David Hamilton Tribute

My favorite memories of Dave include sharing our musical tastes with "Hey, listen to this...", him doing "The Worm" at his wedding, breaking out the the "Mach 6" razor, dancing to "Maniac" at parties or when he brought his guitar to our social gatherings with the Virology Gang. Although it is silly, probably my favorite memory of Dave happened when he had a mental image of a mutual friend in a compromising position while wearing hockey gear. Just the very thought sent him into a fit of laughter that sent tears from his eyes and food from his mouth and almost sent him into a rose bush. Needless to say, alcohol was involved.
After Fiona was born, our partying days weren't over, just changed so that it included that beautiful little girl. He was such a great Dad. I will miss Dave especially when I go visit Shannon and Fiona at their house.

Shannon and I were school-mates for the fourteen years of preschool through high school. Since I didn't drive in high school, Shannon was often my ride, and I remember logging many miles in the passenger seat of her little white Honda to a thousand different places.

One day, I rode along as she took a side trip into the mysterious labyrinth of streets north of the UW campus in order to stop by Dave's fraternity. I could tell then that this was a very important person to her. She was clearly smitten, in a way I'd never seen before. As soon as I actually met Dave, I could see that he was a good catch for Shannon. He was a real gentleman, and he took an immediate interest in me whenever we were together.

Then life post-college came along and we saw less and less of each other, though whenever we did, I always enjoyed Dave's calm, listening presence. Reading some of the other memories of Dave here, I am struck by how true to my experience they all seem. I spent very little time with Dave, yet when I read about his passion for music and sports, his enthusiastic encouragement of others, his genuine interest in others' talents and skills, I can honestly say that that was exactly how I remember him.

Dave did offer me many guitar lessons, always encouraged me to sing (which I still do every night to my kids), and helped me to listen to music in a way that I never will forget: Have you ever listened to the complex rhythms of "Satellite," by the Dave Matthews Band? I mean REALLY LISTENED? Try to clap along sometime. It's crazy! Have you ever stopped and--WAIT hush, quiet! this part coming up--listened to the drum solos of Neil Peart? How many different drum beats is that in one measure? No! Shut up! Listen! That's so Dave.

Having spent so little time with Dave, I feel gratified to know now how much of a real picture I got of him in so short a time. He really was a good man, and it breaks my heart to think that Shannon and Fiona have to miss him now.

My last memory of Dave is from what was probably my last visit to his home many years back. I believe Shannon and my wife, Jennell, were inside visiting, and Dave and I were on the back porch. Dave, knowing I had a half-decent singing voice and at least some willingness to use it, had grabbed his guitar and pounced on the opportunity to have me sing with his guitar. We were doing that oh-so-typical thing of trying to think of songs to sing. At one point, stumped as usual, one of us saw an empty Clementine tangerine box near the recycling bin, and so we started to sing "Oh My Darlin' Clementine" as well as we knew how (which wasn't very well). (This was before the ubiquity of Google, so we couldn't pull up the lyrics in a snap.) I now own a small grocery, and the five-pound boxes of Clementines are nearing the end of their season. How fitting, I think, that Dave's death will always coincide with the Clementine season. As I watch them sell down, I always think of Dave, and that moment on his deck, and the way he was always passionately hunting for a way to take part in the music of the world.