You shouldn’t let other people get your kicks for you

Gill and I first heard Dylan sing this song at the Albert Hall in London in 1965 when half the audience walked out. We looked a little different then (photo by David Bailey)!

Who would have thought that 53-years later I would be trying to follow an incredibly moving piece of writing by Garret in a blog in Philadelphia! Garret and I spent endless hours over the last two weeks chatting, rarely arguing (except when my navigation skills failed), trying to save the world, and reflecting in our long and unusual lives. It is easy to be a fatalist and to accept that what happened was meant to be. How in earth did we end up in Philadelphia together – a classically trained Jesuit scholar from Ireland and an Englishman who was sort of educated in more schools than he cares to remember in four different countries. It was all set in motion by one person – a Scotsman from Glasgow named Tom Baillie. When he vacated his position at the Hammersmith Hospital, London in 1979, I was recruited from Australia to fill it. Meanwhile, Tom’s wife had convinced Kate that she and Garret should move from the Hammersmith in London (where Garret and I worked briefly together) to Nashville, TN instead of Sweden. This was obviously fate at work. However, when Garret suggested I join him in Nashville in 1983, fate was superseded by my”boyish enthusiasm.” Long suffering Gill together with our children (Ester and Emma) then moved to their fourth continent in 11-years.

After a brief sojourn by Garret and Kate in Ireland the “unlikely lads” were re-united at the University of Pennsylvania in 1997. Fate also played a part in bringing Garret from Ireland to Philadelphia. However, it it was not involved in my leaving Vanderbilt – the excitement of moving to the University of Pennsylvania remains with me today. I marvel at the joys of being able to combine modern methods of molecular biology with the cutting edge tools provided by mass spectrometry. This was unimaginable when I graduated in 1971. As everyone knows, I am a man of simple tastes – I only like the best! Fortunately, I have the incomparable Clementina to reduce my ideas to practice and wonderful people in the lab to conduct the complex studies – Liwei, Kevin, Ross, and Raj with Qingqing still there in spirit. Hopefully, our summer students Carina and Tim (our grandson) will be inspired to find their way forward as a result of their time in the lab. Gratifyingly, I just heard from Trisha Arora (a former summer student) to let me know she is about to enter medical school. I believe her time in our lab helped her decide on this career path.

Sadly, Gill and I lost our close friend and Garret’s wife Kate (below) four years ago today. We try and celebrate her life every day but there are days like this when it is difficult to be upbeat. If I was a religious person, I would hope that she is following this blog. Perhaps she is in one way- her memory certainly inspires us both to live for the moment and to not accept anything at face value – most of all ourselves!

“Trastevere

A long table in a roof garden,

platters of tomatoes, meats, cheeses,

then bowls of fruit, berries, cookies with jam,

and glasses everywhere, a glassy forest of wine bottles,

all enclosed in latticed sunlight,

a geometry of other roofs spread across the view.

But the deeper reason the six of us

stretched lunch into early evening

was the six of us, one disappearing

every now and then down the narrow stairs

to hoist more bottles of red and white

so we could keep toasting life under the sun.

Kate, who just stepped away,

an empty chair under a Roman sky,

you who encouraged us to carpe that long diem,

who knew then that you would lead the way?

Forgive us now for staying so long,

and we will forgive you for leaving too soon.”

Billy Collins

Our trip from Philadelphia to San Francisco in December was quite remarkable. Therefore, I was concerned that the trip back would be something of an anti-climax. However, it has had quite a different vibe and there have been more challenges. Garret’s astonishing humor and love of life sustained us through the difficult parts of the journey. His ability to connect with everyone (even Republicans) is truly remarkable. What a friend! I did say that friends are precious and I think our journey has proved that. He has described this in his blogs in ways that I could even begin to emulate. Thanks to everyone for following along, we will both treasure the experience for many years to come. Thanks also to all the interesting people we met along the way. We had a fabulous start at the world rugby sevens in San Francisco with Nick and Alastair, followed by dinner with them and Kate. Tracy has set new standards for our assessment of good wine! We will treasure our unexpected wonderful evening in Missoula in Ciao Mambo with our fabulous server Claire. Thanks to John and Missy for putting up with us in Salt Lake City. Happy memories of our evening with Geraldine and Mark in Omaha and our astonishing evening with Anisha and Keith in the Adelaide Hotel in Toronto. Thanks also to Linda and Eric for a fabulous dinner at the strangely named Hugo’s Frog and Fish House and totally unexpected early morning coffee with Kevin at Loews in Chicago.

What a companion Garret has been – incredible to think we are still talking to each other after spending the best part of 4-weeks together. The trip could not have taken place without the encouragement and help of Gill – she is an amazing person who has travelled through four continents with me over these past 52-years. What a fantastic woman – I am so lucky!

Cheers – until the next time?