There are a few people from my life that I haven’t seen for years, but miss all the time.

You know those ice breaker-type games that ask questions like, “if you could meet one dead person, who would it be?” (Louisa May Alcott)

Whenever I’m asked, “if you could have lunch with any living person, who would it be?” I always have the same answer…and I have for the past 10 years.

Geoff Ryan.

Geoff is a person of high intelligence and dark, sarcastic, wit. And, I love him. Even though I haven’t seen or spoken to him in 10 years. He is the person I would most want to sit and catch up with…over some dumplings, curried chicken, plantain, and ginger beer!

Geoff was a Salvation Army officer who taught me how important it is to never ask anyone to do more than you are willing to do, to think more critically about everything and not be so easily swayed by emotion, to do things with intention, and how to turn the Tim Horton’s drink lid tab inwards to avoid being splashed on while drinking.

I have no idea where he is today, or what he is doing, but I miss him almost every single day. He had a huge influence on my life. He was strong and steady. He knew how to be careful with people’s lives and didn’t get caught-up in a “saviour complex.”

He is hilarious, irreverent, talented, a good cook, a horrible singer, and a deep thinker.

I often wonder what things might have been like if he had been more in-charge during the time I worked alongside of him. I am thankful he was there because he helped keep some balance when other forces were so overpowering and domineering that it made it difficult to keep the wheels on all the time.

Speaking of wheels…he was also responsible for my favourite vehicle of all-time. The big, psychedelic, noisy van lovingly referred to as, “The Beater.”

I spent countless hours driving-around in this thing. You could hear it coming for several city blocks. I met Stephen Dorff while driving it one day when he, jokingly, asked me for a lift!

This is the kind of guy Geoff is: Always thinking outside the box, looking for different ways of doing things, being authentically cool, and finding ways of bringing others into his orbit.

He once shared a poem with me that talked about how, when someone has walked among the stars they will no longer be able to travel through life as a normal person again – they will always feel out of place and dissatisfied. This is how I’ve felt all of these years that I have been missing his friendship.

I was at his house over 10 years ago and he asked me if I’d be interesting in writing for a project he was working on. But, I was burnt-out and feeling pretty disillusioned and replied, “in order to write, you have to have something worth saying, right?” I had nothing.

Well, Geoff, all these years later I do have things I want to say – a lot of things.

For now though, let me just say “thank you” for the part you had in my life, and I miss you almost every day.

And, if you ever see this, this is for you:

https://www.ifitshipitshere.com/jesus-novelty-gifts/amp/