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-Bob Riffle has passed away


quaman58

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Thanks Diane! Keep'em coming!

Bo-Göran

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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A question, what family has Bob left behind ?

besides me..

Wal, Bob was not close to all of his blood relatives; he was very close to his sister, Nancy, and to a cousin, "Pete."  

But you're right, the people online who were friends were his family, too.  He never liked people without loving them.  

His sister asked me to write the formal obit for him and when she has time to review it, she said she would like it posted here.  That will have most of the traditional details.  Of course it's about the length of a short novel because I wrote it....

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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Okay, Bo – you asked for it.  Some of the following is the background for today’s main story:

I might have mentioned earlier that I had trouble going into my garden this past week after Bob was gone.  Beginning in the spring, many of my phone calls with him took place in the garden.  I’d describe what was happening and he’d comment and after hanging up I’d take digital pictures and send them to him.  So when a Hedychium densiflorum ‘Assam Orange’ bloomed for the first time outside my kitchen window the day after he died, I wilted, because I wanted to send him a picture.  My bananas are bigger than he’s seen, the cannas are amazing, my cussonia is the most beautiful in the state – I kept thinking how much I wanted to share these with him.  No amount of logic could make me feel better; even though the last big batch of photos had been emailed only a couple of weeks ago.  And it wasn’t like he didn’t know what a brugmansia looked like.  Although when they get big in Seattle it IS a big deal.  And bananas aren’t exactly unfamiliar to him.

Brugmansias

Before The Tropical Look was started, Bob told me about a huge brugmansia in the garden of his friend, Alton Marshall and sent me a picture.  I lusted after that plant!  (Plate 79 in The Tropical Look) There was nothing like it in Seattle and I don’t even know if the warmer parts of SoCA had that many growing in those days.  

Remembering that he could play the piano like no one’s business but otherwise had zero manual dexterity, it was a months-long process of begging and blackmail to get him to send me a  package of cuttings.  And then he said the piano was attached since he taped the box on top of it.  But finally it arrived with brug cuttings and some ferns and some Pseuderanthemum alatum.  I frankly was almost as fascinated by the soil from Texas as by the plants.  It was so completely different from the Pacific Northwest’s glacial till.

The plants were all from his garden and the box obviously from his house as it was smoke scented.  

I tried several methods of rooting the brug cuttings, and I still remember the day I had roots about an inch long.  I called him very very excited.  There was a long silence on his end.  Then he told me, “After I sent those cuttings to you, I threw the scraps under the shrubs in the front garden.  They’re six feet tall.”  

Anyway, there isn’t a need to root brug cuttings anymore in the PNW, because of our friendship, my talking and writing about them, and my garden mafia group of friends (some of whom own nurseries), you can now buy brugs-ready-to-bloom all over the West Coast.  

Bananas

We discussed Musa basjoo at length because the sunny part of my garden is very small.  I actually paid $100 for a 5-foot one a couple of summers ago.  He was appalled.  I was greedy.  I’d bought two one-gallon sizes, but I wanted bananas and I wanted them fast.  So I had two “pups” and one that cost me over a dollar an inch.  Now I have 8 or 9 about 22-25 feet tall.

Hummingbirds

The older I get, the more I love hummingbirds.  I have phygelius planted around (in my usual subtle color scheme of pure orange, bright yellow, and magenta; I have black-leaved dahlias in the same colors).  So almost every night, we had to pause while I would tell him exactly how close the hummingbird got (usually only inches from my face) while we were talking.  

Coffee

In the Acknowledgments of The Tropical Look, Bob mentions how I used to send him Starbucks coffee to keep him going.  He'd never had it before and was drinking something awful that wouldn't pass for coffee in Seattle.  There wasn’t a Starbucks in Houston at that time as I recall; anyway, I’d send it and he’d drink it and get jazzed up enough to write.

So that’s the background….the real story of today continues soon….

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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Diane- We all look forward to every post....

While looking up something in the old archives, I noticed "RLR" was the newest member...

       How appropriate.

Bill

Zone 10a at best after 2007 AND 2013, on SW facing hill, 1 1/2 miles from coast in Oceanside, CA. 30-98 degrees, and 45-80deg. about 95% of the time.

"The great workman of nature is time."   ,  "Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience."

