It’s been a tough week, so no chuckles today.  Besides, there is something else I’d rather talk about.

It was 10 years ago today that we lost Dave.

Dave (he wouldn’t let me call him “Mr. Rutter”) was a unique human being.  He’s the only person I’ve ever met that nobody ever said a bad word about.  People talk of his generosity, his love of sports, friends, and family.  If he had any flaws, they were a secret he took with him.  He was very special.  And he was Jen’s dad.

We didn’t see it coming.  He just went in his sleep.  It was peaceful, but not for us.  To say we are still feeling the effects of his loss would be an understatement.  Jen was a daddy’s girl, a precious princess with a dad who was always willing to go easy when she was bad.  They spoke their own language.  To see the two of them with a plate of chicken wings, talking about sports…I couldn’t even follow what they were on about.  They were best friends.  The phrase “two peas in a pod” was never more applicable.  The hole he left in her life is immeasurable.

But here we are 10 years later.  I don’t know how we made it, especially given the losses that followed.  The family that Jen grew up with is gone.  Fortunately my family have taken her in as if she was blood.  We couldn’t have survived this without the support of them, and Jen’s Ottawa family.  In a way, it feels unfair and cruel that Dave had to go so soon.  I barely got to know him.  On the other hand, it’s a blessing that we had Dave at all.  Not many people can say they have a Dave in their life.

He loved his sports (any sport you can name, he knew something about), he loved classic music, driving, antique books, and coffee.  He loved “Mum” and she’s with him now.  They were always meant to be together forever and now they are.  We miss them both.  He was a really special guy and I wish you had a chance to meet him.

Dave drove a delivery van for a living, and the last van he drove only had a tape deck.  So, I gave him a bunch of my old cassettes to listen to.  One was a collection of Beatles EPs that I copied from the Compact Disc EP Collection box set.  From that set, and for Dave, here is “Drive My Car”.