January 16, 2016

Been a tough few weeks. I lost another friend.

This time it was my wife’s aunt Carolyn. And at times, my partner in crime.

Aunt Carolyn was always the one who could tell a joke and laugh at one.

She always “got” my sarcasms and when I was around her I never felt alone, or like I was the only one in left field. She was always in left field with me, or maybe I was in left field with her. We caught a lot of balls together and threw a lot of runners out at third.

She said what she thought, and sometimes she said things to see what others thought. Call it a poke, a jab, or whatever. You had to be on your toes around her.

She made me laugh, some of the things she said. She had timing.

And she was tough. All the Robinsons are tough. And what makes them so tough is that they are always honest. Carolyn was no exception.

She loved life. Something that is not always easy for someone like me. She didn’t love life like a witty quote. She loved it because she enjoyed it. I looked up to that. She always had a gleam in her eye that was a reflection of the world around her.

This spring she won’t be calling me for honey before the bees come out of their hive. She won’t send me $5.00 and I won’t send it back. One year we traded that $5.00 for maybe three times before she gave up…until the next year when she sent a $10.

The last time I saw her she lifted up her head and smiled. She lifted her hand and pointed her finger at me. It had the little red light on it – the one that is wired to the monitor. She shook it at me and said “You…you...it’s you…” That little red light pointing at me like a bouncing flash light. All I could do was smile. For a half hour I sat near her. Both of us in left field, throwing to third.

It would be our last throw.