-George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon-

I do some experiments and learning in my garden with palms so you don't have to experience the pain! Look at my old threads to find various observations and tips!

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Saturday, August 19, 2006

Back in my Garden

I woke at 4 a.m. and automatically mentally calculated the time in Fort Pierce, Florida.  I knew there was no one to answer if I called, but the habit is difficult to break.  

At Bob’s sister’s request, I spent some time working on the formal obit for the newspapers.  It was satisfying to do because I know what he would have liked and what would have pleased him and the words came easily.  As always, when I’m writing about my great friend, I don’t feel sad, I feel him with me.

Soon the sun was up and we had a promise of a warm day in the 80s with our usual low humidity.  At times like this, there is no more perfect place to live.  

I made my morning mug of coffee (French press; you can stand a pitchfork up in it) and went out on my deck in to the picnic table.  With every sip of coffee, I remembered all the shipments of Starbucks I’d sent to Houston and later to Fort Pierce.  It made my garden feel like a happy place to be again.

I had a phone call with my sister, with a friend who has a beautiful tropical-look garden (and someone Bob liked a lot) and my mother.  Bob’s sister called next.  We had a nice conversation which included many hearty laughs which is a wonderful way to fill the hollows in your heart.

After hanging up, I realized that again my garden was a comfort and not a lonely place to be.  Two hummingbirds were having a territory fight over my head, the squirrels (Bob loved squirrels) were creeping closer and closer to get a good look at me, and the brugmansia had 15 new blossoms open.  The sun was backlighting my bright red and bright purple dahlias and the palm behind them was a great backdrop.  

And then during the day, some interesting things happened.  

The brug I have is ‘Charles Grimaldi’ which has a very sweet fragrance.  As I was standing under it watering, I was enveloped in the same scent of the smoky manuscript I’d been reading from Bob’s desk.  I inhaled and sniffed so much I almost tipped over; it was distinctive and unmistakable and the first time I’d ever caught a smoky scent from any brugmansia.  I let it surround me and enjoyed it with my eyes closed and a big smile on my face.  It was like a warm hug from my friend.

Later this evening I was sitting between the phygelius and the dahlias doing a little trimming and a little deadheading and a lot of thinking when I heard the strangest sound from a hummingbird.  I looked up into the face of a grizzled old guy who had lost most of his tail feathers and sounded sort of like a plane about to make a crash landing.  I could hear RLR saying “Thud!”  The old guy perched on a branch for about 3 minutes only 2 feet away and sat and stared at me.  

When he left, I cut an almost-finished blooming branch of bright orange phygelius and as the last blossom whipped past my face, a big drop of nectar landed on my lip.  A sweet kiss from my garden.

I was welcomed back and I have my refuge again.  Instead of feeling estranged from my old friend, I felt closer than ever.  Feeling better than I had in a week, I decided to do something on the sidewalk side of my fence.  I cannot for the life of me remember what it was.  

As I walked up the sidewalk, I noticed that the huge, chartreuse, heart-shaped leaves of my Catalpa bignoides 'Aurea' were growing into the banana leaves.  As I stood looking into all of the beautiful leaves I saw a face only a mother could love – the Musa basjoo had a big inflorescence looking out at me!  One last gift from my garden today.  And one way or another, whether today or 12 years ago, all of these were guided to me by the hand and the writing and the passion of Robert Lee Riffle.

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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Diane,

Words can't describe how much I enjoy this personal story of yours and all the memories that come with it!

Mahalo and Aloha!

Bo-Göran

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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Wonderful garden experience Diane, intoxicating. Please write more.

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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OTHER PASSIONS - I

So often couples are two different halves making up a whole.  So it was in many areas of our friendship.  RLR loved a good movie and often found much to like about a bad one.  I want to be entertained, don’t mind a tear or two but refuse to watch if it’s going to depress me or involve animals suffering.  

I also used to tell him that I LIKED colorized movies.  And my reviews and critiques of Woody Allen movies often had him howling.  (I’m not a fan; he is.  This is another book.)  

His favorite movie reviewer was Gene Siskel; after his death, he’d read, and often disagree with, Roger Ebert.  

