geoff and Jill continued the hard work of restoring their little piece of paradise but as time passed they both went through rough patches of emotional exhaustion, even bordering on depression. By nature they’re hard workers and always have been. I suspected at times however that the relentless toil of going up to their land in Buxton each weekend and working, literally from dawn to dusk had become a way of distracting them from the trauma they’d been through.
They’d lost a number of friends to the fires and the devastated landscape was a constant reminder not only of that but also of how lucky they’d been.
I spent many lunch-times at work, listening as Geoff told me how different it felt there and that Jill particularly seemed unsettled and terrified at the prospect of going through the next summer bush fire season.
He admitted that he was, at times, finding it physically hard to do some of the work and Jill had been “pestering” him about selling up. But Geoff had been working towards retiring to this house for many years and found it hard to give up the dream. His retirement was tentatively planned for the end of this year….. “Or maybe next year”. It was causing quite a problem between them.
Then, quite suddenly, Geoff’s health showed definite signs of deteriorating…..or to be more accurate, not so much his health as his fitness. He tired very quickly at work He confessed that he’d been aware of it for a lot longer than anyone else had. He finally conceded that he’d better get checked out.
The result was that he was found to be suffering from Cardiomegaly…an enlarged heart and had been for a long time.
Stress tests showed his heart function was just 18% and his doctor said he didn’t know how Geoff hadn’t “keeled over by now”..!
He began treatment and with his usual good humour, took it all in his stride and was confident he’d be back to full strength (for his age) in no time.
During this time he suffered another set back, the death of his beloved Kelpie dog, Pip. She was run over by a car in the driveway of the Buxton property.
Friends arriving to visit Geoff and Jill were making their way up the winding driveway and Pip, as she always did, was excitedly chasing their car to the house. She’d done the same thing hundreds of times but by some cruel twist of fate she misjudged the last tight turn of the car to the house and……..
Geoff seemed to me, more effected by this than anything he’d been through.
Life however, was set to throw yet another challenge his way.
About eight weeks ago he was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. We all held our breath as tests were carried out to find if cancer was anywhere else in his body. He was told that, in his case, if there was there would be nothing they could do and he might have as little as a few months left.
I tell you, this bloke just kept walking through the gate at work, putting his head down and tail up working….and spent as much time down- playing the ordeal and reassuring the people around him that he’d be ok.
The results came back and there was no indication of cancer other than in the esophagus.
The operation to be performed was complex and expected to take about 5 to 6 hours.(it ended up taking 8 hours) It was one of the most challenging types of major surgery according to his doctor and surgeon. It required the removal of the diseased section and attachment of an artificial valve and involved significant rearrangement of the position of the stomach, etc. Relatively dangerous and he was facing up to 12 months recovery before he even came close to feeling “normal” again.
I spent lunch times (and more than a few unofficial breaks) with him listening as he quietly spoke about how he was feeling.
Ironically, I had to go overseas on family related business the day he went into the operating theatre…..that wasn’t easy, I can tell you.
I was able to keep in touch by email with the other people at work and got almost daily updates on Geoff’s progress.
He came through the operation well…in no small part, thanks to the amazing people at the Royal Melbourne Hospital…. and was, according to a couple of girls at work who visited him after he was out of intensive care, sitting up in bed giving them cheek already!
I visited him at home when I came back to Melbourne…about four weeks after his operation and was amazed at how good he looked, although frail and slow moving. Jill has brought forward her retirement to nurse him back. He gave me lunch and we talked for a couple of hours until he tired.
I asked him what his plans were now that it was over with.
He grinned and said…..”Well, I won’t be coming back to work…..I think it’s time I retired”
“Where to”, I asked.
He said he thought Jill was probably right. Buxton probably was too much work now.
They’ve decided to sell and buy a place in a little town about 20 minutes further up the road from Buxton and near to where his daughter and her family lives.
“Maybe an acre of land. I can have a nice garden and grow a few veggies…..and not wear myself out”
He said Jill will feel more secure in town too. “Easier to be safe if a fire comes again….and we’ll be near a hospital…..she’s convinced I’m going to croak on her”.
I said I thought he’d made the right decision.
Why am I writing this? I guess I just wanted to tell his story. I know most people face tough times and all sorts of challenges to test their mettle. But I look at what these two have been through in the space of less than 18 months….and I’m in awe at their resilience. At the way they’ve carried themselves. Particularly Geoff’s ability to laugh and the energy he puts into making sure other people’s concerns are allayed.
I only met Geoff about 8 years ago but instantly formed a strong friendship.
I felt very early on that here was someone with qualities I’d admire and be inspired by. I think the last year and a half has proven I was right
I’m hoping life starts to be a bit easier for Geoff and, provided he gets his strength back and I’m confident he can manage it safely, I’m planning on building him one of Matt’s pirogues.
He’s shown a lot of interest in my builds and listened to me expound on the delights of drifting along on quiet water and…..just taking it all in.
I think he deserves a little bit of that particular joy.
I have a story I feel compelled to relate about a person I like and admire immensely and I have a feeling you guys will appreciate it and understand where I’m coming from.
