THE ROBERT W. WHITAKER ARCHIVE

SHARI | 2006-02-02

In reply to "My Name is Bob Whitaker" Shari says,

"I think I may be the only stranger who replies here. It seems that you all have some personal aquantance with each other. So I can say that I don't obssess about Bob Whitaker. Actually I never heard of him until I started reading this blog. I have lived all my life way out west and never heard of a lot of things. I've tried to find things out though. It's hard because as you know, you don't learn what you need in college. At least I never did, but I quit after a couple years and got married. "

Comment by Shari

I am glad Shari got the impression that we all know each other.

We don't.

I hope it doesn't disappoint anybody, but Elizabeth is hte only person here I can put a face to. I have met Peter, but I can't put names to faces.

Oh, yes, I've met Richard.

My father was the top brick-maker on earth, and he was color-blind. I am a past master at politics and I can't remember names or attach them to faces.

So my father and I both had to be very good at what we DID.

I am interested in ideas, in concepts, in THOUGHTS. That's what I remember about people.

I guess I'm not a people person.

I know THOUSANDS of people, of course, and thousands know me. And I tend to be very entertaining in a group. So the idea that I am not a people person is hard for some people to comprehend.

I have no trouble talking to people anywhere, and I strike up acquaintances easily because I like people. Every person has a life experience just like I do, different as it may be. I understand them too well to dislike them.

But for me, the exchanges of feelings and ideas we have here are reality, not having lunch together.

COMMENTS (2)

#1 Mark | 2006-02-02 17:22

There you go again --- "I have met Peter..." Just send me to the back of the classroom, will you?

Bob, I'm putting in an in-ground pool this summer (if my wife has any say so in our marriage) and after I dig the holes and dump the sand followed by the fiber glass pool shell and then pour the cement and after it becomes concrete I'm gonna lay outdoor ceramic tile on top of the areas that you walk on -- tiles that will resemble bricks most likely -- something I assume you know about. So you can add me to the list of "I kknow's" I hereby invite you to spend a week at MARK's house, in MARK's spacious guest bedroom, eating at the best restaurants a small town can offer, on MARK of course, in order to help MARK lay tile or just sit back, drink beer, and act like a straw boss, and then watch all of my 18 year old son's girlfriends splash and frolic in the pool so you can say you now know Peter and MARK -- not just Peter.

Sorry Peter, no offense to you intended.

#2 Derek | 2006-02-02 19:23

Yes indeed...I don't know Bob. I just know his ideas and thoughts. I guess that is enough really.

I have been writing in short, declaritive sentences since I first read Hemingway. It is easier to communicate with others when you are direct.

Maybe that is why I feel like I fit in even though I don't know squat in comparison with some of the elder, more learned commenters.