I’m not certain how many movies he taped, but I know it was well over a thousand.  And he had set rules:  no commercials, the tape had to start at exactly the right moment as in a theater, and the logo of the station couldn’t appear on the screen unless it was tiny.  Because he had trouble hearing, he also wanted the closed captioning.  

Many a night he’d sound so tired and I’d ask why he wasn’t in bed; he’d say, “Soon.”  If we talked long enough, he’d say “Can you hold on a moment, love?” and I’d know that he was orchestrating the perfect start to taping yet another movie.  He never did bother to learn how to time-tape anything on his several recorders.  

We often watched movies together – he in Fort Pierce and I in Kirkland.  We never made it too far before the conversation began again, but our favorite to watch together in recent years was My Cousin Vinny.  

Another favorite we shared is A Piece of Eden, directed by his (our) friend, John Hancock.  (In this thread under “Hancock.”)  John and I are friends because of plants; John Hancock and Bob Riffle are friends partly because Bob could give an intelligent response to John’s questions about films.  A Piece of Eden is a delightful, sweet, fun and entertaining movie.  NetFlix has it if you haven’t seen it.  (See it!)  Bob and I had a lot of fun watching it before it was released.  I loved it at first sight.  Bob and John had several discussions about it, and Bob thoroughly enjoyed that process.  

Many of our discussions took place at the cocktail hour in Fort Pierce.  Bob drank less and less as the years passed but he usually had one to sip on each evening.  I remember his asking me if I was going to see George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck.  “I’m waiting for the colorized version,” I said.  There was a gasp and a snort and the headset hit the floor… he was laughing so hard he almost choked.  

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."    Confucius

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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warmed my heart

Thank you, Janet.  I'd been worried about the garden and the plants and the association being too painful.  It was good to experience the reverse.  As RLR would say, "It warmed my hort" too...

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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Last night a long-time friend of RLR in San Francisco tracked me down and we had a long conversation.  Her former husband is in India and feeling isolated from what's going on here in re. to RLR.  I gave her the thread URL so that both could see the distance he'd traveled since those years in Houston.  

She talked about Bob's house and garden in Houston.  Many of the photos in The Tropical Look are from that garden.  And she told me something I'd forgotten about -- he did what many of us want to do; he covered his back garden with plexiglass to protect the most tender palms and tropicals.  She said, "Can you imagine the humidity?"  At that time the swimming pool was intact, so it must have been amazing.  She said as they walked through the garden they would sometimes see a shovel in the ground with a vine growing up and they'd ask Bob how many days it had been there.  

I remember, now, his telling me about the little geckoes in that garden; he said they "flirted" with him.  

Plant collectors never have enough room.  I remember, too, my mouth actually hanging open when he told me they drained the swimming pool, had holes punched in the bottom with a jack hammer so it would drain and then filled it with soil, making the largest pot for palms I've ever known.

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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oh my goodness, i have not been on the board for about a week, just logged on and genuinley was shocked to see this post.

RLR i never met you in person but feel like i did, loved to hear your paino stories, your witt and your absolute ad infinitum knowledge of palms...thank you for just ...everything.

i can tell you were a "real" person, someone who realy did make a difference, no false pretences, and  oh the times i smiled reading some of your funny posts. As we say in new zealand..a real decent bloke !

i collect sid dickens memory blocks and one of my favourites is of a tree, stripped of all it's foliage and this is what the verse on it reads...

winter is the season to dream the beginning.

like this great tree we are all rooted in one earth,

ever changing, ever growing.

RIP Bob, gone but never ever forgotton, Brenda.

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i think bob would have liked this tree i am refering to.

sorry i am no good at posting links but if any one wants to have a peek just google SID DICKENS then look for tile number T 125, tree of life.

thankyou diane for all the posting and yes i agree bob was a vampire, due to me being on the other side of the planet, many the time i would log on and find only one other person was online...no prize for guessing who.

regards, brenda.

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I am struck by two coincidences.  First, the tree in the Sid Dickens Tree of Life Memorial Tile looks remarkably like the Adansonia digitata under which Bob's ashes will rest.  

