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Some old Navy hands may remember him as ‘Biff the Barber;’ others may recall him as ‘Biff the Slum Landlord’. I remember him as both. I first met Biff Hawke – he calls himself William now – back in 1970 when he was posted to HMCS Saguenay as a young (25 year old) Leading Seaman (that’s Corporal for you Army-types). I haven’t known him as long as some of his other old Navy friends like Wayne Robertson, but long enough to write a pretty objective review of his book.
I must admit that the number of things this William Hawke guy (I’ll play his new name game) has seen and done since he left the Navy surprised me. He certainly has had his
share of ups and downs. At one point (in 1991) he walked away from what some would consider a dream job on the strength of a business plan conceived in a state of
intoxication. Within a month he ended up so destitute that he lived on stale Christmas cake and tea for a week. But even then he referred to himself as a millionaire who was
a little down on his luck. With a twist of fate and a little luck he earned close to two hundred thousand dollars the next year, but then went broke again in another business venture – this time creating a rift in a longstanding friendship after non-characteristically loosing his temper.
In 1996 he ventured to India with a fresh outlook and an unconventional business plan. Perhaps he went to India in desperation – in his own words – after having failed in
marriage, fatherhood, relationships and business. Perhaps India really is his ‘Last Stand’ – as the heading for Part 3 of the book suggests.
He’s presently in the climbing mode again; this time in India’s publishing industry where he had no prior experience. But that wasn’t the industry he was involved in when he
went to India. As a matter of fact, he went to India with an unconventional plan, but fell into a bucket of kaka and came out smelling like a rose. He was always apt at that! Now he’s Managing Director (no less) of an Indian publishing house. I don’t want to tell all, so I’ll leave it to you the reader to determine whether he has achieved his dream of making it big again. One thing is certain. That is the fact that he never gives up.
William (I’ll never get used to calling him that) has also done a lot of travelling in his new life, having been to Africa fifteen times for goodness sake, plus all sorts of destinations in Asia. How many of us have dreamed of taking an African safari even once? Imagine being chased by elephants; imagine sitting quietly with the ‘Gorillas of the Mist’; imagine almost being a lion’s lunch; imagine walking amongst the great pyramids; imagine standing at the sources of the Blue and White Niles or at their confluence on the Sudanese plain, and then later at the point where the system drains into the Mediterranean. He’s done it all and more. In fact he’s visited more countries since he left the Navy than he did when he was in. Searching for a tiger in India on the back of an elephant – imagine that! Perhaps the most impressive thing is that he did most of this travel with all expenses paid by someone else. He, with his friendly smile and easygoing nature, always did have a knack for negotiation, or should I call it manipulation! He’s a Libra and that explains a lot.
One of the character traits that have kept him going is that he never dwells on past mistakes. He refers to the past as a ‘bucket of ashes,’ and keeps pushing forward, often into unknown territory. I’ve never known him to be a methodical planner. And it’s clear that the trait remains with him today as he steps into unfamiliar situations while learning along the way – albeit sometimes emulating the proverbial bull in a china shop!
It stands to reason that one of Biff’s favourite poets is Robert Service of Klondike fame. I’ll close with a couple of passages from one of Mr. Services’ poems entitled
The Men
That Don’t Fit In:
There’s a breed of men that don’t fit in,
A race that can’t stand still,
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and they rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain’s crest;
Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don’t know how to rest.
I believe that this short verse describes my friend Biff Hawke to a tee. But, there’s another line further on in the same poem that has potential of hitting close to home when
describing my friend if he’s not careful:
They say: “Could I find my proper groove,
What a deep mark I would make!”
So they chop and change, and each fresh move
Is only a fresh mistake.
I truly do hope that his last move is not ‘only a fresh mistake.’ Be careful Biffer Boy!
I encourage you the reader to enter the book with an open mind. Forgive him for the hearts he’s broken and for other indiscretions. Perhaps there are lessons to be learned from both his failures and his triumphs. But most of all; enjoy his book. I certainly did and am already awaiting the sequel.
What’s next Biff – oops, William?
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