A TRIBUTE TO BOB….ON HIS BIRTHDAY!

I reckon Bob is one of my oldest friends.

I first met him in 1940 when we moved to the corner 
at 1100 Reid and he and Art lived on the corner, a 
block away, at 1020 Thornton. I already knew Art 
from first grade La Casita School in 1939.

They say all little boys deserve a "good boyhood." 
I think we got our "money's worth!"

We played every kind of ball---kicked footballs in 
the street on Reid, played baseball on vacant lots, 
and Bob, later on, had a wooden basketball goal on
the alley--that chalky, dusty, rock and nail-filled alley, 
which was murder on basketballs!

We did marbles in the shade of the elms...played 
"keeps"....Bob was murder at marbles---he has most 
of mine today---just ask to see his marbles---and I'll 
show you my two dozen!  LOL.

We did mud houses with our putty knives in the shade, 
on those hot Clovis summer days. We had little 
hammers, and fifteen cents worth of single nails, and 
anything that needed nailing, we'd do it, good and 
proper.

We acted out Gene Autry and Tarzan movies, read the
Clovis News Journal funnies, when the paper came
at 3:30 p.m.---all about Joe Palooka and Jerry Leemy
fighting the Nazis in France...and they carried those
magnificent .45's!

Yes, we fought WWII all over the CTO (Clovis Theater
of Operations), in alleys, on vacant lots, and down at the
old lake bed at the end of 14th, 

(We also cleaned plenty of old tires and scrap out of
that old dry lake, to help win the war.)

We climbed trees, we did "Jap Zeroes, Down in Flames"
with water hoses, on my front lawn. We fished for 
"TRANSLERS" on vacant lots, with bubble gum on a 
string.

Bob knows and loves Clovis history, better than just
about anybody. He has been a great booster and helper
for MIL'S PlACE, which has been devoted, to a large
extent, to remembering our town, our CHS classmates, 
and old times.

In later years, he has written pieces about his hobbies--
fishing and "Junque." He has sent good Clovis photos, 
often.

We collaborated on "Dragging Main', with photos, the
summer of 2014, and I don't know who enjoyed doing 
the story the most--me or Bob! 

MIL'S PLACE owes much to Bob and his many CHS '53
friends!

Bob has a great gift---he is much-loved by his many 
friends!

So here we are today, Bob, to say:

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AND MANY MORE!

******BY MIL*****
01/22/15