Second, in the short bio of Sid Dickens, there is a mention of where he studied:  

"In 1989, Dickens attended the Instituto De Allende in the internationally renowned artists' colony of San Miguel de Allende in the north central mountains of Mexico. For two years he studied sculpture and bronze casting, and began a spiritual journey that would later take him to such places as Egypt and Peru where the influences of these cultures are evident in his work. "

Two other very very close friends of mine are artists, George Little and David Lewis.  They have a house in San Miguel de Allende, and on my visits and stays there I would talk to Bob on the ride between Leon and San Miquel.  I'd describe the vegetation just like a businesswoman would, and Bob would try to translate what I said into botanical names.  He did remarkably well.

George and David's work is heavily influenced by their time spent in San Miguel  One of the last and most wonderful things Bob did for me was commission a piece of their work for my garden.  But that's another story.

Here is the tile you mentioned:

post-3-1156245524_thumb.jpg

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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Here is another image of Adansonia digitata

post-3-1156246351_thumb.jpg

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time –

The Story Of Riffeline (and Flap)

After 14 years without a cat, I decided it was time for another.  I queried the members of the Gardening Forum re. the best cat for staying alone during the day and liking to sit next to but not on the person.  Maine Coons won hands down.  Off to the Cat Forum of CompuServe where I found the name of a local breeder.  I had big plans to buy a light-colored female kitten.  The breeder did this for a hobby, and just because you could afford the cat didn’t mean she’d sell you one.

After two interviews and interacting with kittens in a big house in Redmond (she and her husband worked for Microsoft at the time), I was pretty sure I had one picked out and thought I’d passed her tests to qualify for ownership.  As we left, we walked through her bedroom and a big, dark, male cat was on her bed.  He walked up to me, put his paws on my chest and then wrapped his front legs around my neck and hugged me!  “Oh, this is what I want my cat to be!” I said.  

His name was Douglas Fur, he was a recently retired 2-year-old stud who had won those thangs cats win – Super Supreme Grand Pobah type titles; his offspring, too, were champions.  Well, she’d never seen a cat take to someone like that and within minutes the deal was closed.  She practically gave him to me.  

He was the perfect cat; he never did anything he wasn’t supposed to do and we had a great time playing together.  However, perfection stopped at his name.  I thought Douglas Fur was stupid, so I named him Riffle.  

RLR said that was a BIG mistake.  I didn’t care.  I wanted to name this dear cat after him.   I had a lot of fun in the Gardening Forum talking about how Riffle drank out of the toilet, slept on my head, liked to nibble my toes.  RLR was patient for about 2 weeks when he dreamed up the perfect name of Riffeline.  

Unfortunately, a few years later, Riffeline died suddenly at the vet’s from a genetic disorder that couldn’t have been predicted or found upon even a close examination.  I was devastated and Bob thought it was his fault because the cat carried his name.  There were nearly 700 posts in the Gardening Forum thread re. the adventures we’d all had with this cat and the stories I told.

I decided I was going to wait quite awhile for the next cat but did go visit the breeder just to help out; she was fighting (and later won) breast cancer and I enjoyed just playing with the cats.

One day she took me down to a different room to see one of her most popular stud cats.  He looked like a cougar.  He had lots of awards himself and many many prizewinning offspring.  I went into the room he lived in among the other cats (on the top floor of this huge house with a gabled roof), and the first thing he did was climb on top of my head!  Betsy, the breeder was very surprised; he’d never done that before.  She thought he might be the cat for me when his studly duties had been fulfilled.  I wasn’t sure.  Riffeline was so beautiful and this cat, Flap, was not all fluffy and pretty.  The next visit to her house we stopped by Flap’s living quarters, and he walked up the bar in his living quarters and climbed up onto my head again.  It was like wearing a 20-pound Davy Crockett hat with the head still attached.  

Well, I gave in – she canceled the rest of his “dates” and in a few weeks I had a new cat.  Instructions from RLR were stern and non-negotiable:  Leave the name alone!  So I did; the name Flap came from when he was a kitten and his ears were so big they Flapped over his eyes.  

After he retired, he filled out a little and his fur grew.  He now looks more like a tiger.  He measures 44 inches from nose tip to tail tip and weighs about 20 pounds.  I play rough with him on instructions from Bob; Flap loves it and sometimes wins!

Flap joined all the evening conversations with Bob.  He’d curl up next to me and purr.  As the years progressed, he started snoring loud enough even Bob could hear him – except he thought it was me.  Flap also snorted at funny times too and I always felt obligated to explain who made which noise.  

