One of Life's Curve Balls

You never know how you're going to die. You might think you might when your doctor diagnoses your throat cancer. You might spend a lot of your time during chemotherapy treatments and recovery making peace with the world and accepting your fate and celebrating your life and putting your affairs in order. You might live a bit longer than the doctors anticipated. You might've responded really well to your medical treatments and suddenly look on every day as a gift. Spend more time with your family. Your wife.

You certainly wouldn't expect - as I am sure that most people who die suddenly expect - being that "suddenly" is so "unexpected" - to die in a bloody car crash!

Yesterday, Dr Michael King and his wife, Maria Jungowska, died in a car accident South of Auckland.

I didn't know Dr King personally, and although I own his Penguin History of New Zealand I have yet to find the time to read it. What I do know of Dr Michael King is from a conversation with John Campbell for a television programme Home Truths on TV3. It was so interesting, and Dr King impressed me so much. He seemed real and passionate and intelligent and knowledgeable and humourous and loyal and talented and proud. He instantly became another name on my "People to Invite to Dinner" list.