I had known David for some time before high school came around and the two of us went in separate directions, me to the Rockhampton Grammar School, him to the Christian Boys College. Although the two of us had had quite similar personalities before this, school changed us a little - I became nerdier, more naive and a goody two shoes, while David was drinking, smoking and having fun. Despite this we were still actually quite close and one day I was invited to one of his parties. I arrived and soon met a group of "City Bum Cleaners" as everyone outside CBC called CBC - it was Rockhampton, we were struggling for entertainment - all of whom had little time for the geek in the corner. I tried to inveigle myself into their clique, but was studiously ignored by pretty much everyone, until I came across someone sitting in a cloud of smoke. We had a non-conversation in which he, both drunk and generally disinterested in who he was talking to, grunted non committedly to my attempts at conversation.
David rescued me soon enough and asked me how I was enjoying the party. "Terrible," I replied. "Oh, I thought I saw you chatting over there with..." "Oh, God," I interrupted. "Not him. He's a complete idiot." "Right," David replied. "Shame, cause that's a good friend of mine. His name's Rayfield."
Now at this point you're probably wondering why I'm the best man...
David Harreveld continued to invite me to his parties which generally had a guest list that was rotating, but the two constants on those lists were myself and David Rayfield, who soon became simply "Rayfield" to avoid confusion, and also because everyone else called him that. In actuality I spent two years thinking his name was actually Ray Field, before I discovered that the truth. I then spent several months thanking my lucky stars I never called him Ray.
As the parties continued Rayfield and I began to talk to each other more and more, moving from simply nodding to each other as we entered the room, through to a "Hey, how ya doin'?" before getting onto some serious topics that we discovered we shared common ground on. Favourite actor? Tie between Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, although nowadays the two of them pretty much play themselves. Godfather - best movie ever made. Rocky And Bullwinkle - DeNiro's lowest ebb. The most moving moment in our lives was when Robert DeNiro grabbed Al Pacino's hand at the end of Heat and said "I told you I ain't goin' back." Rayfield had been dating a girl at the time who he later confided in me that he didn't think it was going to last because as soon as DeNiro spoke the line she turned to him and said "Can we go?". No respect.
We were young...
I found out more and more about this guy. We did have overlapping tastes in music - Moby in particular. Music and movies being the cornerstone of Rayfield's and my own worlds meant that we developed a friendship and I realised that not only can first impressions be wrong, but they also can be quickly dismissed. David is now more to be than just a friend - I consider him a brother. The loyalty he has shown to me has gone beyond what mere friends give each other. Though we've both been through rough times, I know that when I hit a low ebb I can always count on David's support, and that makes him not only a good friend, but also a great guy.
ALTHOUGH...when mentioning how great a guy he is, one would probably not recount the story of what passed for entertainment in his life. A story involving a guy standing on a stone wall, grabbing onto monkey bars and resting his chin on the bar. A story in which David came up and, thinking it would be funny, grabbed the lad by the feet and yanked them out from under him resulting in a lot of blood and dental work. Showing great strength of character, David fled the scene of the crime.
David's passions meant that he would have to find just the right girl who would not only tolerate but also appreciate his loves in life. For reasons of tact I will not recount the story of how David and one of his girlfriends had to break up due to a lack of common passion in The Simpsons. But generally, David remains tight-lipped about his girlfriends and so it came to pass that the one day when he called me to talk about random rubbish, he mentioned in passing that "Amanda" was coming around. "Who?" I asked. "My girlfriend," he said.
Now, David is always careful to ensure that there is no friction in his life, and I believe that he was a bit worried about how Amanda and his friends would get along, so it was some considerable time before I even saw Amanda, let alone met her. One day he rang me to tell me that the two of them were moving in together and he was having a garage sale. I went along to take his playstation games off his hands and as I walked out the driveway a striking dark-haired woman walked down and smiled at me, and then waved when David joined me. "That's Amanda," he said. "I'll have to introduce you some time."
Months passed along with a couple of telephone conversations that got less awkward each time. Finally I got to meet Amanda, and he needn't have worried because, let's face it, how could anyone not like Amanda? She sat there and listened to me as I rambled on about rubbish, actually pretending to be interested and speaking every so often (My wife later assured her that all she had to do was nod and agree with me and she'd be fine). She allowed David to have his Batman figures scattered around the house and even had the good taste to like Doctor Who. Is it good taste to marry David? Far be it for me to judge. I knew we'd become friends as on later meetings when I talked, she nodded and agreed.
Sadly, neither of David's parents are with us anymore to celebrate this happy occasion, but I am sure that neither of them could be happier to know that their son has found such a perfect match in Amanda.
Congratulations guys.
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