That was interesting...

Any of you regular readers probably know about The Better Half's boyfriend/companion, Bob. If not, you can read a bit about him here.

On Thursday, TBH's mom couldn't get a hold of him on the phone, but she decided that we'd wait the day out. Earlier in the week he was incommunicado for a day because he didn't get his phone hung up properly.

Friday morning, no Bob. We told TBH's mom to call the police to check on him. We're both busy at work and really didn't need to expend the time to track him down. Nothing would do but WE had to check on him. I picked TBH's mom up at her house, then read her the riot act for not doing what was the proper thing.

We knew how to get into his house, so I let myself in, and found him dead on the floor in his bedroom.

I sort of felt bad after that. Bob and The Mole were steady for 20 years, enjoying each other's company and growing old together. But that's the cycle of life. He had had some heart problems, and I think some dementia was starting to set in. TBH and I were thinking that he wasn't long for independent living at any rate. I don't think there was much anyone could have done for him unless they were right there-one of those cases where maybe you have two or three minutes to help. He didn't look agonized, just looked like he was sleeping.

The event wasn't so traumatic for TBH or myself as a whirlwind. If you're the one to find a body, you get all the questions from the paramedics, cops, and coroner. I didn't know where he kept any of his personal papers or effects-the man was a world-class packrat and the place looked like a tornado went through it-or a sharehouse. Plus we had a time getting a hold of his next-of-kin. Eventually someone got his daughter, and she came over. I was never so happy to give her his house keys and get the hell out of there.

It adda one more little thing to our life. TBH's mom is, of course, no kid. She has church and some friends, but Bob provided a lot of her social life. That connection with the outside world is terribly important for older people-it can help keep them alive since it gives them events to prepare for and look forward to. She's a tough old bird and pretty much takes life as it comes, which is about all one can do. I suspect she could find a male friend in time should she put her mind to it. Actually, her neighbor across the street is a widower, and thye've known each other for several decades. He was a Hump (China-Burma-India) pilot in WWII, and is in astounding shape for pushing 90. He likes to dance, just like she does. Might could be in a while, we'll have to get her to take a plate of cookies to his house...she could do worse. Companionship, common interests, and 100 feet away. What's not to like? But first things first and there'll be some mourning before she gets back into the 'dating scene'.

Bob was a heck of a guy. He did a lot, had a lot of interests, and went to a lot of places all around the world. He was an astronomy buff and traveled all over to see the various lunar and solar eclipses. He helped with the development of airborne early warning planes. He worked here at the Arsenal, International Harvester, and taught welding and quality control at our local community college. He made the most of his almost 89 years. Requiescat in pace.

The silver lining (for me) was that I missed a crisis at work. Fortunately, it didn't involve my company or our products. Someone at a local factory we do a LOT of business with got a finger chopped off when manipulating a cab on a dump truck being built. That gets attention from people. Corporate people, who are best left in their offices and not out anywhere near actual work. I don't think I want to say a lot more about this at this point, but rest assured that I will have a comment on design practices at some point in the future. Suffice it to say that we got a rush order for a cab lifter. Win-unless you're Nine-Fingers Malloy.

As I write this, TBH is in bed. Kind of sounds like she's got a bout of the flu coming on. Yay. There's some nasty bug going around these parts. One of my coworkers was home Friday with a head full of snot and watery eyes. Fortunately, I have some Havockian FKN GOD powers and have escaped this so far.

Other than that, pretty quiet here. How about you?

yankeedog out.