Coop's Corner: The Plans....

Monday, September 15, 2014

The Plans....

We were making them. Potential stops, narrowing the dates, picking and choosing among my favorite, the goal being to select the very best, me back tracking and changing my mind...."no that isn't special enough, we'll do this instead to show off something even better".....This summer was taken with his incredible automobile trip. Next summer was to be our planned Meet and Greet.

Itinerary's were being discussed, regrets shared more than once about 2013's 'near miss', the trip we thought we'd actually meet and rendezvous in. His traveling schedule and the brisk pace he made across the heartland was filled with visits, stops with friends; a bit of quick and possibly a bit frantic island hopping of sorts through the plains, our country's large mid section his sea. Part of it was timing, a bit of poor planning based on assumptions and as too often happens, some missed opportunities when other priorities jumped in the way.

Bobskoot (Bob Leong) passed away in his sleep while taking one more epic trip, this time a trip in his sporty red car rather than on one of his two wheeled conveyances. From his home on the Wet Coast of British Columbia, he and wife Yvonne were a very long way from home in Pennsylvania, traveling and gathering with friends.

Bob's trips away were fun and well documented but even more enjoyable to my eyes were his visits in and around his lovely city that he shared through the lens of his camera and his descriptive walks/rides along the waterfront. The many things he shared with so many via his Blog have been wonderfully magical; the Bob-isms and humor all things that it took a true Skoot to bring life to. Cooking happened in their kitchen as only Bob could manage it.

Bob and I shared some very special correspondence offline, things outside of and around some of the topics discussed more publicly over the vastly broad Internet. It was precious to me then and I'm going to keep it all.

There are still plans to be made for 'our' trip next summer. I'll work out the timing and adjust to fit. Stops and things to share will continue to be honed, refined and broken down to the most basic, hopefully in that same style that Bob used to share his commentary with all of us.

Bob, we'll get our schedules to gel this time and I can't wait to meet you at that corner.

8 comments:

VStar LadySeptember 15, 2014 at 8:31 PM
In the end it is all about those special memories isn't it!
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DebSeptember 16, 2014 at 12:43 AM
"Plans"...one never knows where the road will lead or when.

Something to never take for granted or for sure...

RIP, Bob.
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TrobairitzSeptember 16, 2014 at 10:46 AM
Beautiful words Doug. Bobskoot was a special person and I am sad that you never met him in person, but he wasn't very different from what you'd imagine from his blog.

If this has taught us anything it is to grasp that chance when it is presented as we don't know when there will be another.
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SonjaMSeptember 17, 2014 at 11:23 AM
Coop, lovely write-up. I am sure you would have liked Bob. He was special, and had his quirks but he was very much the person you'd expect when you read his blog.
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Coop a.k.a. CoopdwaySeptember 17, 2014 at 7:32 PM
Sonja, Thank you.
I've come to think that I probably knew Bob quite well from the things we shared and as you say, I doubt my perception or attitude would have changed very much with our actually meeting. In other words, I'm confident the real Bob was coming through.
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"it was auspicious to approach any situation from a deferential, inquisitive place. Conceding that there is much to learn is the best blueprint for discovering something new." ----B. Fuller

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He bent over the salt again; maybe if he paid her no heed she'd go on past and let him mind his own business. He heard her footsteps come nearer and stop. "Good evening," she said.

Her voice was smooth with book learning but friendlier than most, and somehow almost shy. When he made no answer she went on, "I've been sitting on your swinging bridge....I thought I'd like to say thank-you...." Her voice stumbled a little, then she tried once more.

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