A Tribute to Maurice Egan

On 4 December 2007, I lost one of my dearest person. Maurice, was a close friend & mentor. I will tell you how he lived.

"Two prisoners in 2 different cells. One looks out & appreciates the stars in the night sky. The other one looks out and down to the mud on the ground and broods" Maurice loved to quote to me when I was at my lows. "Which one you choose to be, Keanu" he continued. Maurice lived by those words and no one exemplified it  as well as he did. As for years he was suffering from severe angina, his usual spirit an energetic gregarious spirit were so high, it actually made everyone around him buzzed with life. At night he would sleep sitting up because of the chest pain, the next day he was out and about, telling joke not his misery.

Maurice loathed to say "no" to anyone. The guilt of saying "No" was so immense, he would rather tell 'white' lies if he had to. But most of the time he would say 'yes'. By saying "yes", he has agreed to take up a fortnight of a constant supply of a dozen assorted wine by a telemarketer that he hardly drank at home, took up extra English classes way beyond his retiree's time budget & nagged about it, piles of books he never wanted to read and got me to chuck it out, drank up more alcohol with latecomer friends when he was about to head home, got involved in a ridiculous pyramid 5c scheme and this one not even phone call or a person he cant even say no to. It was an anonymous junk mail. By saying "Yes", he felt it is easier for him to bear the consequences when he was by himself than the heavy whips of guilt by saying "no" and let his friends down.

I envied his wit. He had this gifted & wicked wit and deep wealth of literary knowledge but the best of all was his uncanny ability to summon great words at will, arranged them in shiny orders and delivered them. He could deliver any way he wanted it, and it could make his listener shocked, cried, laughed and I have seen him done all at the same time - on the same person. A common attribute of a leader.

Maurice was a very cantankerous man. That made him only more interesting. Imagine yourself arguing with anyone and try make him or she laughed straight after? Amazing. Maurice did that without shedding any sweat. He was like the heartbeat of the weekend group he belonged to, he sent tremors and pulses, like the organs of the body, we all savoured and fed on those pulses he exuded. He made everyone of us, even me, looked dull and boring as we all too concern and stuck to formalities of politeness, decorum and a straight life. He flourished.

One thing we all cannot comprehend is why he did not take more care of himself better. I know that Maurice lived for people he know, and hardly have any time for himself. He didn't want to know that he was very ill. He just chose to keep looking up at the stars.

I miss you so so much. You have left so many legacies for me. You have left an Oscar Wilde in me. Thank you and Good bye, for now, Maurice. And you belong amongst those stars now.

I made this video of him with the mostly pictures taken in Tasmania Holiday March 07. For those who know Maurice, I encourage you to leave a comment; have your say, share your memory and thoughts of him. For those who don't, you are being encouraged as well.

Comments

[kok leong]

I really envy you have the chance to meet such a great man in your life.

[kevin]

Beautifully expressed. It was an inspiration to all that knew and loved him. Honour his spirit with your deeds and memories of an irreplaceable man

[colin]

Hi Keanu
Love. Caring and Understanding. Soulmates.

Only you and he have known and only you do know.

I have shared many years of sharing people I loved...but i believe we shared none of the above...
you were a lucky man and of course so was he.
Good Luck in your life
Colin

[M from NSW]

Maurice taught me in the first year he came to Australia and later I was his colleague. He was a brilliant teacher, a slightly more difficult colleague.

He was also a man of mystery who liked to keep a lot of secrets. (As you refer to, those white lies.)

Glad to see this tribute to him. Sad to see him gone, or rather, not see him any more.

[Michael]

I came to Sydney as an exchange teacher and consider myself extremely fortunate to have had Maurice as my colleague, and friend . He was a man of deep erudition and a genuine love of literature with which he was able to inspire others. I will always remember his warmth, kindness and generosity , together with his tremendous sense of mischief and fun. He will have enriched the lives of all who were lucky enough to have known him and will be sadly missed .