I hasten to add, this isn’t an obituary. My friend Geoff is alive and kicking. It’s more of a tribute to his and his wife’s spirit.
On the weekend of February 7th last year, the state of Victoria here in Australia suffered horrendous bushfires in which 173 people perished. The date was later to become known as Black Saturday. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Saturday_bushfires
Shortly after that I posted the following about Geoff on Matt’s JEM site:
A very good friend of mine.....who I also work with, has a property of about 25 acres at Buxton which is a few miles north west of Marysville (one of the small townships obliterated by this fire). He and his wife are both in their sixties and go there every weekend.
They've built a beautiful house and will eventually retire there. They were both born and raised in the country and know very well how to prepare their property to minimize the risk of being destroyed in a bushfire.
As I listened to the reports about the fire on Saturday, I knew it was getting closer and closer to where they were. I sent a txt message to Geoff's mobile phone, wishing him luck and told him to take care. I didn't really expect a reply because I knew he most likely didn't have his phone on and would have been busy making preparations for the fire. I knew he would be one that would make the decision to stay and fight the fire if it approached his house......and so would his wife.
Later in the afternoon, I was hearing Buxton being mentioned a few times in the reports and knew the fires were on them. I sat up most of Saturday night listening to the radio and watching the incident updates on the Country Fire Authority website for any mention of Buxton. Much of Sunday was spent doing the same thing.
On the evening news there was aerial footage of Marysville and to my horror some footage of Buxton which, while more spread out than Marysville looked similarly devastated.
I couldn't wait any longer and tried ringing Geoff's mobile phone. It went straight to his message service so no relief there.......
But I left a message saying I hoped he was ok and wishing there was something I could do to help…….and to please call me back if he got chance.
I knew if he was ok he’d still be very busy either trying to save his house or out helping someone else. The fire front had passed Buxton but the winds were fickle and no where was safe.
On Monday morning my phone rang. The display showed a number I didn't recognise but when I answered it there was Geoff…….
“G’day lad”, he said.
“Geeeezzz Geoff!!!! How are you mate?
“Yes. We’re alright. I tried calling earlier and texting but nothing was getting out and now my battery is dead so I’m using Jill’s phone. Didn’t know if it’d get through but it has this time”.
“….And the house”? I asked.
“Yes it's ok…….we lost everything except the house, the car and the veggie patch. The sheds are gone. The tractor, the caravan, the fences, the trees…..all gone. But we’re ok.”
We talked for a bit longer. Geoff said he’d never seen a fire move as quickly as this one did. They’d seen the glow and smoke behind the ridge between them and Marysville…
Then when the flames appeared at the top of the ridge he’d said to Jill they’d better start the pump…..
They had a feed from their dam to sprinklers around the house. The dam was very low because of the drought so they didn’t know if there’d be enough water….but it was all they had.
Geoff said he’d hardly got the pump started when the fire had swept down the side of the ridge…..a ball of fire 20 or 30 meters high. It covered a distance of about half a mile from the foot of the ridge to the far corner of their land in a minute.
The sprinklers had just started and they had got into the house and sealed the door gaps with wet towels as it consumed their sheds and trees and swept across the dry stubble of pasture and up the small rise to their house.
In seconds the house was surrounded by flame and they moved from room to room checking the windows and doors for a breach. The smoke alarms inside the house began shrieking as smoke found its way into the house. The noise just penetrating through the deafening roar of the fire.
They’d already lost power to the house so in the semi gloom caused by the dark smoke outside competing with the glow of the fire, their two panicking dogs were barking and whining and cowering in any corner they could find.
The water from the sprinkler was vaporising as soon as it left the jets and the aluminium housings for the, now sealed, vents into the house melted.
After the front had passed they went out and began dousing the remaining fire and clearing debris from around the house.
They worked all night moving progressively further out from the house and restoring a buffer between it and anything that could flair up and threaten the house again.
Their work continued all of Sunday, including putting out smoldering fence post which continually re-ignited because of the intense core temperature they held after the fire.
By Monday the work wasn’t finished but they couldn’t have left anyway because the roads out in both directions were blocked by trees and debris from the fire.
I said to Geoff to take it easy….they had to rest. The main danger had passed for them by then. He said he would and they’d get out as soon as the roads were clear….. They wanted to get home and have a shower and a sleep.
The battery on Jill’s phone was nearly gone too so he said he’d be back in touch when he could.
I got another phone call from him tonight
“G’day lad”
“G’day Geoff. How are you?
“Oh…….not bad”
“You sure”?
“Yeah…..well actually, I’m in hospital”.
“Ok…..what’ve you done to yourself”?
“Oh, I was clearing some rubbish down at the front of the block and started getting some pretty severe chest pains……….Jill bundled me into the car and got me to hospital…..fortunately the roads are open again”.
“They’ve checked me out and reckon I’m alright” They’ve got me wired for sound now and I’ve got to stay here ‘till tomorrow".
I said. “Well mate, I reckon the stress, fear and exhaustion have just caught up with you...and the adrenalin you were running on has run out”.
He said I was probably right and not to worry about him….he’ll be ok.
