I've been postponing writing this post for weeks. I know I should do it, but then I also know for sure that when I write this post, it will bring back all the memories of him... Anyway... I will just be brief as I can't afford to write all the details... not here.. not now..
Wednesday, 21 March 2007, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney
It was around 10 o'clock in the morning. Lots of people gathered in front of the church, chatting. Some of them knew each other. It was like a big reunion. They're Morgan's families, friends, colleagues, acquaintances. Around 650 people were there, attending his memorial service, honoring his life.. expressing condolences to his family.. and to me as well. I was very touched that many people came to me and said how sorry they're... some of them also said that they read my blog and thought that what I wrote about Morgan was beautiful..
Oh.. you can call me a melancholic freak (even though my psychological test's result shows that I'm a sanguin), but every word that came from them was very touching and it made my heart cry.. :(
Inside the church, there was a big screen showing Morgan's pictures. From when he was small, teenagers, his adventures with his best friends to his recent trip in Pelabuhan Ratu. It was very intense. His smile was in every picture. Fortunately Jessica (a photographer of Financial Review) showed me those pictures when I visited Fairfax a day before, otherwise I'm sure that I wouldn't be able to concentrate at the whole ceremonial service at all.
Ben Hunter, his friend, delivered an eulogy. He said that when Morgan lived at Bronte, he told Ben, "Huntsman, when the alarm goes at six, I lift myself up onto one elbow and look out the window. If the surf's up, I am straight out of bed, if it's flat, I go back to sleep". I could imagine he did that every morning! :)
After the mass, everyone moved to the other room to hear eulogies from Morgan's friends. Simon Dale, Matthew Dale, Gary, Glenn Burge (his editor) said lots of beautiful things about him. I was the last person who said something, even though I didn't prepare anything, I just felt that I should say something. His friends should know what he had been doing in Indonesia, how he loved living in Jakarta and how he tried to get to know more about the country, the culture, as well as learned the language :). I could hardly speak as my body was trembling. It was very hard to stand there and told myself that he's really gone. It still felt like a dream for me.
One lady came to me, she was Morgan's neighbor. Her children used to play together with Morgan and his sisters. One time they went for a trip somewhere and she told the kids to play games (to keep their mouth shut): "Who can chew the chewing gum at the longest period, he/she is the winner". So, the kids were busy chewing, then after a while, the gum didn't taste good anymore, so those kids threw it away, except Morgan as he was sleeping. When they arrived at the destination, Morgan opened his eyes, then started chewing the gum - which was still inside his mouth - right away, while everybody else didn't have anything to chew! Hahaha.. that was smart! :D
He was known as a quiet boy, yet smart one :).
The lady told me that she felt like sharing this funny story about him to cheer me up. Also so that I know how cute he was :)...
Oh, isn't God so wonderful? He sent me all these beautiful people to brighten up my day(s).. to draw a smile on my face... I believe that angels are everywhere and can appear in any forms...
xxx