"The days of our lives are
seventy years...
...[their boast] is soon cut off, and we
fly away."
So declares a stanza in Psalm 90, 'A Prayer of Moses the man of God'.
And so it proved in the shortened life of New Zealand athletics 'icon' Dick Quax, a runner associated with my earliest recollections of growing up in this land we once called 'God's Own'. He made the final stretch of the last lap...to complete his own 'appointed'/allotted lifespan of 'threescore and ten' - if only just making it over that seemingly arbitrary line (before dying last week). But make it he did.
Dick Quax's running achievements were many and varied, and truly legend...indeed to my surprise 'the half had never been told' me - or I'd simply never bothered to check things out; whichever.
From 1969 through 1980 (or thereabouts) I've worked out - c/o the ever-ready assistance of Wikipedia - that Dick Quax 'scored' significantly in nine out of ten major competitions entered. Five of these nine/ten were in the 5,000 metres, in which he managed three New Zealand records, one world record, and one Olympics silver medal; he achieved a New Zealand first in the one mile; another Olympics silver medal in the 1,500 metres; a New Zealand record in the 15 km marathon; and a New Zealand record time in the Nike OTC Marathon (distance unspecified) in Eugene, Oregon.
Quax forms an unforgettable part of my middle childhood years, alongside his contemporary running 'legends', Rod Dixon and the fabled John Walker. The three are all 'conflated' in my mind, inextricably associated with such memorable happenings as the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games and the 1976 Montreal Olympics, 'TV events' we sat glued to as we cheered on our own 'greats', among whom Walker, Dixon and Quax were right up there - with the best.
Competing in their respective races to the finish, chiefly against the African greats (such as Tanzanian Filbert Bayi), themselves oftentimes haling from that renowned strip of Kenyan rural real estate which nurtured so many of the continent's athletic champions, they gave sporting success a whole new meaning, inspiring many of us including Yours Truly... .
And though my own achievements were somewhat modest, I did tear off into the lead during my first or second year at intermediate (at the tender age of eleven or twelve), ultimately arriving 21st or 22nd at the finish line (amidst a pack of a couple hundred of us, prizes going only to the first twenty). And later - at around double that age, 24/25 years - I finally succeeded (at an annual church camp at Pascoe's Park in my birth-town, Christchurch) and won the 4km race...though as I ever remind Pastor Paul Gredig whenever I happen to bump into him again, I'm still oh so patiently awaiting my certificate for first place... .
Though having little time nor truck for Quax's later politics - as an ardent Act NZ local body politician in Auckland - I understand he was ever regarded as a man of principle who actually stood for something, perhaps a rarer thing in modern-day politics of whatever realm or geographical locality than many might imagine. Yes, the word integrity readily springs to mind, however much one at times might happen to disagree with the specifics of his particular politics.
It's sad to me that Dick Quax evidently held such implicit faith in orthodox medicine, as the chemotherapy and radiation treatment he was eventually subjected to as he closed his days, not only no doubt dealt to his inoperable cancer (of whatever sort), but in the process finished him off as well. (Something he did acknowledge as he ended his days, which seemingly he'd resigned himself to anyhow.) Yes, when the supposed 'cure' is as lethal as the disease, is it any wonder that so many are so readily turning to unconventional treatments such as Vitamin C therapy and the like? After all, survival is all that ultimately matters, and whatever successfully effects this is worth a go, surely?
But his final admonition is worth repeating, however often: the 'desperately ill DQ wanted to warn fellow kiwis: "Get your health checked!" ' Something Yours Truly, outside the conventional health system now for a few years, needs to ever bear in mind, especially since a major change in a certain regular feature of my otherwise excellent health profile, after a major personal crisis which escalated from awful to absolutely dreadful just under three weeks ago. Yes, 'twould appear Quax's appeal has much personal resonance indeed!
I cannot conclude with anything more meaningful than reflecting back upon the words of the memorable theme song of that aforementioned '74 Commonwealth Games, admittedly a 'meet' that Quax himself achieved no success at (whether he was actually there or otherwise; I'm a little unsure.)
As Steve Allen declared - to my piano accompaniment in years gone by (as I successfully rendered the sheet music into something reasonably tuneful - if I do say so myself):
We've got to...jo-in to-gether, let our laugh-ter fill the air...
it's time for every race and creed...to throw away their every care...
let sport un-ite us all as one...in the Spirit of the Lord a-bove...
And let us all re-mem-ber...the Games are for the fos-tering of peace and love...
Once in ev-ery fo-ur years, the Commonweath be-comes
a un-it to which ev-ery-one from anywhere belongs
They gath-er in the place that's named,
This time it's in Christ-church,
And get-ting it on to-geth-er,
Playing sport with a fee-ling that should sur-round the earth
Here in our own cou-n-try...the Games will now be held
And peo-ple black and white will come from all parts of the wor-ld
For the time that they are here, we'll get to know them well...
And hope that in the fu-ture, our rel-at-ion-ships...will tell...
We've got to - join together, let our laughter fill the air
it's time for every race and creed to throw away their every care
let sport unite us all as one in the spirit of the Lord above
And let us all re-mem-ber, the Games are for the fos-ter-ing of peace and love
Thank you, Dick, for yourself wearing that spirit well...throughout your shortened life...whether on the field or off the field...you indeed 'played [your] sport' with a feeling that should surround the world...and contributed in your own small way to helping unite us all as one...people/humanity...
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