As a young Petty Officer in 1975 I worked on the team that converted the Navy’s supply system in Halifax to the new centralized Canadian Forces supply system. Chief Petty Officer Frank Anderson was our leader. Throughout my time in the navy I met a number of wonderful people who had a great influence on me and Frank was certainly one of them. A mentor and a friend, Frank made it a joy to come to work in those days. He was a chief who set an exemplary standard both professionally and personally. He had a great sense of humour and every time I think of him it puts a smile on my face. As it is in the Navy, we went our separate ways and a few years after our time working together Frank retired and went to work for a pharmaceutical company in Halifax. I only saw him a few times after that; once when he invited me to see what his new job was all about. What struck me about him then was how he had completely devoted himself to his new work and had put the Navy behind him. No regrets.
In my last job in the Navy, I came across some old photographs of those early days. One was a picture of Frank giving a presentation to the Maritime Commander of the day, Rear Admiral Boyle. I kept this photo on a board in my office as a reminder of the good times and my regard for Frank. Some of the old timers would come into my office, see the picture of Frank, and that would invariably start a session of pleasant memories.
When I retired I kept the picture.
Frequently in the winter months as the weather will allow, I take some long walks in and about Halifax and Dartmouth. On more than one occasion I have passed by Frank Anderson’s house and I have thought that I should one day bring that picture of him and the admiral. We could have shared many memories. To my great regret, my own reticence and belief that Frank was a private man always got in the way of me doing this.
On the 14th of April Frank died and yesterday I finally got around to bringing the picture to his family.
Too late. He was such a good man.
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1 comment:
Well, if you had such fond memories of him, it is likely that he also carried fond memories of you.
And although you never had the chance to relive those memories with him, you were able to share them with his family. So, the way I see it, even despite their loss they were able to gain some memories they may not have been able realize otherwise.
Bringing that picture to his family was anything but "too late".
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