I asked a dead man what he would do differently

I asked a dead man what he would do differently if he could live his life again, knowing what he now knows about life and death.

For those of you who don't know, I have been writing a few posts about an old friend of mine, David. David and I grew up together in Manchester, England, but in 2005 he died in a car crash. That is the short version. If you are interested in the longer version, go back over three or four posts and you will find out more about him.

Now and then, I ask David for his thoughts and feelings on questions you (beautiful Facebook people) ask him. Today, in a selfish way, I asked him a question of my own. What would you do differently if you could live life again, knowing what you know now?

This is a short version of how our conversation went. . .

DAVID: That's easy, mate, I wouldn't have crashed my car!

SIMON: Yeah, yeah, forget all that. Forget your family also.

DAVID: Blimey mate! Right, so, here's something I would change. I would chase some of those mad ideas I used to have. Remember "A proper brew, eh"? I would have opened my own, northern tea shop in London. Eh, I can hear you laughing, but I was well into that idea for ages. But I brushed it off as a mad thought, but now it's like, why not? What would I have to lose?

SIMON: I remember that very well. You wouldn't shut up about it, it was like you thought you were Gordon Ramsey of the tea world, or something.

DAVID: Or like the time I nearly bought that old Enfield (motor bike)! Imagine you and me bombing up and down the Cat & Fiddle! (beautiful open road with a pub at the top of a hill). That's what I would do, mate, stuff like that.

SIMON: I hear you!

DAVID: And I would have got a dog.

SIMON: What? You hated dogs!

DAVID: Nah, mate, I just didn't like yours 😅 That thing was massive, it pushed me off the sofa! (I had a Newfoundland, and she was very big indeed).

SIMON: What about life itself, is there anything you would change on a bigger scale?

DAVID: Now you're asking. . . I think I would choose to have a life, not a job, if you know what I mean? I'd definitely slow down a bit, take more time to just be. Go for walks in the mountains with my new dog. . . Remember that painting course I sent Sarah on? I'd do that, just for me, not show anyone what I painted or anything. And, I'd spend more time just messing about with Emily (daughter), building daft Lego castles and telling her daft stories about how bad an influence her uncle Simon is 😅.

SIMON: She wouldn't believe you.

DAVID: Here's something I would definitely do. I'd be more brave, I reckon. No, no, hear me out. I'd take more chances, even if it seemed a bit daft at the time. Losing a few quid or embarrassing myself doesn't seem so bad now, well, not from here anyway.

SIMON: Be more brave, that's interesting. I never saw you as someone who held himself back.

DAVID: Well, you know how it is. There's just not enough time to think too much about something. If you're going to do it, you've just got to do it. When you're alive, you assume you've got all the time in the world, and you haven't.

SIMON: None of what you have mentioned has anything to do with work.

DAVID: Are you mad! I chased sales targets and meetings and for what!? If I had the chance, I would do a job that paid me what I need, but didn't steal any more of my time or energy than I wanted to give. Right, so there is a big thing over here about how you lot waste your lives doing things so you don't have to face yourselves in the mirror. Excuses after excuses. . .

SIMON: Stop! We will deal with that at another time.

DAVID: Look mate, there's so much I would do differently, but it kind of all comes down to stopping and paying attention to what you've got, yeah? None of it is about work, it's all about everything else. It's the small stuff, the anticipation of a good curry, curling up with the missus on the sofa, getting away for a few hours with your mates. And, looking forward to getting home afterwards.

SIMON: Slow down, I'm having to write this down.

DAVID: You're alright, mate. Do you know what I WOULD do, if I could? I would learn something new, like something no one else thought of, like how to fly a biplane. Or like, write that book for my tea shop - "A Proper Brew & A Decent Slice, Eh?" (I know the title of this book because David talked about it a lot. He decided on the name of the book before he knew what would be in it). Inside, it'd be all about the right way to mash your tea, none of that weak watery stuff. And then a chapter for every cake you can dunk and dunking times, you know, before it drops. Proper northern wisdom, that book would be!

SIMON: Yeah, yeah, I think you are getting a little carried away. This post is already too long and I haven't asked you about why you think living people don't do these things. Why we don't buy the motorbike, open the tea shop, etc. You and I can chat about these things during the weekend and I will put your answers as another Facebook post. But for now, I will say thanks for everything.

Ad: READINGS COST 1,500kr. They are personal, specific and detailed. I make a point of writing down exactly what I see, I don't change it in any way to make it easier to read. Every reading is longer than 2 A4 pages and takes at least two hours to write. I give every reading the respect it deserves and the time it needs, whether that's two hours or six. I have worked as a psychic, medium and healer for nearly thirty years, I love what I do, and I am proud of it. If you want a reading, send me a message on Messenger and we'll take it from there. If you're feeling brave, Vipps to the number 469 46 054, and send me a message afterwards. I work on each reading in the order it is received. I hope your week is going well, Facebook folks!