Monday, August 1, 2022
It had been years since I had been in touch with Cliff. Yet, the power of the connection we made so many years ago -- indulging in our shared interest in developing our race car driving skills -- was one that remained firm and indelible. Added to which was our respective connection to aviation -- an activity and lifestyle entrenched in each of our respective families -- that added to the security of an easily overlapping bond. Despite all the years that have gone by since we last spoke, I'd never forgot to wonder, on a very frequent basis, how Cliff was doing. And I'd always imagined that whatever he'd been up to, he was doing it with the same characteristic engaging personality, easy-going nature, catchy sense of good humour blended with his spot-on observations of all and anything that was going on in the world, or around him. He was, quite simply, a wonderful guy to have had the pleasure of crossing paths with in life. Brief though the times were that we touched base, if ever there could be more natural a friend, I cannot think of one. In every way, this says so much about the kind of guy Cliff was. He was as natural as they come, and he lived life the right way: balancing it perfectly between when it needed to be serious, and when it needed to be anything but. So few seem to achieve such a state of equilibrium. A very memorable man who left a mark for which I'll always be grateful. Whenever I reflect on the times we touched base -- longer ago than I wish they were -- I always do so with a gentle laugh and an easy smile. The best friendships are always that way... Rest in Peace, my friend.
