Copyrighted
Elizabeth
McCarthy 2002
all rights reserved
Stanley Michael
Bailey Hailwood April 2, 1940 - March 23, 1981
We've heard the news, it's hard
to bear,
He was the one respected by all,
We weren't expecting the final call.
Memories of the past come flooding
back,
Dicing with Ago lap after lap.
78, the TT and he did it again,
The Island alive with the sound
of his name.
Alas, no more will see his face.
Alas, no more will we see him race.
The end of an era, but a legend
forever,
Perhaps God is getting a team together.
It matters not how a man dies,
But how he lives.
The act of dying is of no importance,
It lasts so short a time.
by J.M.K. of Hull
_______________________________________
The King
Hillberry was the place I chose,
to sit in the hedgerow with a rose.
The countryside was strangely still,
We sat in silence til.....
A noise was heard up the hill from
Kate's,
to cause in crowd debates.
Was it Gary? Was it is Mike? A noise
I've never heard the like.
Down to Creg to the hands that wave.
Up four gears then down five, out
of Brandish to the dive.
And down to Hillberry flat on the
tank, the noise was like a wine you drank.
A Honda Six on full song, like an
arrow through the throng.
Cronk ny mona no respite, keeping
the throttle cable tight.
Skipping like a stone on pond, round
to Signpost, Governors beyond
It was Hailwood, first on the road,
an experience time will not erode!
Ambition is a funny thing, I'd been
to Mecca and seen the KING.
And this is how I'll remember the
man, fate had a wild unruly plan.
unknown Author
________________________________________
It matters not how a man dies, But
how he lives. The act of dying is of no importance, It lasts so short
a time.
Samuel Johnson
________________________________________
There are many tributes and anecdotes
about Mike. One is from " Maurice Knight, Suzuki GB, who supplied the
RG500 Mike set a new Isle of Man TT lap record on in 1979: "It's so hard
to find the right words but what sums him up for me is when he saw me
at the MCN Man of the Year the year he won and asked me,
" Can I have one of your Suzukis
for the TT next year? " I said we could certainly do something and asked
what his plans were for the bike and what sort of deal he wanted. His
reply was " Oh, I only want to race it, I don't want any money". He simply
wanted to race .
Maurice Knight, Suzuki GB
________________________________________
Front page of Motor Cycle News,
April 1, 1981
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