Carl

There are some other photos of Carl Robbins here on my blog and elsewhere in my internet portfolios, but this one was taken on the last time I ever saw him in his shoe repair shop. He had a stroke. After months in the hospital he was moved to a nursing home/rehab center. He's regained some use of his right hand and can kind of hobble around a bit. His speech is good. But he'll never repair shoes again. When that became an obvious fact he sold all his equipment, and the shop where I'd visited with him for 35 years or more is no longer a shoe repair shop.

Nearly every week my ex, Claudia, and I drive over to see him for an hour or two. She usually bakes some goodies for him, and he loves to get fresh fruit, especially fresh strawberries. We sit around and chat about everything and anything. He wants to know how my son Jonathan is doing at Harvard, when their baby is due (Sept.), and if I've heard from my daughter Elena in Atlanta. He remembers them as infants in baby carriers and when they were toddlers fascinated with the machinery in his shop. Now they're about to turn 30 and 35 in June.

Carl is about ten years older than I am. Everytime I see him I ask myself if he's living my future. I sure hope not! I'd like to see myself as still up and around in ten years, still shooting pictures and getting around by myself. It's scary to think about things like that.