May 3, 2021
May 3, 2021
What a great tribute. Thanks for setting it up, Jamie.
I got a strong presence of Jared when visiting mums house tonight on the street we all grew up on. So many memories. The good old days. I miss those days with him very much. Thought I’d share a collection of stories and memories of Jared from my eulogy.
“For those who don’t know me. I’m Oscar. To Jared, I was the freckle faced kid across the road who was to spend the next 15 years as a best mate, a soccer teammate and couch wrestling opponent.
Although the last few years our paths have not crossed as often as they used to. I’d like to think that whenever we caught up it was as if nothing had ever changed and we were still kids again.
I want to share just a few of our closest memories starting from day 1, Christmas Day 1998.
Josh and I were playing on the street with our new state of the art remote control cars. There we were making the cars turn and swerve, thinking we were real cool. All of a sudden we hear this roaring from down the street. In the distance there’s this monster of a remote control car. It was like nothing we had ever seen. The thing could flip on its back and keep driving, it could spin on the spot and do bunny hops off gutters. The driver was an olive-skinned, rosie-cheeked kid with a jet black curly mop and mischievous grin. Jared Saltoon. On this day we became the Rawson Avenue Boys with Jared quite naturally assuming the position of fearless leader
When the Saltoons’ moved in, Rawson Avenue became a circus of siblings. In the strangest of coincidences we now had four families nuclear families with an oldest daughter and a son 3 years younger. Alex and myself in # 47, Josh and Ali in # 43, Sam and Jess in # 30 and Dana and Jared in # 60. If that wasn’t enough there were the big bros Andrew and Damien down the road and of course Jenny and Veronique,
The doors of all our four hives were always open and we would casually swarm between them, leaving nothing but a trail of destruction.
For us though, The Boys of Rawson Avenue - wrestling matches would be a core feature of our youth. We’d hold matches in our parents living rooms, back yards, kitchens, bedrooms …maybe a public park or shopping centre... basically where ever we could get our hands on each other And of course to anyone here who has had the experience of wrestling a young Jared Saltoon – the laughing fits and muscle soreness would remind us of his unlimited energy supply for the entire week. It brings me to my next point.
Jarred was a true competitor.
One day on our street we decided to have a soccer juggling competition. I still remember the scores. Josh with the confident nine juggles, Sam with an easy 54, Myself with 103. Jared got 1027 continuous juggles. We stood and watched for what felt like an hour
Another example is when we decided to have a tree climbing competition:
Jared climbed so high that he couldn’t get down and we had to get the firemen to come and get him. It was a rare moment of Jared in a vulnerable state, a young kid climbing so quickly with pure determination and only the sky in mind. It didn’t even occur to him to look down until he got to the top.
Our childhood was so full of laughter because of Jared. From his prank calls to Dominoes, to locking his big sister Dana in the pantry with a wooden spoon (in Jared’s defense, Dana started it!), he was fearless and we were his audience in awe of him.
I followed Jared in whatever he did, everyone did. He was exciting and magnetic. We copied his catch phrases, the way he spoke and his cheek. It was Jared who led me into soccer.
From the age of 7, Jared was in the A’s. I started in the L’s and worked my way up the ranks to get a spot in Jared’s team. It was here that a group of starry eyed footballers met-Tommy Nunez, Mickey Grossman, Max Jorder and Massimo Luongo. Our families bonded together on the sidelines of club football and in the stands of rep soccer when we started to get serious. Our parents dedicated their whole weekends to drive us to places like Parkes, MaCArthur and Sutherland for a 90minute soccer game and a bacon and egg roll.
The journey to Sutherland across the Tom Ugly’s bridge was always a highlight for us. Especially when driven by Danny. The rule in Danny’s car was that whenever we drove over the Tom Ugly Bridge, we were allowed to swear as much as we wanted, but as soon as we got off the bridge the swearing had to stop. We obviously took this opportunity to pack as many F and S-words into the time it took to cross the bridge. At the otherside Danny would yell STOP!!! Jared would always slip in an extra F bomb for good measure
Over the years Jared developed into an amazing athlete with true promise as a professional. I’m sure anyone who played with or against him would remember how strong a defender he was. An absolute ruthless competitor, a natural that understood the science of soccer.
Jared knew what was cool before it was cool.
Whether it was remote control cars, play station, backyard basketball hoop or soccer... Jared never used keep these treasures to himself. He shared them, encouraged others to participate and used them as tools to build healthy competition. He pushed me to be better at whatever I did. Even if it took a headlock, a noogie or a body slam.
He taught me to laugh no matter what, to be cheeky and witty and to not take everything personally. I always admired how Jared could outwit adults from such a young age, including the interview with the Labour Party Opposition Leader Kim Beaslie. The program was called Kid’s Speak and Jared was the interviewer, or journalist if you like.
I believe one of the question he asked was “Kim, tell me, how rich are you?” Followed by “who is your favourite Spice Girl?” He tested boundaries and almost always got away with it.
Jared, there is no doubt you have played such a significant role in who I am today. Those incidental lessons you have taught me, I will carry for the rest of my life.
I’m so proud and grateful for our friendship.
I find it hard to believe that you’re no longer here and only wish that I could’ve watched our kids play on the street and wrestle like we had always done.
