SB_issue55_Digital

Ken
Swan
in memorium
Words: Dave Swan
This little piece
is dedicated to my
dad as a thank
you for all his
support through
the years from my
sporting days to my
professional career
through to the day
I told him of our
crazy plans to start
a surf magazine.
It was a huge leap
of faith away from
the safety of the
corporate world.
He always believed
in me and supported
me in the pursuit of
my dreams.
I thought the most fitting way to celebrate dad’s
life was to briefly revisit a few of his favourite
sayings.
There were many dad taught me growing up but
three in particular have been ingrained in my
psyche and have indeed steered me throughout
my life:
On the sporting field it was, “Show some
mongrel” – fully commit. Dad loved his sport
and that was passed on to my brother Mike and
I. I guess we wanted to emulate what he had
achieved, I mean there wasn’t that much to live
up to: Queensland footballer, State and National
surf lifesaving surfboard champion, Caption
Coach of the Queensland Men’s Water Polo
team and part of the Commonwealth Games
Squad. Yep, small shoes to fill.
Anyhow dad loved to say to Mike and I, and
later the grandkids, “Show some mongrel.”
Let your opposition know and feel they’re in a
contest. And this was fine when we were playing
water polo but the rule even applied to noncontact
sports. So, it was when I tried my hand
at basketball, I never saw out a full game before
being fouled out. Phoebe (my daughter) knows
something of this, the feisty little thing she is.
Another saying dad loved was, “Silence is
golden but sometimes it is yellow”
meaning simply, speak your mind and don’t
remain silent if something needs to be said.
Dad’s brothers know something of that saying.
Dad was never shy in letting people know what
he thought, that too applied to the sporting field.
The final saying he particularly loved was,
“Actions speak louder than words”. To
that end, nothing I say today will truly convey my
love for dad. I tried to show him each and every
day and I am pretty certain he knew how I felt.
There’s also another one, in fact there was a
heap of them, but it was, “If you’re going to
do a job, do it properly”. So I am going to
give it my best not to get upset and get through
this little speech, “show some mongrel” and not
be a wuss.
The truth is dad taught me so many things and
the lessons didn’t end as a kid. He kept sharing
his wisdom and knowledge with me right up
until the final few days.
sb / #55 / 12