February 21, 2003 - 9:37 a.m.
I declined to discuss heroes some weeks ago when the topic came up on so many diaries that I read.� I think I convinced myself that I didn�t have much to add to the discussion or that anything I had was too personal to make sense.� I think I was wrong, I hope I was wrong � let me explain.
I have an uncle named Bob.� Many that have admired my lovely truck have heard me mention his name � he is the original owner of said truck.� He is that eccentric guy in the family that is none too polished and has that careworn well loved look about him � somewhat like the old faded leather checkbook he always has sticking out of a shirt pocket.� That checkbook is held together these days with a rubber band because it bulges with so many photos of family, friends, old cards and business cards of people he has met along the way somewhere.� The cover is tattered, cracking and really should be replaced, but it was a gift you see� you can�t just throw away something some person took the time to pick out and buy for you.
Bob is my Mom�s younger brother and has always been around in my world.� Mom�s family has always been close; close in the heart and close in geography.� It was my grandparents sofa that I slept on when I would be out sick from school, and Bob�s driveway that I learned to drive in.� Bob had a small farm out past Warrenton when I was in high school.� Not a farm in the real sense of the growing things or having a herd sense of the word.� More like a largish place where he could put his collection of 40+ Volkswagens that he was dismantling and restoring all at once.� A place where he could have a dog named Springs that he took from a shelter � Springs had a lovely heart and a permanently dislocated hip and sort of bounced instead of walked.� He had 3 goats the liked to stand on whichever car had the best paint job (to his great dismay) and a pig named Wally that he really did intend to raise to be ham - right up to the moment that Wally curled up for a nap on his feet at the tender age of �piglet.�� Only Bob would have a � ton PET.� Yep he needed a farm. Yes that is the farm that Cougar came from � he was the runt of the litter, the one that no one thought would live � he was hand nursed for several weeks before being turned out to find mice and other tasty treats to dine on (like other smaller cats, but that is a different story).� Makes you wonder how bit the others from that litter turned out, don�t it?
In 1996, Bob realized that my grandparents were not getting any younger and really needed someone to be there more than just a drive by in the afternoon to say hello � which is what Mom had taken to doing.� After many family discussions he sold the farm he loved.� He moved into the room he grew up in, sold most of his things to fit and settled in for a time.� Somewhat less than a year later my grandmother passed away.� I don�t know how the family would have gotten through some of those months if it had not been for Bob.� He hated moving back into that house I know, claims my mother talked him into it but you can tell � it just needed doing and he was the right person for that job.
He has always been the easygoing one that gets along and goes along.� Really for contrast � you have to realize that we are talking about someone that makes Chuck look high stress and higher maintenance.� In the world of Bob � very thing that is important; it will get done.� Underneath the easygoing layer there is strength of character that I am not sure I can convey.� This is a man that joined the Navy and went to Vietnam over his father�s objections (who at the time worked at the pentagon and had pulled some string somewhere to ensure that Bob would not be drafted).� Nope, Bob refused to entertain the idea that he would get to stay home and some other nameless guy would take �his spot.�� He hated the navy, really hated it � but it was a job that needed doing at the time
His life is a series of stories like that.� He goes all over the country collection bits for his antique car hobby.� He and the dog, this one is �Gator�, in the truck for days on end headed somewhere.� The truck is never empty.� It is filled with something from Georgia going to a guy in Wisconsin, and then there is that thing that needs to go from the Dakotas to Indiana.� Most of the time it is for people he doesn�t know or know well.� Sometimes people give him gas money � sometimes they feed him a meal along the way.� If you are looking to get something across the states cheap � call Bob.� If you are looking for a guaranteed delivery time call somebody else!� He is a wanderer.� But he calls my mom every other day just to check in.� He calls me not quite so often but I can still bank on it.� I can also bank on a dinner at this rib place in Annandale every time he is in town.� Same meal every time.� It is not about the food, it is about family.
I could tell stories for pages and pages but it really comes down to this simple fact � Sometimes you look up and realize it is not about someone�s inability to say no, it is about their ability to stand up and say yes.� Bob is rock solid.� He is always there for me.� He is always there for a broken dog from a shelter, a nation at war, the guy at the end of the road and the stranger in another state.� He is there for people.� Quietly doing things not for glory or personal gain, but cause someone asked, and the job needed to get done.
A week ago today Uncle Bob had a heart attack.� It took volunteer EMS about 15 min to get to his house on the Rappahannock (eastern shore VA) and they transported him to the local hospital.� The local facility stabilized him and then transported him to and ER in Richmond for further treatment.� Total time door to door � 2.5 hours.� Volunteers stood up and said yes and saved his life.
Bob spent a few days in the hospital and is home resting now.� We are all very lucky as it was a minor episode and he is expected to make a 100% recovery.� When I called him the following day to see how he was there was no �poor me� or broken old guy on the phone � just my Uncle giving me a hard time for not retuning his message from 2 days before.
Look around you today.� Think about the people around you that take on tasks cause they need doing,� Perhaps it is cleaning a toilet, perhaps it is writing a last minute scroll, perhaps it is the guy down the hall that gives blood, perhaps it is the firefighter that works one night a week.� These are people that you look up and realize it is not about someone�s inability to say no, it is about their ability to stand up and say yes.� These are heroes.
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