David Robert Jones RIP

When I was a kid, I loved three things – hockey, reading, and music. I was 10 when I first heard “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” and I thought it was weird. When I was 21, I played my first Bowie song on the radio. He was captivating and creative, versatile and never boring.

Born David Robert Jones 69 years ago, Bowie, as we knew him, passed away last night after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer. David was courageous his entire life. He never followed rules and was certainly never tempted by a cookie cutter brand to be replicated for his 28 albums and thousands of concerts over four decades.

I worked at the legendary radio station CFNY (102.1 the Edge) for fifteen years and Bowie was in the foundation of our building. Literally. Death is inevitable; goodbye isn’t any easier. Bono said to me in an interview in 2000, “Music is the art all aspire to.” David Bowie aspired to be himself and will inspire for generations to come.

We can beat them, forever and ever. Oh we can be heroes, just for one day.


__________________________________________________________________

Thanks Dad

Thanks to all our dads for all your hard work doing the most honourable job there is and thanks to my dad and step dad for reminding me to go with my heart, do great work, respect others, enjoy life, and not spend a moment worrying about comparing myself to others.

Biology doesn't create fatherhood. Money won’t make you a great dad. Proximity can’t ensure a strong bond. Like any relationship, our actions cause richness and meaning.

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection.
Sigmund Freud

My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived and let me watch him do it.
Clarence Budington Kelland

I started businesses, I made a lot of money, I lost a lot of money, I made it back.
But no job is as demanding and rewarding as being a father.
John Harrison

Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.
Ruth Renkel

To become a father is not hard; to be a father is, however.
Wilhelm Busch

When I was a boy of 14 , my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. At 21, I was astonished by how much he'd learned in 7 years.
Mark Twain

Bono pays tribute to his father Brendan Robert Hewson who passed away in 2001 but it also serves as a tribute to those who we have lost and miss.


Kneale Mann

U2