Ric

It was late afternoon, around six, when I checked my phone. There was a voice mail message from Ric. This was strange - Ric would never leave a message, he just wasn't into that kind of thing. If he called and you picked up, then great. He also didn't respond to texts. So you had to call and not leave a message if he didn't answer. Ric was like the dad I never had.

We met when he was living with his daughter and her family who were my next door neighbours. The whole family were salt of the earth. Apart from the daughter's husband - Ric and I shared a common dislike of him. Ric's granddaughter Ellie (two at the time) would climb our boundary fence and creep into our house through the dog door when we were sleeping in.

My partner and I bought an almost derelict house in another suburb in the hills. I could see the potential. It needed re-roofing, re-stumping, re-wiring, re-plumbing, re-gyprocking, a new bathroom, a new kitchen, and was basically a mess. I bought the house because when I went to look at it, a barn owl was in a large gnarly gum tree smack bang in the middle of the back yard. It only stayed a few seconds. I like being visited by owls.

Ric was an "I can do anything" man. Electrician by trade, he had built and renovated several houses. He took it upon himself to take command of our renovation. My partner and I were both working full time and I was pregnant. Ric would be at our house every weekend at seven am and rouse us into sleepy action. "Come on you lot. Get out of bed. Yer missing the best part of the day". My partner was not happy. Neither was I when he made me climb on my bulging belly through a small gap in the roof to install lighting.

Don't mistake me. We were incredibly grateful to have this man at our side, directing, bossing, cursing at us and always not shy to tell us what we were doing wrong. When it came to the gyprocking in the dining room we found that one of the walls was leaning out at about thirty degrees. Ric got a snatch tie and somehow managed to pull the wall back into place. What a man!

Most of the renovation was completed with many small jobs to do that we never got around to. Ric would visit and harrass us: "When are you gunna put the kick boards in the kitchen?"; "Why haven't you built that bookcase yet?"; and "I thought you woulda got around to putting that light shade up by now". This would infuriate my partner but I loved it - "Yeah, yeah Ric. Soon". I'm sure he was thinking, "Soon my arse!".

We loved this man. Every week he would pop in with his dog and we would have a cuppa and a chat. He would tell us stories we had heard before and we would laugh as if this was the first time we were hearing them. Hugs and a kiss on the cheek and he would leave. Once he bought me two boronia plants saying, "I thought the old hag would like them". Thanks Ric.

I was worried about the voice message. Something was wrong. I played it and heard Ric's sister telling me that Ric had died. Numb. Terrified. Grabbed a bottle of white and headed up to his house. Police. Sudden death. Laying in the driveway. Dead. Waiting for the Coroner's contractor to take him away. Tears with his family. I can't lose him, he's like my dad. Took his dog with me for a week before the family came to collect her.

The funeral at his daughter's house was intimate and full of laughter and tears. I read the poem I had written at five am the morning after he died:

A man on a boat with dreams and ideas

Floating and fishing and having some beers

Landing a big coral trout on his lap

Satisfied he goes home for a nap.

Before going out to catch mud crabs galore

Wading around the warm water shore

At home, tipping out the crabs on the ground

Dodging and laughing as they run around.

Into the ute with the dog, his best mate

Off to the shop to buy food for his plate

What will it be? Steak and three or a chop?

Of course he won't eat any crap foreign slop.

Go overseas? No way, no fear!

You would have to drag him by his right ear

He'd rather explore the north of the state

Or the south, or maybe the eastern gate

Shorts, work shirt, thongs his attire

Ready to work on electrical wire

He will give anything a really good go

Especially for those he loves and he knows.

Building, fixing, creating all day

Giving to all in his own special way

Don't think YOU know how to do it the best

He'll tell you it's his 'til your ears need a rest.

Such love for his family so deep in his heart

He will do all to give them a start

And not just a start, for the rest of his life

Without him we all know we would be in strife

He has his opinions and will share them with all

Telling his jokes (we have heard them before)

He has stories and tales from a life lived grand

Yet simple too, as we all know first-hand

His daughters, grand-babies, sisters brothers and friends

And the rest of his people he has loved 'til the end

Despite that he has, on us all, played a trick

We love you and always will, Our Ric.

We left the funeral early. When we got home I made myself a cuppa, rolled a cigarette and sat on the deck. And there was the barn owl. In the same tree, on the same branch. This time he stayed with me for over an hour. You can guess why I call him a 'he'.