If you met Rick at any age you saw his true character straight away.  He was upbeat, humorous and always the first to help. 

He was happiest in the moment. Enjoying a meal or chatting with family whenever they’d visit. Rick never gave a forward thought to a pension, or a mortgage or to feathering his nest – he just enjoyed each day.

Rick didn’t typically go to the pub with mates or attend many parties, he just flitted from person-to-person, never stopping long and always seemingly having somewhere to go. He didn’t like restaurants – it took too much time and there were so many formalities! But he loved anything Jude cooked and always dashed up to do the dishes. 

 

He rarely watched TV and not at all in his latter years. Youtube documentaries were his favourite pastime, or reading a fact-based book on geology, archaeology, Egyptology or history of some sort. 

Rick knew the names of all the countries – and their capital cities – along with the names of every sea. His memory for numbers was something else. He could recite his health insurance numbers (from both countries), passport number, and the phone numbers of all his main contacts. Sometimes I’d ask him for my number when I had to fill out a form.

 

He loved maps, old & new. Jude had got him a thick atlas for Christmas which he absolutely loved, devouring all the info. We went to Hay-on-Wye a few times, a town with a zillion book stores, and he was in his element – so many books!!   I guess I influenced his choice of the few fiction books he liked: The Illustrated Man, Day of the Triffids, and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  Each of these stories had a healthy dollop of sci-fi which pretty much summed up what he liked to read just for fun. No John Grisham in sight.

 

Rick collected minerals and these were what he asked me to fetch back whenever I travelled overseas. He also loved fossils. Just outside of Cardiff along the shore of the Severn river there are numerous fossils. We’d go to Monknash, Lavernock or Southerndown and he’d be all over the rocks, finding ammonites or whatever. In the cliffs he’d point out the different geological ages. 

His loved his collection of pocket knives - a part of North Ontario attire.  He was fascinated with the craftsmanship and build quality, knowing the types of steel used in the better makes. Both of his grandfathers carried pocket knives and he specifically asked for these as keepsakes when they passed. I found his knife collection by his bedside, both of his grampa’s knives were still there.

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His taste in music was broad and I shared his enjotment of Beck, Soundgarden and Radiohead, while he enjoyed some my fav's such as Jeff Beck and Jethro Tull. He dabled with guitar and bass as guys do. When smartphones came along he turned to photography to explore his creativity, vibrant colours, textures and moody shots being his preference.

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Rick never had much money, but he always got me a funny card and a little something for my birthday, typically a bottle of craft beer or a posh chocolate bar. Perfect. He remembered Jude’s birthdays too, and would pop round with a card and grab a slice of cake before zipping off somewhere.

He took great pride in the way he looked. He cut and styled his own hair, one day in dreadlocks and a beard, the next shaved and smartly styled. You just never knew how he was going to look, but it would have been planned. In his teens he found $20 on the street and chose to invest into green hair dye. Yowzer.

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For clothes he liked mining the charity shops, buying dress jackets and collered shirts. He absolutely loved shoes, especially if they had “squishy souls”. Like quality pocket knives Rick really appreciated quality shoes and he left quite a few pairs in his flat. Some charity shop will now benefit thus completing the circle.

 

He was always drawn to the fringe businesses and the people who owned them, like the local Italian deli in Ottawa’s Little Italy, and the Sri Lankan place downtown. He got to know the people there and similar places in Cardiff where immigrants plied their fledgling trade. He found them earthy and real.

Rick liked quirky humour. He would have been 4 or 5 when he told me a joke; 

“Daddy, do you know what would happen if I had no ears? I couldn’t see – because my hat would fall over my eyes!”

Sometimes he was melancholy, convinced that he was unlikely to marry or have a family. He found it difficult to make close friends simply because his life journey was so different. Yet most times he was happy being on his own and just doing his thing. And the bond between Rick and brother Jeff meant he always had someone he could confide in - without telling Dad.  

 
There wasn’t a violent or confrontational bone in his body. The few times he got into altercations were to come to the defence of someone else. Rick was resolute in taking the straight path, never bending rules for his own benefit, guided by a good moral compass.

 
Clever, witty and easy company, for over 43 years Rick lightly touched many and asked little in return.  

 

That’s the Rick I knew.