In my mind's eye, Robert was...
A complex and fascinating man, a common man of uncommon talents and wisdom.
Not a Man quick with a smile, but it was warm & sincere when proferred.. anyway you really didn't need to see it to know it was there...
A Friend of the Scroggins and Fannin County Texas...
A Pioneer, an Adventurer, a man who sought after knowledge.
A Man that exuded pure confidence and candor...
A man who could fix anything, indeed could rebuild many things from the ground up.
Bonham ~ though I'd never made it my home, nested there amid the black-land and bois d'arcs, back alleys ~ garages, grocery stores, cafes, nursery home kitchens and old men's haunts {many long gone, some still holding their ground} are many a young boy's memories.
Trading pocket knives at Guy Bryant's station, cokes and peanuts, spending Papa's money on plastic toy wonders at South-side Grocery... the list goes on... and among them stands Robert ...
Among the finest of my memories, a man who made a material, indelible mark in my lifetime's memory bank.
A man of impeccable Work Ethic ~ honest and square dealing.
A Helping-hand to generations. From a young Gertrude whose lunch bucket had fallen in the creek,to farmer Marvin with eggs needing delivery ~ wilting in the heat and a pick-up on the blink.
Cold winter days huddled around the garage's, vent pipe gas furnace, listing to old men's tales ranging from...
rebuilding Willies Jeeps, to
Harley rides into the northwest and beyond...
Grizzly bear hunts recanted by a pot-bellied man dressed in khaki's and a pith helmet, to
Hunting off a pair of pups with a 22, to
Making deals on cars, land, guns'er pick-ups, to
Racing home to Bonham in the pitch dark from Houston, to
Picking apples and walnuts in Washington State...
I remember work scared hands the size of seed shovels... embodying the strength of a vise and the skill of a surgeon ~ guided by simple, practical genius... and command... poetry in motion resulting from years of alert and curious practice ~ of self taught vocation...
Attributes and anecdotes... Accolades!... for a Friend (a larger than life childhood Hero) gone on~ fondly remembered.
{written November 1998}
We were recently welcomed to town by a family friend and restauranteur who shared with us her family history in multi-volume form. It was a wonderful collection of family photographs and memories. It reminded me of this note I'd written to Robert's widow shortly following his death some 10+ years ago...
