I'm going to get up and do a speech today at Dave's funeral, and I've been kind of working out the kinks of some of this and figured I'd post it up here too.
Dave would be laughing at us all. He'd tell us not to be upset and not to cry or be sad. He'd want us all to celebrate him, his life and in general just remember him with a smile.
He could brighten someone's day and could find the bright side of any situation. That's something that not everyone can do and it's a good trait to have.
Let's face it, we all knew Dave. He spent more time up there than he did down here. Wherever he is now, he's enjoying himself.
I remember he called around one day and after a few minutes said, "I had a dream last night."
Oh yeah, what was it?
Well, I left here, and I shot up into the sky. I passed the moon, saw Jupiter, passed beyond the solar system, went through the Milkyway, and kept going. Then I started to go back, and seen it all again, landed at my door, walked inside and woke up.
Personally, if I had that dream I'd be afraid that I might not find Earth again. Dave on the other hand wouldn't care about that. He was the kind of guy who would land on some alien planet, dust himself off and say, "Well I'm here now, I'll just get on with it." Within a short time he would have made some friends there, and it would have become his new home.
His life was mad, the stories he told were so out there that it sounded like the plot of a movie.
We always joked about a musical written about Dave's life and one story in particular stands out.
He was working in a particularly rough part of New York and there were pimps, prostitutes and dealers hanging around. One of the prostitutes was heavily pregnant and ended up lying down in the street and giving birth.
As he described it, it was as if the clouds broke, the sun came out, and all of these people cracked smiles and started doting over the baby. Then an ambulance came, and took them away and as it did, everything went back to normal.
To me, it honestly does sound like a scene in some messed up musical. The thing is though, if a movie was made of his life, people would watch it and say, yeah it's a good story, but it's a bit far-fetched.
He loved his family, friends, and his band. He lived by his lyrics; one verse jumps out at me, from the song with two names, and he'd often have the craic with that one.
Well I Never, or The Things I Never Did.
"I know I'm not alone because I know my place is home. With friends and family is the place to be, Oi Oi, and even though it's great, to go out on a date, I never minded my own company. Never minded my own company. I never minded my own company. Cya later."
Cya later mate, you'll be missed by us all.