Wednesday, January 10, 2024
From one of his friends.
There was a time when I was fortunate. Fortunate to have a friend like Rob. Sometimes you don’t realize this until you attempt to cultivate friendships later in life. Sometimes when you’re older, you look back and figure out who the quality friends really were. I was lucky to have Rob as a friend and generally didn’t even know it at times. We were young.
I can only report my experiences. I have no idea how others received Rob in terms of friendship through the years. But he accepted me for who I was. He moved me beyond worry and apprehension that he could sense in me. My worst enemies. He focused on the fun-factor. Dismissed the ridiculous and unnecessary.
While working with him, he could always take difficult situations and make them fun. Some of the finest people I’ve ever known could do that. They are few. Rob could do that. He could drop what he was doing to help you in a time of need. He could carefully examine a situation that you presented and find solutions to problems. In fact, he enjoyed doing that. He always gave advice. His opinions were sound. And there were numerous times when I sought him out to see how he felt about a life situation or a problem I was having. And he had a way of making sure that we had a good time during the discussion.
So many instances have come to mind recently. So many good times. Times that I will cherish and that will be recollected forever.
* Convening council with a few other teenage friends of different interests and backgrounds in some secluded little wooded area off of Plainfield Road. We were young. We were meticulous, organized, and determined in our efforts to have fun. We did.
* Camping with Rob at Caesars Creek State Park as teenagers. An awesome weekend - talking about hot women, life, music, and laughing our heads off around a huge bonfire that made the park ranger nervous.
* Long summers working at McDonald’s. Shifts that would make you miserable. And only Rob made it fun. There was an absolute huge difference if I went into that place and Rob wasn’t there. It sucked. He made it memorable. And to be quite frank, anybody managing the shift that day was lucky to have him. His work ethic was solid.
* A great one for me: Rob and I would play tennis at Deer Park High School in the blazing Summer heat. There was no score. There were no sets. It was a simple competition. Hit the ball legally as hard as you could where the other guy couldn’t get at it. And then make some smart-ass comment afterwards. He was quite good at it. Afterwards, that night we would head out somewhere and talk about our ridiculous though sometimes professional performances on those then cracked courts at Deer Park. Someplace, any place, where hopefully there were decent women to observe. It was just too fun.
* The afternoon both of us sat on his sister Kim‘s bed, watching Jimmy Connors’ live historic 1991 U.S. Open comeback, cheering as Connors screamed at the referee to do his job because, “I’m out here at 39 years old!”
* Shooting pool for hours to Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, and R.E.M.. There was always something to talk about. Always plans. Always laughs. The man just had the ability to make me laugh hysterically. There was a time when it’s where I belonged. By his side. Always on call.
I was fortunate to have a friend who would listen. Rob did. This is something I didn’t realize until later in life. His innate ability to listen. Not just to what I said, but to what I didn’t say. Some folks are unable to do this as friends. Some people are too concerned about listening to themselves speak versus others. Not Rob. In fact whenever I initially encountered him for an outing or just to hang out, he always got to work listening. Quiet initially. Again, I didn’t realize it at the time. Sometimes it was uncomfortable. But after he listened for a while, he had gathered what he needed before speaking to not only to respond as an awesome friend, but to ensure a good time.
I’ve had a lot of friends. But few that always gave me their full attention when I was present. He did with me. Few that were patient. He was. And I think anybody reading this who knew Rob would agree that in times of need Rob always directed his attention to those - friends and family - who needed him the most.
He was my friend. God bless him.
Eric Mutchler
