h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I got an email from a friend who used to work at the Wildlife Trust today with above subject. It explained, briefly and with a clearly stunned tone, that a guy I used to work with at the Trust died suddenly of a heart attack this morning.

John was a really great guy, and he was only in his mid-forties. We had a lot in common and I found him inspirational; I helped him out with a couple of wildlife garden projects (I never had any interest in gardens until I met him) and we used to have a quick roll-up together outside the office on the rare occasions that we were both in the building at the same time. I enjoyed his company immensely.

News like this doesn't come often, but when it does it's hard not to take a look at your own life. Without being morbid, John was, at most, 15 years older than me, and there's a hell of a lot I want to do before then. I do tend to live in the same way that I did when I was 19, and perhaps it's time I started to look after myself a little better. My body is going to have to work harder to keep me going now I'm past 30 without me making things worse with a poor diet, lack of proper exercise and pumping my body full of too much nicotine and alcohol. I should also think more seriously about the future; make some proper wedding plans and think about havng kids and a house instead of leaving all that talk to the long-suffering Lainey. And I'm not saying that just because she's told me she reads my journals now

I'm starting off with getting some exercise. I used to be reasonably good at sports that involve hitting things, and I always enjoyed them. Problem is, they always need more than one of you in order to play. So I called my cousin's friend today and asked him if he'd be up for playing badminton (he's pretty good at it) and I've ordered a squash racquet so I can play against one of our receptionists. They're both going to be much better at those sports than me, they both have a number of years on me, and I'll need to do some extra exercise just to avoid embarrassment.

Improving my diet is going to be easier, because Lainey wants to lose weight, so it will be just a case of cooking proper meals more often.

As for the fags and booze - well, I'll have to come back to those. I like both too much to motivate myself to cut them down or out totally, but I really should try.

I've promised myself that I'll start tomorrow, which is much easier than trying to do anything today. And I've raised a glass to John, whose life deserves to be celebrated.

Rich... This is really and I give you my heartfelt condolences. I have just, in the last five minutes, posted this: 'I meet Chuggers every day although, on one occasion, one did me a favour and signed me up to the London Wildlife Trust, as championed by Bill Oddie' on http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/F19585?thread=6035687&post=71162140#p71162140 And because of that I now feel very shaky... I feel that your involvement in nature is the best memorial you can offer in his memory, and that those activities are keeping you healthy. My goes out to you, and I wish you both, and his family, my best wishes. MMF o/~

Damn Here's to John from me

Start today, Skanks. Start now. It's not supposed to be easy to change your habits, so do it straightaway. Unless you're not serious of course, in which case tomorrow is just fine, because it never arrives...

It's okay to live the life that makes you happy (smoking, drinking and the rest) ... unless you know that it's making other people unhappy. Longevity isn't always worth the sacrifice


Fb

When you get to my age and you start looking at the list of people who died younger and did so much more...

It's not so bad.

MMF: did you get the right thread?

FB, I did, although when I posted it it made sense...

Less so now.

But my sentiments still apply.

"My goes out to you, and I wish you both, and his family, my best wishes.

And for any misunderstandings or hurt incurred by the previous post.

MMF

You know, FB, it's much easier to end a long day with a beer than it is to find some other way to relax. And easier to think about things by rolling a cigarette and smoking it in the quiet outside. I have a day off tomorrow and no plans, though, so I'm going for a few circuits of the path that leads from the hotel to the sea. That's the plan, anyway. And 'tomorrow is just fine, because it never arrives' - that's kind of what I was getting at in the penultimate sentence. But I'm the captain of a cricket team these days, and I should set an example

Gosho, I just want to do my best to get to the age where I can post something like you just did. There aren't any guarantees, but you certainly work on the odds...

I understood your posting, Fiddler, but it took a couple of reads and a bit of scrolling to find the relevant posting. You know, I don't do a lot for the Trust these days. It's lower on my list of priorities than it used to be. I hope that someone in a position of power will suggest that they create a wildlife garden in his memory and if they do I'll help out, but I think his 'legacy' will be much quieter - it will be the people he inspired.

Thanks Skanks, for your understanding.

You know me well enough that I wouldn't post something likely to cause upset!

If some memorial is chosen, let me know, as I wildlife and just wish I were fit enough to do something about it!



MMF

I should say 'died younger, did so much more and, in some cases, seemed so much older'.

One Douglas Noel Adams, for instance.

Sorry to hear about your friend, how sad when someone dies so young.
A shock can motivate you into taking positive action in your own life, though i have to say life is for living and enjoying. You always seem to me to be enjoying life. Do what you have to do to make it more so.

I am sorry to hear this news and I totally agree that when you get a shock like this you then get a perspective of life.

Good luck with the exercise and the cutting down but on a day like this you want to raise a glass to your friend.

Sorry to hear that, Rich.

There were parts of your post I could have written myself. Some of the things I've seen happen to people around me in the past year or two have made me realise that I'm no longer at the stage where my age is a magic shield that will fend off anything nasty (which of course, in truth, it never was anyway). It's a sobering thought, too.

Hi Rich I'm to hear the news.

I think it's good that you are starting to think about becoming healthier. However, I wouldn't rush into things ...take it easy at first...then step it up gradually. I don't want to hear that you've hurt yourself due to over exertion and use of muscles you don't normally use.

You can apply the slow and steady method to reducing your intake of and smoking too ....anyway I'll leave it to you now

opti

So sorry to hear about your friend, Rich.

I was discussing life expectancy with a relative of mine who works in a hospital lab (not a million miles from you, actually).

His view was that of the three things that people try to change: tobacco, stress and diet/exercise, the effect of these is in a descending exponential order. This means there's absolutely no point changing your diet/exercise regime if you have a stressful life or if you smoke. Similarly, there's no point trying to deal with the stress in your life if you smoke.

Deal with the smoking first.

Icy

Sorry to hear about your news. I felt the same when my friend who was one year older than me died earlier this year.

On the subject of the fags and beer, you deserve a day off to recover from the shocking news, but then you really have to do something about it tomorrow. And that's tomorrow Wednesday 5-Nov-2008, not just some random tomorrow in the future.

I'm so sorry Rich. You have some wonderful memories of your friend, keep them close to you




lil xx

Really sorry to hear that. It is a rude wake up call when it's someone of your own age (or younger...) isn't it.

I'm off the ciggies 11 months now btw - you can do it if you really want to.

I'm sorry to hear this. We lost an old friend- age 46- to a stroke two weeks ago, and it's very sad. He was quite the partier and was more than a little out of shape, but still... it's a shock and a devastating loss when a friend leaves us so soon.

Thanks, everyone.

Icy, I disagree with you, just a little bit. When I played 5-a-side a couple of years ago, my fitness levels shot up regardless of my smoking. If you're talking abut long-term health benefits, though, you're quite right.


I've tried giving up smoking a couple of times, and I hate the feeling. If you've never smoking, giving up really is hell. It's giving up a highly-addictive drug. The fact that you're not smoking takes over your mind completely - last time, I spent almost a week being utterly obsessed about the fact that I wasn't smoking, the absence of cigarettes taking over my every waking thought, until I cracked and started again.

And all those charred lungs and cancers are things that happen to other people, right?

Maybe the thought that, if I died at John's age, I'd never see my first son walk out to bat will finally motivate me.

Rich, I've never smoked, and I'd never lecture you on how to live your life. I just wanted to dispel any myth that you're healthier by changing your diet/exercise if you don't give up. I do understand that it's a tough one to crack, though, and good luck to you if you try. Maybe you just need an alternative bad habit that doesn't kill you (parenthood's a good example!)