(By Tori)
I had Moose Tracks ice cream for supper and thought of you ...
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Thursday, December 24, 2009
What Did Bob Get Me???
(By Tori)
Two of my strongest Christmas memories involve my brother. Neither are single memories but a collection of the same thing year after year. First is that Bob didn't treat kids with the special careful attention that adults often do. Our gifts to him were subject to the same scrutiny as ones from adults, and he applied his uncanny ability to detect what it was through the wrapping paper to our gifts as well. Imagine my chagrin after painstakingly picking out Bob's gift thinking how surprised he'd be, only to have him pick up the wrapped package and announce, "feels like a Miami Vice calendar!" Because of this (and Laura's tendency to squeeze and rattle packages), our family has established a tradition of employing elaborate disguise techniques while wrapping our gifts. This tradition carries on today ... I was so excited to hear Natalie describe to me last year the clever way she put her mom's perfume inside a slipper and wrapped the whole slipper as a gift.
The other Christmas memory is how excited I would be to see what Bob got me. Bob and Auntie Dot were both amazing gift givers, able to pick out the neatest gifts. Always unique, fun, or cutting edge, or some combination. Bob made sure that Jen and I didn't ever have the dreaded shared gift. We would often get the same thing, but always our own and in a different color so we wouldn't have to fight over whose was which. Some of the coolest things I had growing up came from Bob. :)
In recent years as Bob's disease progressed, Christmas shopping became increasingly difficult for him. For a number of years I would take him out shopping, and later as he began having more trouble, I would help him decide what to get. It is a tradition that I treasure, remembering the fun we had, and feeling honored to be a part of his gift giving. He was such a giving person, that Christmas shopping was such a natural thing for him ... thinking of someone he loved, then picking out something he knew would light up their face when they opened it. What a neat thing to be a part of.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Two of my strongest Christmas memories involve my brother. Neither are single memories but a collection of the same thing year after year. First is that Bob didn't treat kids with the special careful attention that adults often do. Our gifts to him were subject to the same scrutiny as ones from adults, and he applied his uncanny ability to detect what it was through the wrapping paper to our gifts as well. Imagine my chagrin after painstakingly picking out Bob's gift thinking how surprised he'd be, only to have him pick up the wrapped package and announce, "feels like a Miami Vice calendar!" Because of this (and Laura's tendency to squeeze and rattle packages), our family has established a tradition of employing elaborate disguise techniques while wrapping our gifts. This tradition carries on today ... I was so excited to hear Natalie describe to me last year the clever way she put her mom's perfume inside a slipper and wrapped the whole slipper as a gift.
The other Christmas memory is how excited I would be to see what Bob got me. Bob and Auntie Dot were both amazing gift givers, able to pick out the neatest gifts. Always unique, fun, or cutting edge, or some combination. Bob made sure that Jen and I didn't ever have the dreaded shared gift. We would often get the same thing, but always our own and in a different color so we wouldn't have to fight over whose was which. Some of the coolest things I had growing up came from Bob. :)
In recent years as Bob's disease progressed, Christmas shopping became increasingly difficult for him. For a number of years I would take him out shopping, and later as he began having more trouble, I would help him decide what to get. It is a tradition that I treasure, remembering the fun we had, and feeling honored to be a part of his gift giving. He was such a giving person, that Christmas shopping was such a natural thing for him ... thinking of someone he loved, then picking out something he knew would light up their face when they opened it. What a neat thing to be a part of.
Merry Christmas everyone!
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Sunday, December 13, 2009
Bob Always Loved Elephants
(By Tori)
If I were to ask you what Bob's favorite animal was, almost all of you would probably say Wolves! And the rest might say Llamas! Such was the thought in our family as well. So one day we were sitting around Mom's dining room table talking about all sorts of random things. At some point we must have mentioned elephants. As was Bob's way, he had been sitting with us listening but not saying very much. Then out of the blue Bob announced, "I'VE ALWAYS LOVED ELEPHANTS". We all stopped talking and stared at him. Finally someone (probably me) said, "what? no you haven't ... you like wolves!" but he was adamant that he had always loved elephants and refused to budge on the matter. I suppose we should have deferred to him given the fact that it was his opinion but we all know our family doesn't work that way :) After that, it became our funny joke. At random times someone would break a silence by stating "Bob has always loved elephants!" It was one of the many ways guaranteed to elicit the little smile from Bob that we all loved so much.
