Rod Donald Funeral

Kudos to TVNZ for webcasting the funeral for Rod Donald. Also nice tributes yesterday from Gerry Brownlee.

I have been surprised by how affected I was by Rod Donald’s death. Some of it is just due to his age – 48 is far too young. Partly that it was such a surprise – Norman Kirk in 1974 had been unwell for some time, but this was so unexpected.

I did know Rod reasonably well. Nothing close to how well you get to know MPs from your own party, but I had a strong interest in electoral law and campaigns, and often would see Rod at events discussing these things as he had a similar interest. He also chaired the session on Blogs and Parliament which I was a guest speaker for, back in July. As many have commented he had a good sense of humour and was a nice guy. It will take some time to think of Parliament without him.

Part of the reaction has been a reminder of our own mortality. Part of me wants to throw away all plans for the future and live hedonistically for today, as tomorrow may never come. Stuff getting married, settling down and having kids – I may be gone in a decade – non-stop parties is what I want. But then I get more sensible and realise apart from trying to live healthier, one can’t do much about how long we have. One vow I have made is that if I feel sick for a couple of days, I’m not just going to wait for it to pass, but see a doctor. Luckily for me that isn’t hard!