He told me once if he had a nickel for every Cute Cat Story I told him, he’d be a wealthy man.  And with every cute cat story his first comment would be “Kaching!”  

We recently had quite a heat wave (mid-90s and we don’t have air conditioning); I’d been wiping down the kitchen counter when the phone rang.  When I hung up (cute cat story coming), I turned around to see Flap had snuck up onto the kitchen counter and laid his cheek on the wet paper towel.  This is one of the last photos I sent Bob – maybe actually the last.  He loved this cat from afar.  His comment follows:

From: rlriffle@

Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 7:15 PM

To: dianelaird

Subject: Re: HOW HOT IS IT?

Well, he looks even cuter than usual.

   <kaching>

even with heat stroke.

post-3-1156311723_thumb.jpg

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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Diane,

That's a GREAT story, and a priceless photo! Thanks!

Bo-Göran

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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Be careful you guys, I can tell Cute Cat Stories until the cows come home.  Glad you liked it!  Flap's on the floor to the right of my feet on a wool pad in a cubby hole snoring away even as I type this.  RLR said we were probably allergic to each other.

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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Diane,

I'm definitely a dog person, but as far as I'm concerned you can tell as many Cute Cat stories as you want. BUT, we do need some balance... I began a thread, "Dogs" in the Palapa in July, with two photos of our two Maltese, Wilbur and Orville. This was Bob's response:

Robert Lee Riffle

Group: Administrators

Posts: 207

Joined: Jun. 2006

Posted on: Jul. 21 2006,08:27        

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeez, Bo.  I'm notifying that hit man to take action tout-de-suite.  Even your doggies are beyond beautiful!  (I have this incredible soft spot for terriers.

I should get over it.  Mine died many years ago ....)

You are truly blessed I hope you know ....

(Maybe I'll delay the hit man a while longer.)  

End of quote.

So, in the name of dog-cat balance, here are two dog photos (and I guess technically that means you can post one more of Flap!!). First Wilbur

post-22-1156316474_thumb.jpg

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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And Orville

post-22-1156316509_thumb.jpg

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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Bo, now I know what started Bob talking about getting a dog!  Those are the sweetest guys.  (Although I think my cat can beat up your dogs!)  

Bob told me he was thinking again about getting a dog and I told him he had to finish the book first.  There is nothing like a book deadline to get writers inspired to do everything but.  

He did have a lot of fun thinking and talking about it.

I'll have to check out photos of Flap sent to RLR and choose carefully my other photo.

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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Im very sorry to hear the news but I couldnt get onto the forum any earlier as there are problems galore - some possibly local here due to grondworks but others must be the computer.

The only way I can get on this forum is as Bilbo and not as Jon who I am in fact but my password is not recognised.

I must be the first hobbit on this forum and I bet Bobs laughing too!

Regards

Bilbo of Hobbiton, the Shire

AKA

Jon Kenahan

West Sussex

(and Im not on mind altering medication)

Juan

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(and Im not on mind altering medication)

I could loan you some of mine which doesn't seem to be doing much good.   I'm seeing hobbits and hearing a familiar laugh somewhere around my hort.

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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Diane,

I'm happy to hear Bob started talking about getting a dog. I'm sure that just thinking about the possibility gave him some pleasure during his last few weeks. I did encourage him after he posted the reply above.

And I have no doubt Flap could beat up Wilbur and Orville. They only weigh about 10 lbs each.

Bo-Göran

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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23415591420.jpg

Please click image for larger version

Here is a picture of one of my three cats Gadget, who grew up as a store cat in the Bronx. My husband saw a great potential in this one and took her home in February 1998. That was one of the best decisions we have mad., The cat is a gem and I bet that spending a day with her would turn a cat hater into a cat lover. Sometimes I wonder if she is a cat at all.

Anna

Ania

Houston, TX

zone 9a

"God in his wisdom made the fly

And then forgot to tell us why"

-Ogden Nash

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This is a very sad Topic, I really think this topic of Mr. Riffle should end on a happy note. I`m sure bob appreciates all the kind things everyone has been saying if he was alive. But I believe that Bob would want us to continue with this Forum as it was meant to be. Discussing palms and sharing photos not dwelling over his unfortunate demise. So lets all move on I`m very sure bob would want the same.

