I Could Die Happy Right Now

"I could die happy right now"

A mate of mine recently said that - Not once, but three times over the course of three days. I think I may have even said it myself a few times over my years roaming this planet. I'd been having such a great time that '’d thought, "yup, if it all ended right now, I'd go pretty happy" and I have no doubt you have thought it too, from time to time. But what if it really happened? What if, you were having the time of your life and you thought, "yup, I could die happy right now" and then, in the blink of an eye you were gone?

Well that's exactly what happened to my mate, not 24 hours after the third time he said that in as many days.

Some of you may know him. Some of you may have played cards with him at the Barwon Club in Victoria. Jason "Shagga" Galland was a regular at that venue, not just for the 888PL game there each week, but a regular patron to the Club.

Three years ago, Jason jumped on a plane with two mates, including my cousin, and flew over to Adelaide for a few days of drinking and to watch the cricket on Australia Day at Adelaide Oval. Since they had so much fun, they decided to do it again last year and my cousin called me up to see if I’d like to join the fun. I took a few days off work, picked up this unruly mob from Adelaide Airport and chauffeured them around for a bit. We played golf, drank, played cards and watched the Aussies in action on the cricket field. I had never met my cousin’s mates before and we all hit it off and got on like we’d known each other for years.

I had so much fun, I could barely wait for this year’s trip, and I couldn’t wait for the boys to arrive. Unfortunately, my cousin had to pull out of the trip at the last minute, but that didn’t stop me from joining the two buffoons from Geelong and having a good time. I met up with the boys on the eve of Australia Day, ready for a big night of drinking and playing cards, and eagerly awaiting the cricket the next day.

Twice during that night, “Shagga” had mentioned he was having such a great time that “He could die happy right now”. He also said this towards the end of the cricket. What I wasn’t to know was, that as I shook his hand as I was leaving the oval and saying our goodbyes, was that in just over 24 hours, he would be dead.

I only knew Jason for a year, but in the few short times we spent together, I can honestly say that I have never laughed so much, or had so much fun jammed in to such a small time frame. This man had an infectious smile and amazing outlook on everything. My cousin said to me on night of Jason’s death, that he was the only person he knew that truly live the creed, “I’m here for a good time, not a long time”. And I would have to agree with him there, he certainly did know how to have a good time.

As I said, I only knew Jason for a short time, and I am surprised of the effect this tragedy has had on me. The cricket next year won’t be the same, but we will try to have a good time, Jason would have wanted that, to that I have no doubt. You will be sadly missed Jason.

I'm not sure that I could die happy right now, but it puts a smile on my face to know that when Jason was finally knocked out of the big poker tournament of life, he was happy.