I’m seeing too many male friends and acquaintances dying suddenly and unexpectedly in their forties and fifties.
A former workmate of mine had a massive heart attack earlier this week. At time of writing he was on life support, awaiting his final act of selflessness as an organ donor.He was only fifty years old. Way too soon.
His name was Justin Sheedy. He was the receptionist at my former place of work. He was also making his name as a writer – he wrote books about growing up in the ‘burbs and life as a go-go dancer in the inner city Sydney music scene in the 1980’s, but he really hit his straps when he found a rich vein of creative gold to mine, writing ripping yarns about Australian World War Two airmen.
I bought, and read avidly, all his books.
He was initially self published, but sold very well, with well received book signings at Dymocks and other major bookstores.
He had recently signed a deal with a major publisher to reprint and distribute his catalogue. He’d bought an apartment. He was in the middle of writing another war novel. Such a waste of talent and humanity.
He suffered his heart attack in an office full of healthcare professionals. Despite valiant efforts by his skilled workmates, he did not survive.
Too many, too Often
Another work colleague of mine, same place, named Ricky Meteoro, died of a heart attack in the city on a workday. He was fifty four. One of my former neighbours, forty eight, had a massive heart attack on the train on the way to work and died.
About twenty years ago, I was working as a field consultant for an IT company in a room full of people, twenty or more at rows of desks in a large office. One of the guys there, Terry, suffered a slower onset heart attack one morning.
I was gazing into a screen two rows of desks away from him.
I didn’t really know him particularly well, but he looked straight at me, called my name and asked for help, picking me out of the score of other people in the room.
I summoned help from a doctor in a medical centre just one floor down; in hindsight what I should have done is call an ambulance immediately, which is pretty much what the doctor did.
Fortunately, Terry survived, though he spent a while in hospital. He was not an old man.
My former boss, John Tinkler, a mentor who afforded me several pivotal career opportunities, died unexpectedly in his sleep of heart problems at sixty one. Still too young.
John Will, a fifth degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and one of the fittest and hardest training guys I know, came within ten minutes of dying after a heart attack some years back. Around sixty at the time. He’s fine now, training as hard as ever and enjoying it.
My knowledge of World War Two, and particularly its aviation, are pretty limited.
I am a fan of the American writer Tom Wolfe and his book “The Right Stuff”, and was able to have a few interesting conversations with Justin Sheedy about aviation at that time, the period of the early astronauts, and aircraft like the fastest ever built, the X-15 rocket plane.
I also had an interesting conversation with Justin about a different creative project about aircraft, a quirky solo album by the lead singer of the seventies space-rock band Hawkwind, Robert Calvert, titled “Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters”.
The subject matter of the album was the Lockheed F104-G Starfighter, a fighter-bomber of the Cold War era, bedevilled with technical issues and a corruption scandal, and referred to as the “Widow Maker”, by those unlucky enough to fly it.
Why am I blowing up a nerdy conversation about an extremely obscure and weird subject?
Because Robert Calvert died of a heart attack at forty three.
Physiological Self Defence
There’s much more to self defence than dealing with violent attackers. Self defence is also mental, verbal, spiritual, social, and financial. And physiological. It involves every aspect of life.
I’ve had a full medical exam ever year since I turned fifty, but in hindsight I think I should have started that around forty five. I would urge all my friends out there to do this, no matter how good you feel.
I believe my martial arts training is one of the single most important contributors to my current health and vitality. I am mindful that, like just about everything, it can break you down as well as build you up.
Every activity has what Steve Maxwell calls “the price of adaptation”, including Jiu Jitsu. Including sitting on the couch and doing nothing.
Make sure you are looking at the bigger picture and not just the narrow outcome of martial skill. The Center for Disease Control in the USA has it that you are several thousand times more likely to die of lifestyle-related heart disease than you are from a violent assault. Prioritise your activities accordingly. You almost certainly already know what you should be doing. So do it!
The flame of Justin’s creativity, just starting to brighten his life and ours, with marvellous dreams and wonderful stories left untold, all snuffed out so suddenly and permanently.
Live life to the full, do all the things you want to do, create stuff, do wonderful things.
Support your friends trying to create, be it stories, music, videos, podcasts, art, quilts, charities, activities, whatever. Doing that stuff well is a major effort, and few people seem to notice. The chances of making a living out of it are vanishingly small.
You do it mostly for yourself, but it’s wonderful when someone notices and you get that little dopamine rush.
Give people props for trying. They will appreciate it, and they will appreciate you.
Fly High
I’m betting they have X-15’s in heaven, with vertical takeoff and landing. Justin Sheedy will be piloting one, breaking through Mach 6 about now.