So imagine our surprise when we were with Kathy Lalonde and decided to tell her about this funny elephant thing that had sprung up in our family. We just started telling her the story, starting with something like, "so we were sitting around talking and the subject of elephants came up ..." when Kathy broke in and said "OH! Bob's always loved elephants!" ....... ummm ... WHAT? Oh geez! I guess he wasn't kidding. Kathy totally had Bob's back on that one. Of course Bob didn't make a big deal out of it. Just gave us the little smile that showed he knew he was right all along but loved us enough to be patient while we figured out how wrong we all were :)
If I were to ask you what Bob's favorite animal was, almost all of you would probably say Wolves! And the rest might say Llamas! Such was the thought in our family as well. So one day we were sitting around Mom's dining room table talking about all sorts of random things. At some point we must have mentioned elephants. As was Bob's way, he had been sitting with us listening but not saying very much. Then out of the blue Bob announced, "I'VE ALWAYS LOVED ELEPHANTS". We all stopped talking and stared at him. Finally someone (probably me) said, "what? no you haven't ... you like wolves!" but he was adamant that he had always loved elephants and refused to budge on the matter. I suppose we should have deferred to him given the fact that it was his opinion but we all know our family doesn't work that way :) After that, it became our funny joke. At random times someone would break a silence by stating "Bob has always loved elephants!" It was one of the many ways guaranteed to elicit the little smile from Bob that we all loved so much.
So imagine our surprise when we were with Kathy Lalonde and decided to tell her about this funny elephant thing that had sprung up in our family. We just started telling her the story, starting with something like, "so we were sitting around talking and the subject of elephants came up ..." when Kathy broke in and said "OH! Bob's always loved elephants!" ....... ummm ... WHAT? Oh geez! I guess he wasn't kidding. Kathy totally had Bob's back on that one. Of course Bob didn't make a big deal out of it. Just gave us the little smile that showed he knew he was right all along but loved us enough to be patient while we figured out how wrong we all were :)
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Story
Monday, November 23, 2009
Fast Cars and Blondes
(By Kathy [Lalonde] Young)
Hi all
I have been reading all the blogs and comments. I wish more people would write and make comments about Bob. I want to re-type a story that I wrote before but lost it when I posted. So here goes...again.
The last story I wrote about Bob and I was when we were little kids - best friends. Bob and I grew up together then his family moved away from Natick but that did not end our friendship and family connections. Flash forward to early twenties. We had both finished college and Bob was living up in New Hampshire with his room mates and I was living in Natick with the Mackenzie family who happen to be the people who bought the house from the Hunters. It was a perfect summer day and Bob called me up to ask if I wanted to go to Salsbery beach. I said sure, where are you? He said, "I'm in New Hampshire but I'll come get you". I was really surprised and confused until he showed up an hour later in Pete's convertible spider! I was so pyched and we drove all the way back up to the beach. It was so fun! We sang and laughed and people on the highway were looking at us in envy. We had an awesome time walking around on the boardwalk and playing games. It was such a memorable day. The kind of summer day you see in the movies or in a paperback novel. At the end of the day he drove me all the way back to Natick again. We didn't even mind the summer traffic! Before he dropped me off I said I was so glad he wanted to spend the day with me. He teased me and said he just wanted to drive around with a blonde in Pete's car:)
Hi all
I have been reading all the blogs and comments. I wish more people would write and make comments about Bob. I want to re-type a story that I wrote before but lost it when I posted. So here goes...again.
