by Christopher Luke

Created on: November 24, 2011

HOW WOULD ONE LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED?

I would like to be remembered as a survivor,
One who survived the divorce of his parents and death of his mother early in life,
One who somehow kept going after breaking-up with "Mr Right",
One who continued to keep working after work itself caused me to become stricken with anxiety and depression.

I would like to be remembered as a Christian patriot,

For first and foremost my faith in Almighty God who created each and every one of us,
And secondly for my love and concern for my country
Which, in many ways, has become the spouse I never had.

I would like to be remembered as a team-player
Who, although at times, was very much a loner and a cold-fish,
Was nevertheless prepared to roll-up his sleeves and be part of much–larger team,
Working together for the good of the whole and not just himself.

I would like to be remembered for the years I spent
Caring for younger disabled adults rather than the mundane job I do now,
For the contribution I have made, however small, to the life of Tunbridge Wells Mental Health Resource and Tunbridge Wells United Reformed Church,
And my past involvement in the Young Conservatives, Ulster Unionist Party, Orange Order and, more recently, the UK Independence Party.

I would like to be remembered as something of a reactionary,
Forever unsuccessfully trying to turn back the clock
To an era before my conception where I belonged
More so than the year of my birth and the intervening years until my death.

I would like to be remembered as the “odd ball”.
One who was never afraid to say what he thought and meant what he said,  however unpopular it made me
And even though, at times, it frequently excluded me from greater things,
And made me less-successful in life than those who acquiesced with others’ plans.

I would like to be remembered as the boy who renounced his North-East England birthplace
And came to live and settle in a place south of Watford he called his home,
And yet also came to regard the troubled Irish Province of Ulster
As his homeland too, amidst her struggle to remain British and an integral part of the United Kingdom,
Against the machinations of others in high places  who sought to push her into an All-Ireland Republic against her will,
And as one who sought to build bridges between the component parts of the United Kingdom but only walls between the UK and the hated EU.

Above all else, I would like to be remembered as Jane Luke’s son,
A Mummy’s Boy rather than a Daddy’s Son.
A boy who, ever since the premature death of his mother, longed to return to the safety and security of her womb,
And yet as Cliff’s younger brother and Ali’s brother-in-law, as one who was also, albeit somewhat distantly at times, Uncle to Alex and Robyn,
Rather than the estranged and youngest child of Kenneth with whom he seldom felt he could empathise or identify.

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