I saw last night that Felix Dexter passed away yesterday. My condolences to his friends and family.
I grew up laughing at his characters, the London Underground Ticket Collector was a particular favourite. I saw him perform a couple of times and we were Facebook friends however we’d never actually sat down and chewed the fat.
There are lots of tribute posts being written today, and rightly so for a man who was a modern day black comedy legend and pioneer for my generation. And, I am left wondering if he knew.
Wondering if he really knew how many people enjoyed his work. Wondering if he knew how many people he paved the way for. Wondering if he knew how many people he freed through laughter. I hope that when the soul leaves the body it can look back and see how people truly felt about the person and the impact that they made in people’s lives, both large and small. That it can see the impact and legacy that was left. But just in case, I am reminded of the words of my late dad, said at a time when he probably knew, although we were blissfully unaware, that his number was almost up. He jokingly used to say: Don’t wait till I’m dead to be spending money on flowers, sharp clothes, and a fancy box, give me all that stuff while I’m here now! He would then let out the raucous Roosevelt Devonish laugh. And he wasn’t just talking about ‘stuff’ he was talking about time and attention. There were times where I was so caught up in my own challenges that I sometimes didn’t do either.
So with the seemingly untimely passing of Felix, I take a moment to be reminded of this fleeting thing called life which just keeps rolling on regardless. Over, in the grand scheme of things in the blink of an eye. It truly is too short to sit on the sidelines waiting or hoping. For whatever it is that is on your mind, how about if the time is now? How about if we go for carpe diem and seize the day?
How about if we get real and authentic and live not inside a shadow of ourselves, but in the light and glory of who you really are so that when the number is up, you recognise who you are and know that you lived an ecological life that was true to whatever it is that you were put on this earth to do.
Thank You Felix Dexter for nuff jokes over the years. Your time on this planet made an impact as you expressed your funny side and for this I thank you.
To the cast and crew of The Real McCoy that are still with us, thank you for the jokes and laugher, my childhood probably wouldn’t have been the same without you.
I will endeavour to make the most of this life, follow my heart and intuition, and where the mood strikes, seize the day.
RIP Felix Dexter.
Marilyn Devonish