Goodbye TeddyB

 In 2004, one of the first people I met on Live Journal was a gentle giant of a man whose posts oozed intelligence and humor. He lived in Canada, but was from the US. In 2005, while on tour with "Evita" I had the opportunity to meet teddyb in person. Bob loved theater, loved showing me his adopted city, Toronto, and we became very good friends. We stayed in close touch for over 15 years, first responders to each other's posts day after day.

Bob came to the Twin Cities in 2012 for a softball tournament; Tim and I showed him around town ... In 2018, Bob contacted me about vacationing in Minneapolis. He wanted to attend the Minnesota State Fair and stay with me in my house in the Victory Memorial neighborhood of Minneapolis. Bob made that trip and he stayed with me for five days. We attended the State Fair, where we saw Sugarland from a prime seat in the Grandstand; I was able to introduce Bob to seekerval and her husband Jeff and to my friend Tom Ruter that day.

A couple of days later, Bob joined thespian15 and me at The Guthrie Theatre for a performance. Outside on the Bridge at The Guthrie, I took the photo which became Bob's icon on Facebook. Just prior to the end of his stay, Bob accompanied me to Sunday evening dancing which he enjoyed immensely.

When I signed on to Facebook tonight, I found to my horror that Bob died on October 13. Details are sketchy, but many members of the old Live Journal community and others from Facebook are grieving tonight! It's inexplicable that Bob is gone; we were just bantering on Facebook a few days ago. Bob was so excited to vote and determined to get his US ballot counted.

No one seems to know how Bob died and here's why  am distraught ... I am picturing Bob being alone when he died and that image haunts me. Dying alone, with no one knowing, is my biggest fear. RIP, dear friend. I will miss you so much ...