Celebrating Bob Embury
Meeting Bob was unexpected. I was a divorced lady with a good job, and I wasn’t looking to meet anyone. So, when this nice-looking man started chatting with me at the bus stop one day, I was cautious. We discovered that we grew up in the same part of the country – he outside Windsor, and me in Detroit.
We spent our first date sitting on the stairs of the downtown library, sharing a Verners ginger ale, which is a Detroit specialty. I learned he had worked at a dozen jobs in a dozen places, from shrimp boat worker to shoe fixer at Disneyworld. When we met, he worked in maintenance department at Queen Alexander Hospital. Later he worked at the Cancer Clinic as the day maintenance guy. He loved it and worked hard to make all the patients feel comfortable.
Before long we were best friends. He’d come over to my place on Friday afternoon and stay until Monday. He couldn’t make it through the whole week, so usually by Wednesday he’d say, “I’m going downtown. Do you want to come with me?” On Friday he’d come back again and make me dinner.
We travelled to Portland, Vancouver, Port Angeles, and Seattle. Bob liked CNN and he liked old-fashioned radio shows too. We never missed a Seahawks game on TV. We were happy in our little setting. There was respect on both sides, lots of give and take. It was pretty darn special.
After Bob was diagnosed with cancer, it was a slow progression. When he couldn’t drive, he used a cane to come to my house. Next it was a walker and then he couldn’t come out at all.
He spent a few days at Hospice where they worked on his meds to make him comfortable. There were angels all around us. They even let me bring little Emma Jean, my Shih Tzu-Yorkshire Terrier, who loved to visit with Bob. That was a Godsend to him. I did my best to be with him right to the end, love him, and make him as comfortable as I could.
We had 13 wonderful years. It was a nice life, a perfect life together and I miss him. I don’t think “woe is me”. I feel I was lucky to experience such a good relationship in my lifetime. I didn’t think it would happen, but it dropped right in front of me. I could never match that.
From Liz Ilka