The last story I wrote about Bob and I was when we were little kids - best friends. Bob and I grew up together then his family moved away from Natick but that did not end our friendship and family connections. Flash forward to early twenties. We had both finished college and Bob was living up in New Hampshire with his room mates and I was living in Natick with the Mackenzie family who happen to be the people who bought the house from the Hunters. It was a perfect summer day and Bob called me up to ask if I wanted to go to Salsbery beach. I said sure, where are you? He said, "I'm in New Hampshire but I'll come get you". I was really surprised and confused until he showed up an hour later in Pete's convertible spider! I was so pyched and we drove all the way back up to the beach. It was so fun! We sang and laughed and people on the highway were looking at us in envy. We had an awesome time walking around on the boardwalk and playing games. It was such a memorable day. The kind of summer day you see in the movies or in a paperback novel. At the end of the day he drove me all the way back to Natick again. We didn't even mind the summer traffic! Before he dropped me off I said I was so glad he wanted to spend the day with me. He teased me and said he just wanted to drive around with a blonde in Pete's car:)
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Story
Monday, November 16, 2009
Lurking in the Shadows
(By Tori)
Well, this experience has turned into quite a significant event, coming from its humble beginnings. It all started innocently enough, with Lisa sending me a link to the race website. I was intrigued, noting that the race was near my mom's house, it was advertised as a flat course, and I'd be running alongside the ocean. I was already pretty much sold on it when I noticed there was a charities page and I realized that I could raise money as part of my racing experience. Of course my first thought was that I could raise money for HDSA. Then it all clicked into place ... running a half marathon is exactly the type of challenge that I say Bob helped me learn to embrace, and the race is in his hometown! It was a done deal from there. I excitedly told Lisa that I was going to do it, and she took it a step further, reminding me about the companion 5K, and suggesting that we have Bob's family and friends join in. That way we could make it a large celebration with something for everyone. I'm delighted that it worked out just as we had hoped, and the day turned out just perfect.
I'm truly blown away by the response to my fundraising efforts. I raised almost $1200 for HDSA, and can't thank those enough who donated. I realize that times are tough and everyone has their own charities that are important to them, so I didn't have any expectations about who would donate, or how much I'd be able to raise. The fundraising site had a spot to put a goal and I picked $500 as a stab in the dark, having no idea if that would be achievable. Needless to say I'm overwhelmed by the response.
What really surprised me though was the way people reacted to this project as a whole. I've received so many nice emails, conversations, and general words of encouragement and support. I've heard from people I haven't talked to in ages, and from people I didn't expect to hear from. I've gotten feedback on the ways this experience as a whole, and this website in particular, have touched people. The first time I heard from someone I didn't know really touched me deeply. The thought of touching people's lives that I haven't met really made it hit home how far reaching something like this can be. How much more fitting of a tribute to Bob could there be?
So, the race is over. The hubub of preparation is gone, training is over, and life is settling back down to it's regular rhythm. As it should ... things like this take up a lot of time and energy and are best done in spurts, otherwise they wouldn't mean as much. But one thing Lisa and I were hoping for is that beyond the race this website would continue to be a place people liked to visit, and perhaps contribute to. Maybe foster a little community, or just give people a place to air some feelings or share experiences.
Which leads me to wonder ... who's out there? And what do you think? I know some people aren't comfortable speaking up, and we have no intention of dragging anyone out in the open who wouldn't be comfortable with that. We'd love to have you continue to read anonymously and get what you do out of it, without anyone knowing you've been here. But if you're out there reading and would like to poke your head out with a quick "here I am!" we'd love to hear from you! Does anyone have anything to share? You don't have to consider yourself a writer, or have anything particularly fancy to say. Have you read anything here that struck you? Is there someone in your life who inspires you to strive for more? Have you lost a loved one that you'd like to tell us about? Are you someone who knew Bob who has a story about him to share? Do you have a funny joke or did something wacky happen to you today? Whatever bubbles up ... we'd love to hear it ... if you're so inclined.
To see what other people have been saying, click on the "Your Stories" link up above, and it will show the posts that have been submitted so far (filtering out the boring stuff like my training logs :) ). Only site administrators can create new posts, but if you send us your story, either Lisa or I would be happy to post it for you. Just email us at our regular email addresses (if you have them), or email us here at mybrotherbob@gmail.com. Or if you prefer, you can just leave a comment anywhere on the site. If you click on the title of any post, it will bring you to a page with that post, and below will be a spot to submit a comment of your own, along with any comments that have been made so far.
