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Evil Bob's Mother
The mother of a long-time family friend, Evil Bob, died a few days ago.
Evil Bob has been close with my parents since before I was born. My dad introduced him to the woman who became his wife. My brothers and I spent a lot of time with Bob's wife and sons when we were little. His wife, who was epileptic, died suddenly and unexpectedly in her sleep some years ago, back before I moved to Michigan. Bob has had trouble dealing with the kids since then; my understanding is that she was always more the day-to-day parent than he was. Eventually, his younger son, P, moved out to California with a friend to be a motorcycle mechanic. They had perennial problems getting along, so I hope that that worked out the best for both of them. I haven't heard anything about P in a long time. He was living at my parents' house for a while, and though we weren't very compatible folks, I have some affection for him and hope life is good for him.
After P moved out west, Bob's older son, A moved in with my parents. He's still living there. He has some developmental disabilities whose exact nature I'm not familiar with. He's not unintelligent; he plays board games with the family on occasion and does pretty well sometimes. He was thinking of going to school to be an actuary, but his attempts to do so haven't gone well. I think he's had a lot of trouble with the non-mathematical parts. He has a food-service job at the Waukegan naval base through Goodwill, which he seems to enjoy.
I feel for Bob. He was a really large part of my parents' lives for a long time, and of mine when I was younger. Since his wife died and he was downsized, he's been in a less than idea financial situation. His house was foreclosed on and he moved in with his mother. He was a sysadmin for a large pharmaceutical company, and had been since long before one needed degrees or certifications to have such a job. He got a nice severance package when that company closed their offices; nice enough that, when I started school in Michigan, he loaned me $5000 to make class possible. He's a really good person, and all of the trouble he's dealt with through recent years makes me really sad when I think about it. I think of really good times around Christmas, years ago, when my family and other friends all got together at his house for LAN parties and things, and the big server he was excited about playing with and I just really wish he was in a position where he could pursue things that make him happy. Everyone deserves that, but it hits close to home when there's someone I've known for a long time who doesn't have it. It's upsetting and frustrating and I wish I could do something more.
Bob is going with us on my drive to New York. I'm looking forward to getting to spend a bit more time with him before I move away.
Evil Bob has been close with my parents since before I was born. My dad introduced him to the woman who became his wife. My brothers and I spent a lot of time with Bob's wife and sons when we were little. His wife, who was epileptic, died suddenly and unexpectedly in her sleep some years ago, back before I moved to Michigan. Bob has had trouble dealing with the kids since then; my understanding is that she was always more the day-to-day parent than he was. Eventually, his younger son, P, moved out to California with a friend to be a motorcycle mechanic. They had perennial problems getting along, so I hope that that worked out the best for both of them. I haven't heard anything about P in a long time. He was living at my parents' house for a while, and though we weren't very compatible folks, I have some affection for him and hope life is good for him.
After P moved out west, Bob's older son, A moved in with my parents. He's still living there. He has some developmental disabilities whose exact nature I'm not familiar with. He's not unintelligent; he plays board games with the family on occasion and does pretty well sometimes. He was thinking of going to school to be an actuary, but his attempts to do so haven't gone well. I think he's had a lot of trouble with the non-mathematical parts. He has a food-service job at the Waukegan naval base through Goodwill, which he seems to enjoy.
I feel for Bob. He was a really large part of my parents' lives for a long time, and of mine when I was younger. Since his wife died and he was downsized, he's been in a less than idea financial situation. His house was foreclosed on and he moved in with his mother. He was a sysadmin for a large pharmaceutical company, and had been since long before one needed degrees or certifications to have such a job. He got a nice severance package when that company closed their offices; nice enough that, when I started school in Michigan, he loaned me $5000 to make class possible. He's a really good person, and all of the trouble he's dealt with through recent years makes me really sad when I think about it. I think of really good times around Christmas, years ago, when my family and other friends all got together at his house for LAN parties and things, and the big server he was excited about playing with and I just really wish he was in a position where he could pursue things that make him happy. Everyone deserves that, but it hits close to home when there's someone I've known for a long time who doesn't have it. It's upsetting and frustrating and I wish I could do something more.
Bob is going with us on my drive to New York. I'm looking forward to getting to spend a bit more time with him before I move away.