Dana, Jamie and Danny - the Rawson Avenue family will always be here for you and we will keep Jared memory Alive “
Oscar Lederman
I got a strong presence of Jared when visiting mums house tonight on the street we all grew up on. So many memories. The good old days. I miss those days with him very much. Thought I’d share a collection of stories and memories of Jared from my eulogy.
“For those who don’t know me. I’m Oscar. To Jared, I was the freckle faced kid across the road who was to spend the next 15 years as a best mate, a soccer teammate and couch wrestling opponent.
Although the last few years our paths have not crossed as often as they used to. I’d like to think that whenever we caught up it was as if nothing had ever changed and we were still kids again.
I want to share just a few of our closest memories starting from day 1, Christmas Day 1998.
Josh and I were playing on the street with our new state of the art remote control cars. There we were making the cars turn and swerve, thinking we were real cool. All of a sudden we hear this roaring from down the street. In the distance there’s this monster of a remote control car. It was like nothing we had ever seen. The thing could flip on its back and keep driving, it could spin on the spot and do bunny hops off gutters. The driver was an olive-skinned, rosie-cheeked kid with a jet black curly mop and mischievous grin. Jared Saltoon. On this day we became the Rawson Avenue Boys with Jared quite naturally assuming the position of fearless leader
When the Saltoons’ moved in, Rawson Avenue became a circus of siblings. In the strangest of coincidences we now had four families nuclear families with an oldest daughter and a son 3 years younger. Alex and myself in # 47, Josh and Ali in # 43, Sam and Jess in # 30 and Dana and Jared in # 60. If that wasn’t enough there were the big bros Andrew and Damien down the road and of course Jenny and Veronique,
The doors of all our four hives were always open and we would casually swarm between them, leaving nothing but a trail of destruction.
For us though, The Boys of Rawson Avenue - wrestling matches would be a core feature of our youth. We’d hold matches in our parents living rooms, back yards, kitchens, bedrooms …maybe a public park or shopping centre... basically where ever we could get our hands on each other And of course to anyone here who has had the experience of wrestling a young Jared Saltoon – the laughing fits and muscle soreness would remind us of his unlimited energy supply for the entire week. It brings me to my next point.
Jarred was a true competitor.
One day on our street we decided to have a soccer juggling competition. I still remember the scores. Josh with the confident nine juggles, Sam with an easy 54, Myself with 103. Jared got 1027 continuous juggles. We stood and watched for what felt like an hour
Another example is when we decided to have a tree climbing competition:
Jared climbed so high that he couldn’t get down and we had to get the firemen to come and get him. It was a rare moment of Jared in a vulnerable state, a young kid climbing so quickly with pure determination and only the sky in mind. It didn’t even occur to him to look down until he got to the top.
Our childhood was so full of laughter because of Jared. From his prank calls to Dominoes, to locking his big sister Dana in the pantry with a wooden spoon (in Jared’s defense, Dana started it!), he was fearless and we were his audience in awe of him.
I followed Jared in whatever he did, everyone did. He was exciting and magnetic. We copied his catch phrases, the way he spoke and his cheek. It was Jared who led me into soccer.
From the age of 7, Jared was in the A’s. I started in the L’s and worked my way up the ranks to get a spot in Jared’s team. It was here that a group of starry eyed footballers met-Tommy Nunez, Mickey Grossman, Max Jorder and Massimo Luongo. Our families bonded together on the sidelines of club football and in the stands of rep soccer when we started to get serious. Our parents dedicated their whole weekends to drive us to places like Parkes, MaCArthur and Sutherland for a 90minute soccer game and a bacon and egg roll.
The journey to Sutherland across the Tom Ugly’s bridge was always a highlight for us. Especially when driven by Danny. The rule in Danny’s car was that whenever we drove over the Tom Ugly Bridge, we were allowed to swear as much as we wanted, but as soon as we got off the bridge the swearing had to stop. We obviously took this opportunity to pack as many F and S-words into the time it took to cross the bridge. At the otherside Danny would yell STOP!!! Jared would always slip in an extra F bomb for good measure
Over the years Jared developed into an amazing athlete with true promise as a professional. I’m sure anyone who played with or against him would remember how strong a defender he was. An absolute ruthless competitor, a natural that understood the science of soccer.
Jared knew what was cool before it was cool.
Whether it was remote control cars, play station, backyard basketball hoop or soccer... Jared never used keep these treasures to himself. He shared them, encouraged others to participate and used them as tools to build healthy competition. He pushed me to be better at whatever I did. Even if it took a headlock, a noogie or a body slam.
He taught me to laugh no matter what, to be cheeky and witty and to not take everything personally. I always admired how Jared could outwit adults from such a young age, including the interview with the Labour Party Opposition Leader Kim Beaslie. The program was called Kid’s Speak and Jared was the interviewer, or journalist if you like.
I believe one of the question he asked was “Kim, tell me, how rich are you?” Followed by “who is your favourite Spice Girl?” He tested boundaries and almost always got away with it.
Jared, there is no doubt you have played such a significant role in who I am today. Those incidental lessons you have taught me, I will carry for the rest of my life.
I’m so proud and grateful for our friendship.
I find it hard to believe that you’re no longer here and only wish that I could’ve watched our kids play on the street and wrestle like we had always done.
Dana, Jamie and Danny - the Rawson Avenue family will always be here for you and we will keep Jared memory Alive “
Oscar Lederman
