I wrote a piece one time on a backpacking trip I was on, and closed by saying that if I could have good coffee in the morning and [Southern] Comfort at night, I could endure anything in between. A fellow named Bob chimed in that I must be a Janis Joplin fan. I didn’t get it at all. Bob told me that Janis lived each of her adult days with Southern Comfort at hand.
Later I wrote a post about a gal named Anna who was a Hillary Clinton supporter over the Left in the West. Anna was very hard to deal with. I called the post “Anna Montana“, and in it I quoted a long passage written by this same Bob. It was impassioned, thoughtful, historical and moving. Anna’s response was pathetic. I ended Bob’s words with my own … “Nuff said”. It turned out to be one of the most widely read posts here at this blog. It’s fitting that most of the words belong to Bob Garner.
I got to know Bob after that – after some hemming and hawing, we got together for coffee, and at my urging, he opened his own blog, which he called Waves and Particles. It was not about politics. It was poetry, some prose, and his photography. He didn’t do it for long, He found it too stressful to have to put something fresh up all the time.
We invited Bob out to our house for dinner, and had a fun evening. He was surprised that a curmudgeon like me had a lovely and charming wife. (He was charmed by her – that happens frequently.) We talked on into the evening. Bob often mentioned his friend Christina,who I imagined to be someone his age. Bob was in his seventies.
Later, after we told him we were moving to Colorado, Bob took us out to dinner, and we finally met Christina. Bob first met her when she was a barista at the Leaf and Bean, and took a fatherly interest in this bright and lovely girl. She’s an acupuncturist now here in Bozeman, and she and Bob shared a deep friendship. He was old and gnarly, she young and beautiful. No doubt Bob wanted to be 30 years younger.
Bob and I and another friend were to have lunch tomorrow, but Christina called this morning. Bob fell and hit his head, had some internal bleeding, and passed away.
I was at Bob’s house but one time, and now wish I had stayed longer, but we were on our way to places. His house was exactly what I expected – a small kitchen, a computer on a small desk, and books books books everywhere. I’m not clear on his life or background, and I hope others will fill me in later. I know that he lived in California, where he knew Janis Joplin and Bob Dylan. Here in Bozeman he ran a motorcycle shop, and I think he was a former biker. (I can picture that.) He was once a press secretary for our Secretary of State. He did not like my frequent criticisms of journalism. He has a son who is flying in from Africa, and a brother who is undergoing brain surgery in Pennsylvania.
Christina said that Bob did not want a memorial service. I wish they would do it anyway. I want to hear people who knew him better talk about him and his life. If anyone who reads this knows him and has a few kind words to say about Bob, please do so. There’s a far deeper and lovelier man there than I ever had time to get to know.
So long, Bob.
Piece of Mindful 
Shit.
Shit.
That’s all that comes to mind, through actual tears, mind you.
Shit.
I’ll try to comment more eloquently when I calm a bit. But this truly suck news.
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This gentle man, so full of life, will be missed — but never fogotten, especially to those lucky enough to have known his wit, humor and grace.
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Damn. A lot of what he wrote I disagreed with, but I always liked reading what he had to say.
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The saddest of days…the news came. Bob and I were old friends and he my biggest supporter. My heart was filled for 20 lucky years knowing Bob and sharing way too much to impart. Bye Bob, I lift a glass to you again.
Kel
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When I come up for air (here I just test the waters) I will write and share more of the man I called my best friend. Today I invite you to wordgum.com.
Bob’s son Carson, is working on uploading some of Bob’s unpublished ramblings. I hope the writings offer a deeper insight into rich world of Bob Garner.
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Bob Garner was a great friend of mine…including the entire time he worked for Secretary of State Brad Johnson, whose office was filled with pretty hard-core Republicans.
Bob, as his press secretary, liked to cut through the bullshit and he despised the partisan political games that all too many of our elected officials somehow come to view as their “job.”
When Brad decided to do an interview for Helena Civic Television, Garner asked me to be the interviewer. Mind you, he knew for a fact that I sure wouldn’t be pitching softballs at old Brad, but he said “If we have you do it, NO ONE will be able to think it was something we rigged.” And true to his word, he never asked me for questions before the interview because he wanted his boss Brad to have to answer spontaneously rather than appear to have been coached on the questions beforehand. My first question to him was “What happened to the Republicans — you used to hold both houses of the legislature, the governor’s office and now you’re the lone statewide Republican officeholder except for Rehberg?” His response, as Bob predicted, was spontaneous and honest — he simply said he didn’t know except that they had lost it somewhere down the line.
Bob wrote me often to comment on my columns in the Indy and the Bozeman Tributary (which is now, sad to say, no more). His emails were always long and thoughtful and encouraging and, as I said, never much on the partisan angle. To Bob R v D was just another stupid game.
So sad that he’s gone. Another great friend goes down, but we can all count ourselves lucky to have had him for a friend while he was here.
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