And if nothing happens and this site fades into the background, then that's okay too. I have gotten so much out of this whole journey, and would like to thank each and every one of you who have been a part of it. I am honored that you have chosen to help celebrate my brother's life in such a positive way, and wish you all the very best.
:) Tori
Well, this experience has turned into quite a significant event, coming from its humble beginnings. It all started innocently enough, with Lisa sending me a link to the race website. I was intrigued, noting that the race was near my mom's house, it was advertised as a flat course, and I'd be running alongside the ocean. I was already pretty much sold on it when I noticed there was a charities page and I realized that I could raise money as part of my racing experience. Of course my first thought was that I could raise money for HDSA. Then it all clicked into place ... running a half marathon is exactly the type of challenge that I say Bob helped me learn to embrace, and the race is in his hometown! It was a done deal from there. I excitedly told Lisa that I was going to do it, and she took it a step further, reminding me about the companion 5K, and suggesting that we have Bob's family and friends join in. That way we could make it a large celebration with something for everyone. I'm delighted that it worked out just as we had hoped, and the day turned out just perfect.
I'm truly blown away by the response to my fundraising efforts. I raised almost $1200 for HDSA, and can't thank those enough who donated. I realize that times are tough and everyone has their own charities that are important to them, so I didn't have any expectations about who would donate, or how much I'd be able to raise. The fundraising site had a spot to put a goal and I picked $500 as a stab in the dark, having no idea if that would be achievable. Needless to say I'm overwhelmed by the response.
What really surprised me though was the way people reacted to this project as a whole. I've received so many nice emails, conversations, and general words of encouragement and support. I've heard from people I haven't talked to in ages, and from people I didn't expect to hear from. I've gotten feedback on the ways this experience as a whole, and this website in particular, have touched people. The first time I heard from someone I didn't know really touched me deeply. The thought of touching people's lives that I haven't met really made it hit home how far reaching something like this can be. How much more fitting of a tribute to Bob could there be?
So, the race is over. The hubub of preparation is gone, training is over, and life is settling back down to it's regular rhythm. As it should ... things like this take up a lot of time and energy and are best done in spurts, otherwise they wouldn't mean as much. But one thing Lisa and I were hoping for is that beyond the race this website would continue to be a place people liked to visit, and perhaps contribute to. Maybe foster a little community, or just give people a place to air some feelings or share experiences.
Which leads me to wonder ... who's out there? And what do you think? I know some people aren't comfortable speaking up, and we have no intention of dragging anyone out in the open who wouldn't be comfortable with that. We'd love to have you continue to read anonymously and get what you do out of it, without anyone knowing you've been here. But if you're out there reading and would like to poke your head out with a quick "here I am!" we'd love to hear from you! Does anyone have anything to share? You don't have to consider yourself a writer, or have anything particularly fancy to say. Have you read anything here that struck you? Is there someone in your life who inspires you to strive for more? Have you lost a loved one that you'd like to tell us about? Are you someone who knew Bob who has a story about him to share? Do you have a funny joke or did something wacky happen to you today? Whatever bubbles up ... we'd love to hear it ... if you're so inclined.
To see what other people have been saying, click on the "Your Stories" link up above, and it will show the posts that have been submitted so far (filtering out the boring stuff like my training logs :) ). Only site administrators can create new posts, but if you send us your story, either Lisa or I would be happy to post it for you. Just email us at our regular email addresses (if you have them), or email us here at mybrotherbob@gmail.com. Or if you prefer, you can just leave a comment anywhere on the site. If you click on the title of any post, it will bring you to a page with that post, and below will be a spot to submit a comment of your own, along with any comments that have been made so far.
And if nothing happens and this site fades into the background, then that's okay too. I have gotten so much out of this whole journey, and would like to thank each and every one of you who have been a part of it. I am honored that you have chosen to help celebrate my brother's life in such a positive way, and wish you all the very best.
:) Tori
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