Fitting farewell to a good man of the streets
To me, this man was ‘‘Ron’’. No surname, no history that I knew of, no knowledge of where he lived and no street chatter of where he had come from or why he was here in Nelson, just ‘‘Ron’’.
Why then did I attend his funeral and more, and most significantly, why was moved to tears? I attended because I had spoken to Ron maybe 15 times in the past year and every time we talked, I walked away calmer and more at ease with myself.
I didn’t seek Ron out to hear words of wisdom or solutions to the problems of the world, rather simply encountered him from time to time in town and said ‘‘Hi Ron’’ and sat down with him for maybe 15 minutes. We talked about the weather, the cost of tobacco, Hone’s protest and sport. We assured each other that we were each doing OK, even if ‘‘secretly’’, I wasn’t really doing OK. Ron, without even seeming to think about it, made me feel that there was nothing to really worry about.
But the funeral service! The variety of people and personalities I expected. What I did not expect was the total and united reason for us all being there; that being to show respect and love for a man who gave respect and love to all he encountered.
From the moment of the karanga, so passionately given by a beautiful Maori woman with her beautiful facial moko, I was electrified.
Who was there? Well, there were librarians, street people, the mayor, lawyers, Ron’s sister, unemployed, employed and ... people, just people.
The spoken tributes came from all the people who make up a society. Some of the stories were funny, some of course were sad, but all had a common theme; loss and love, and love trumped all else. All spoke of Ron’s kindness, his care for his community, his fondness for bourbon, his can recycling and without exception, his inherent decency as a human being.
All who knew Ron, if only a little, were lucky and enriched by the experience. Some people, without you being aware of it, impact on your life in a positive and unique way.
Ron was one of those people for me. I’ll miss him. I’m glad I met him and feel privileged to have known him a little. That’s why I cried.
Rest in peace Ron and thank you.
Homeless man Ron Brinsdon died this month.