Where do you come from?

A while back (3/29/07) I wrote the entry below but never published it. I've been working 18 hour days all week with little craving for sleep. It's easy to do this, but hard to think of the man who did this his whole life. I felt it was time to publish.

"It's Thursday night, about 9:45 and I'm thinking about Bob. I think it's important every once and a while to sit back and figure out how you came to be. I'm not talking about conception, I'm talking about the personality and soul of who you are. Tonight I would like to talk about a very inspirational side of who I am. For those that know me, or have known me well, you know about my uncle Bob. Bob is todays topic, and Bob is a huge part of me.

Thinking back to my first memory of Bob I guess I just think of Oranges and the the ranch. I know there was Bob before this but this is what I remember. I remember oranges the size of a softballs at Christmas. I remember medium length curly hair, slim build, and a yellow Toyota FJ. I remember a ranch house packed full of every kids dream. I recall a cement pool in the back yard, 2X what a normal pool is wide and deep..."it's called an irrigation pool kid." I think about drum sets, motorcycles, 3 wheelers, racks and stacks of CD's (remember when those first came out?). I think about a TV bigger than anything you had ever seen, 50" plus back when big screens did not exist. I remember a hardwood stove that heated the whole house and a sawed off shotgun above the door.

I Think about dogs of every shape, fur, and size. I Remember Sony, Sam, and Tyson. I Think about climbing ivy in a room with a paisley wrap around couch where you could listen to any song you ever wanted. You could listen, and listen to it loud. I think about my first exposure to Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Animals, 13th Floor Elevator just to name a few. I remember first being introduced to Saturday Night Live, and the best of Eddie Murphy. Bob had an amazing sense of humor and would laugh out loud at many things we watched. I didn't understand a lot of the humor at the time, but I certainly do now. If you come to my house some day you will notice the only DVD's I collect are Concerts and Comedy. You might also notice that my computer hold over 27 days of music which equates to over 9,200 songs....gee, where did that come from? Not to take any credit away from my father who is also the king of big speakers and loud music.

Want to drive a tractor? Want to ride a 3 wheeler? How about using a chain saw or shooting a 22? That is what I got to do on the Ranch. I remember asking my parents to stay at Bob's house like I was begging to stay the night at a best friends. It's funny but when I'm at Jodi's parents house, her grandpa is always nervous when I take his 4 wheeler out. In the back of my head I'm always thinking, "I've been riding these things since I was 8, when they had 3 wheels, and really killed people!"

Think back to when you were between the ages of 5 and 14. Before you read on try and think of a memory from this time in your life.

This was my Chocolate factory, I am Charlie, and Bob was my Willie Wonka."