One of the nice things about blogs is that you are allowed to get off topic occasionally. This is one of those times. A year ago, more or less, we at Bluff Manufacturing lost a friend and colleague to Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. A hateful and horrible disease.
Hobert Martin was from Huntsville, AL and his body was late 50s early 60s but who’s heart was some years younger. I think mid-teens. Hobert was Bluff to all of our customers from the Mississippi east and from the Norfolk shipyard south. He did not go as far south as Puerto Rico because they did not understand him….you see Hobert spoke only Alabama. I write this little blog to honor a friend who was a good man to know and who is missed a great deal by all of us who worked with him. I would like to share with you an image which makes us smile.
When the Disney movie “Cars” came out someone who either had children or grandchildren came in and asked if I had seen it. I said no but would be getting it for Luke my grandson. They said there was a character that reminded them of Hobert and when I asked which they just said …. you will be able to spot him. Time passed and Hobert became ill and over a year went by with him locked in a battle that we all believed he would win. I watched as people gladly did extra work so that he could remain a part of us and not be challenged for lack of income. I watched as people prayed for him and his wife Barbara…we bargained with God, willing to redeem our credits on Hobert’s behalf.
He would rally and work feverishly only to be overtaken …again. In the end, after the end, everything seemed sort of anti-climatic. Nothing you could say or do measured up to the loss we felt. That brings me to that pleasing image that now comes to mind when I think of Hobert. It’s the tow-truck. That good natured fellow with good intentions. His speech seems at first so simple you might dismiss his intellect. That would be a mistake. Always a true friend, always willing to share the knowledge that he had. Hobert helped me with my job and I was his boss. He trained me and helped me train others.
We are doing well at Bluff. We are doing well because of our people. We lost a good one. We lost the tow-truck.