He said, anyway he had to be…….there was “still a lot of work to do next weekend”!!!
…….I like Geoff.
Well, Geoff and Jill continued the hard work of restoring their little piece of paradise but as time passed they both went through rough patches of emotional exhaustion, even bordering on depression. By nature they’re hard workers and always have been. I suspected at times however that the relentless toil of going up to their land in Buxton each weekend and working, literally from dawn to dusk had become a way of distracting them from the trauma they’d been through.
They’d lost a number of friends to the fires and the devastated landscape was a constant reminder not only of that but also of how lucky they’d been.
I spent many lunch-times at work, listening as Geoff told me how different it felt there and that Jill particularly seemed unsettled and terrified at the prospect of going through the next summer bush fire season.
He admitted that he was, at times, finding it physically hard to do some of the work and Jill had been “pestering” him about selling up. But Geoff had been working towards retiring to this house for many years and found it hard to give up the dream. His retirement was tentatively planned for the end of this year….. “Or maybe next year”. It was causing quite a problem between them.
Then, quite suddenly, Geoff’s health showed definite signs of deteriorating…..or to be more accurate, not so much his health as his fitness. He tired very quickly at work He confessed that he’d been aware of it for a lot longer than anyone else had. He finally conceded that he’d better get checked out.
The result was that he was found to be suffering from Cardiomegaly…an enlarged heart and had been for a long time.
Stress tests showed his heart function was just 18% and his doctor said he didn’t know how Geoff hadn’t “keeled over by now”..!
He began treatment and with his usual good humour, took it all in his stride and was confident he’d be back to full strength (for his age) in no time.
During this time he suffered another set back, the death of his beloved Kelpie dog, Pip. She was run over by a car in the driveway of the Buxton property.
Friends arriving to visit Geoff and Jill were making their way up the winding driveway and Pip, as she always did, was excitedly chasing their car to the house. She’d done the same thing hundreds of times but by some cruel twist of fate she misjudged the last tight turn of the car to the house and……..
Geoff seemed to me, more effected by this than anything he’d been through.
Life however, was set to throw yet another challenge his way.
About eight weeks ago he was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. We all held our breath as tests were carried out to find if cancer was anywhere else in his body. He was told that, in his case, if there was there would be nothing they could do and he might have as little as a few months left.
I tell you, this bloke just kept walking through the gate at work, putting his head down and tail up working….and spent as much time down- playing the ordeal and reassuring the people around him that he’d be ok.
The results came back and there was no indication of cancer other than in the esophagus.
The operation to be performed was complex and expected to take about 5 to 6 hours.(it ended up taking 8 hours) It was one of the most challenging types of major surgery according to his doctor and surgeon. It required the removal of the diseased section and attachment of an artificial valve and involved significant rearrangement of the position of the stomach, etc. Relatively dangerous and he was facing up to 12 months recovery before he even came close to feeling “normal” again.
I spent lunch times (and more than a few unofficial breaks) with him listening as he quietly spoke about how he was feeling.
Ironically, I had to go overseas on family related business the day he went into the operating theatre…..that wasn’t easy, I can tell you.
I was able to keep in touch by email with the other people at work and got almost daily updates on Geoff’s progress.
He came through the operation well…in no small part, thanks to the amazing people at the Royal Melbourne Hospital…. and was, according to a couple of girls at work who visited him after he was out of intensive care, sitting up in bed giving them cheek already!
I visited him at home when I came back to Melbourne…about four weeks after his operation and was amazed at how good he looked, although frail and slow moving. Jill has brought forward her retirement to nurse him back. He gave me lunch and we talked for a couple of hours until he tired.
I asked him what his plans were now that it was over with.
He grinned and said…..”Well, I won’t be coming back to work…..I think it’s time I retired”
“Where to”, I asked.
He said he thought Jill was probably right. Buxton probably was too much work now.
They’ve decided to sell and buy a place in a little town about 20 minutes further up the road from Buxton and near to where his daughter and her family lives.
“Maybe an acre of land. I can have a nice garden and grow a few veggies…..and not wear myself out”
He said Jill will feel more secure in town too. “Easier to be safe if a fire comes again….and we’ll be near a hospital…..she’s convinced I’m going to croak on her”.
I said I thought he’d made the right decision.
Why am I writing this? I guess I just wanted to tell his story. I know most people face tough times and all sorts of challenges to test their mettle. But I look at what these two have been through in the space of less than 18 months….and I’m in awe at their resilience. At the way they’ve carried themselves. Particularly Geoff’s ability to laugh and the energy he puts into making sure other people’s concerns are allayed.
I only met Geoff about 8 years ago but instantly formed a strong friendship.
I felt very early on that here was someone with qualities I’d admire and be inspired by. I think the last year and a half has proven I was right
I’m hoping life starts to be a bit easier for Geoff and, provided he gets his strength back and I’m confident he can manage it safely, I’m planning on building him one of Matt’s pirogues.
He’s shown a lot of interest in my builds and listened to me expound on the delights of drifting along on quiet water and…..just taking it all in.
I think he deserves a little bit of that particular joy.
