Jindra has left us.
He died Friday July 30, of cancer, at the age of 43. Many of us learned the sad news at Trmice on Saturday morning, just before the start of the competition, and were utterly shocked by it. Diagnosed in January, Jindra knew he wouldn't live much longer but had kept the information from most people, because he didn't want to ruin anyone's enjoyment of life, even as his own was coming to an end.
He was an unforgettable person. I met him for the first time at my first ever dogfrisbee competition, at Stromovka Park in Prague in July 2007, and saw him at just about every one I went to since. Frisbee for me will always be associated with his presence and now, his spirit. And what spirit! He and his dog Ro always stood out, they were real characters, highly expressive and wonderful and amusing to watch.
I can't claim to have ever had a real conversation with him, since I don't speak Czech and he didn't know English. But it didn't seem to matter. We shared a podium at Stromovka, and the next time I saw him, at the EC 2007 in Wroclaw, Poland, he greeted me like an old friend, with a big smile, a twinkling eye, and a hug. That warmth, friendliness, and general craziness surrounded him wherever he went, all you had to do was get near him and it infected you in the best possible way.
He was one of nine Czechs who came to Slovenia at our invitation in April of 2008, to help teach us the game and hold Slovenia's first dogfrisbee competition. I had asked each person to write a little background about themselves; here's what he wrote about himself and his partner Ro:
Ro is four years old. I got him when he was two. His parentage is unknown, and he was born in an animal shelter. His background is quite sad: he was mistreated and passed from one owner to another. Ever since choosing me as his partner, he has been living as though he were on holiday, but he has a frisbee in his head instead of a brain.
One of Ro's trademarks was the way he would fold a Jawz frisbee in half like a pancake, or maybe a calzone, while retrieving.
Jindra and Ro were a great team, who played the game for the best of reasons, for pure joy and fun. Jindra's friend Michal Roman wrote a moving tribute to him, posted in Czech at the Czech discdog site, and can say it better than me. Here is an English translation, thanks to Zuzana Ouředníková:IN MEMORY OF JINDRICH PECHACEK, BY MICHAL ROMAN
Jindrich Pechacek... a friend, an uncontrollable element, a showman, but also a great dogfrisbee player. Every competitor in Trmice was shocked by Jindra´s death. Czech dogfrisbee lost one of its best personalities. Jindra may not have been the best player, but he could entertain the audience and his "opponents" as well. In fact he never competed. Dogfrisbee was fun and play for him, something he did mainly because of his dog. He used to say his dog had a disc instead of a brain. And when he entered the field unprepared, he would say: "Let's just throw." He was a showman and thanks to this he became unforgettable. Even people who didn't know him and were just standing with him in a queue at a stall won't forget him. Although he knew his life was coming to an end, he kept it secret. He continued entertaining the people around him and he was very happy when he was successful at it. It's a pity that he never organized any competition, because he was a great organizer and host, too. The best competition I have ever attended was at "Mytinka" (a training ground built by Jindra). In the morning before the start of all events he let the people draw lots from boxes. After reading the cards we realized that we had been assigned an opponent's dog. It was quite difficult for some, but everyone had a great time that day. Competitions won't be the same without Jindra, something has changed. But I know that he wouldn't want us to grieve. Always when I remember him I cheer up thanks to the sentence: "Hey dude, don't worry, let's go and have fun!" And we should continue like this because of Jindra. And remember the nice time we spent with him.
Here is a video that Michal put together, a composite of several performances over the years:
Jindra sometimes went by the nickname of "Létající Krakonoš". "Létající" means "flying" (and is commonly used to describe frisbee dogs) and "Krakonoš" is a mythical character, the patron of the Krkonoše mountain range. Jindra acquired the name I guess in part because he was living in the town of Trutnov, in the Krkonoše mountains (and also home to the Krakonoš brewery) and in part because he bears some resemblance to Krakonoš:
The training field he was working on was called "Mýtinka u Létájící Krakonoš"--Flying Krakonoš's clearing.
More photos of Létájící Krakonoš can be seen at Pavel Humpolec's site.
Jindra's farewell party will be this Friday, August 6, in the town of Lanškroun, where he was born:
Jindra, we miss you and we hate to see you go. You left too soon. But we hope that wherever you are, you are having fun and putting on a good show, just as you did when you were here with us.
Jean McCollister
Objave
