tcpip | Valedictions, Richard Barker

When I first became involved almost twenty years ago at the Melbourne Unitarian Church one of the first people who left an impression was Rick Barker. A little overbearing in his enthusiasm, I have come to learn that such extroverted people have wonderful minds and are simply unloading the massive amount of information that they have in their mind to any who will listen. In any case, Rick and I became firm friends as we enjoyed a diverse range of interests and a very similar attitude to various theories and attitudes that we encountered. We were co-convenors of The Philosophy Forum, and Rick contributed a number of presentations in his theatrical style; his initial interests were towards the relating the doctrine of the Trinity with the notion of the ineffable, but shortly turned towards the evolution of early hominids. Despite being a good twenty-plus years senior to the rest of us, I invited him to join our local RPG group, where he had some very memorable characters in various shared stories. I was particularly fond of his "Possum Magic" character in the Young Gods story, a publication which attracted some interesting legal debate, and "Honest John", a trickster in Greg Stafford's Glorantha.

All of that came to an end around two and a half years ago. Rick developed a type of rapid-onset dementia, and in a six month period went from the sort of person who was giving public lectures on paleoanthropology (a recent interview on the subject unearthed by Adam Ford, now on Youtube) to a person who could barely string a few words together. As Power of Attorney I was responsible for ensuring that he was housed (first in Carnsworth, then in Mercy Place), for paying his various medical and housing bills, arranging for the removal of facial skin cancer, and eventually for cleaning out (he was a bit of a hoarder, of books especially, and with no sense of a filing system for paperwork) and selling his Richmond apartment. In each of those moments, I felt the walls closing in, as a great mind and a great history was coming to a close, and all I could do is be the person who ensured the transition was, to a degree, orderly, and smooth. Oh, and advocate on his best interests; I do recall with some bitter relish successfully taking on at VCAT four senior members of UnitingCare who wanted to charge him the full rate for accommodation before the Department of Human Services had completed their assessment.

But all of this has come to end. At around 1730 this afternoon, Richard Peter Barker (b. 02/09/1946) passed away, fairly quickly and as far as we can ascertain, without pain. I particularly feel for his sister who had just arrived in Melbourne for a planned visit tomorrow; that was not the best news to have to deliver. Instead, we will have the doctor to confirm his passing and we shall give our farewells. Thus, we bring ourselves towards a close: Richard Barker, a graduate in anthropology, and with post-graduate degrees in education, technology, and drama (yes, four degrees); a worker for the tramways, employed as a school teacher and principal, and finally as a hospital orderly; a philosopher and public speaker; an explorer of knowledge. For those who knew him, he will be very deeply missed. Two years ago, we lost a great mind - now we have lost the body that once held it. So timely it is to recall these words: All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.