By McAvoy Layne…Those of us who knew Rob Robins have one binding thing in common: each and every one of us has Rob’s fingerprints on our hearts. We are better people for having known him, and the world is a better place for his having lived in it. His presence was a profound gift to us all…
A few short years ago, our wonderful recreation center allowed friends to team up and purchase annual memberships as couples. Rob and I joined as a couple with considerable savings. At the end of the year, when it came time to re-register as a couple, I was handed a package at the front desk. Inside that package was a pair of stiletto high heels and a note from Rob, “My ankles are killing me! Your turn!”
That was Rob all over. At 84, he was ardently crazy about life, and always walking on the sunny side of the street. Whether deep into a good game of poker or enjoying a cigar with friends, he was forever cheerful, and just booming with good fellowship…
This past summer, Rob celebrated sixty years of marriage to his loving wife, Linda. He invited me to make a toast, and I accepted with all the ardor of a high school cheerleader…
LOVE,
Do we have an L!
Do we have an O!
Do we have a V!
Do we have an E!
LOVE seems to be the swiftest of all growths,
but in fact it is the slowest…
No man, no woman can know true love
until they have been married sixty years.
Yes, Rob and Linda have been happily married for 6 decades,
and this puts Robo in the company of Mark Twain…
“I was born reserved as to endearments of speech and caresses, so hers broke up on me like the summer waves break upon Gibraltar. She had a heart that was tropically warm. It is in the heart that the riches lie. A loving heart is riches, riches enough; without it, intellect is poverty. And Livy possessed a heart of finer metal than any gold ever mined or minted. So blessed be that moment that brought us near together and taught me to know the goodness of her heart and the sweetness of her spirit! Whoever fell within the influence of her beautiful nature was her willing slave forevermore.”
So if ever there were two gentlemen with reason to be thankful for divine providence it is Mark Twain and Rob Robins, as we all know, Rob feels the same way about Linda…Wheresoever she is, there is Eden…
So, my friends, can we lift a glass?”
Do we have an L!
Do we have an O!
Do we have a V!
Do we have an E!
LOVE!
Forever Together!
Rob & Linda!
We love you!
It has been said that God sends us tears as medicine for our souls. So let the medicine flow today for our beloved brother, Rob Robins. May he rest in eternal peace…
Audio: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Fhv4PrH1UuwlhbnTT23zO
— For more than 35 years, in over 4,000 performances, columnist and Chautauquan McAvoy Layne has been dedicated to preserving the wit and wisdom of “The Wild Humorist of the Pacific Slope,” Mark Twain. As Layne puts it: “It’s like being a Monday through Friday preacher, whose sermon, though not reverently pious, is fervently American.”