The legacy of friendship
Back in 2018, when I was nearing my lowest point in many years, I was contacted out of the blue by a fellow with whom I'd exchanged some correspondence about The Avengers Forever, a website I'd built to celebrate a British television series from the 1960s. Sensing my anxiety and depression, he began to distract me with lovely photographs and random observations on his life in the UK. This then grew to become a years-long exchange.
In short, Ric Mac is a genuinely nice person, among the very few humans left on the planet who will kindly lend a hand to a stranger, with no expectation of receiving anything in return. He's also an extraordinary writer and very fine photographer — the first image he sent to me, "Gallop" (shown above, click to enlarge), remains my favorite. But most of all, he is a cherished friend.
Here was a kindred spirit from half a world away with whom I shared a remarkable number interests. From our appreciation and love of the flora and fauna of the natural world, to film and music, we're cut from very similar cloth, even politically and professionally. It's perhaps no wonder we'd maintained a long-distance friendship for so many years. Trust me, I positively ached to cross the big pond and share a pint at his favorite pub. (Now I will need to wait until I have crossed over to the other side, and meet him as spirits. Believe me, I have shed more than a few tears over his death.)
Having accumulated many, many hundreds of messages and images from him, I was struck with an obsession of sharing this amazing collection with the world, and I struggled to divine a way to present it. After several false starts, I came to realize the futility of creating any sort of fancy "theme", and to simply present it more or less how I received it, with the most gentle of editing. Organizing it all took a few years, and I gave Ric the opportunity to review the results. He was in the midst of rewriting the pages on slang when his untimely death prematurely ended that project.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank my friend for this genuinely remarkable legacy, which has more than adequately served its intended purpose. My hope is that, by publishing it online, others will enjoy this extraordinary body of work.
— David
Your online presence speaks of your connection with, and understanding of, the beauty of the world. That ... is a fine thing. — Ric Mac |