Joe Carter

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(TooShort @ Aug. 23 2006,18:22)

QUOTE
This is a very sad Topic, I really think this topic of Mr. Riffle should end on a happy note. I`m sure bob appreciates all the kind things everyone has been saying if he was alive. But I believe that Bob would want us to continue with this Forum as it was meant to be. Discussing palms and sharing photos not dwelling over his unfortunate demise. So lets all move on I`m very sure bob would want the same.

Hi TooShort,

Maybe that was a bit TooHarsh?

Anna

Ania

Houston, TX

zone 9a

"God in his wisdom made the fly

And then forgot to tell us why"

-Ogden Nash

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Yeah I was thinking the same thing. I think Bob would be happy that people are still sharing fond memories of him. I know I am learning more about Bob through Diane. Don't stop yet, Diane.

Zac

Zac  

Living to get back to Mexico

International Palm Society member since 2007

http://community.webshots.com/user/zacspics - My Webshots Gallery

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(TooShort @ Aug. 24 2006,08:22)

QUOTE
This is a very sad Topic, I really think this topic of Mr. Riffle should end on a happy note. I`m sure bob appreciates all the kind things everyone has been saying if he was alive. But I believe that Bob would want us to continue with this Forum as it was meant to be. Discussing palms and sharing photos not dwelling over his unfortunate demise. So lets all move on I`m very sure bob would want the same.

I concur, it's not harsh, it's life, it moves on and so should we.

Write a book Dianne, you've got ample material.

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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RLR's neighbor, Jean Smith, has been watching out for the palms in his yard, making sure they have enough water.  She dusted off her digital camera skills and took quite a few photos.  

Mike Burnett will be uploading these in a new thread in this forum, so stay tuned!

This weekend, Paul Craft will be taking even more photos, probably some closeups.

Our thanks to both for making it possible to see what was going on there.  I think Bob only started seriously planting palms again in the last couple years.  Especially this past year when he bought so many at one plant sale he had to go back for the second load.

D.

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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I'm looking forward to the pictures of his collection, Diane.  There was a palm he acquired at a sale which pleased him tremendously.  I must've been on chemo at the time because my memory is so fuzzy over it, so it would've been last year.  He travelled a bit of a distance to get there.  He met a member from the forum for the first time there.  It was a hard to find rare palm and he was absolutely tickled to have one.  Maybe someone in florida can remember more details about that acquisition.

Jana

Corpus Christi, Texas

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Jana, I wonder if that was the sale where he had to make two trips to get the palms home?  He would tell me what he bought and I'd look it up in the encyclopedia but I didn't keep track.  I'm a pretty easy date when it comes to palms, as it were.  I never saw one I didn't like and so many of them actually take my breath away.  

I remember riding around San Francisco with friends seeing beautiful palms; I'd ask, "Ohhh, what's that one?" Answer:  "Canary Island Date Palm"  Now repeat that about 40 times.  Good thang they liked me.  I was really a palm dunce.  Now I'm a little better because of a certain excellent reference book.  :>

I'll bet we can figure out which palm you're trying to remember between Jean's pictures and Paul's.

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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The most telling observation about Bob was that he didn't talk about himself much. These people are always the most interesting!

Philip Wright

Sydney southern suburbs

Frost-free within 20 km of coast

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I have been on travel for the past week and a half in Colombia. As I eagerly went back online to share my experiences, I learned about the really sad news and couldn't believe that our moderator and friend in palms passed away. I never was fortunate enough to meet him but I will surely miss him and his enlightening posts.

Frank

 

Zone 9b pine flatlands

humid/hot summers; dry/cool winters

with yearly freezes

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Frank, I haven't had time to review many of the other posts, but I hope you're sharing your adventures with the rest of us.  That would make our old friend happy.  It was some of his favorite reading.

D.

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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Such a loss to the Family and Palm world of RLR, he will be missed dearly. His great knowlage will only better in the Great Architect's  gardens above. * forgive me for lateness i have been away*

regards

lyle turner

Lyle

 

 

I am a kind of paranoiac in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy.

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forgive me for lateness

Bob was often late -- he'd completely understand.  :>

Diane

East of Seattle & Lake Washington

in Kirkland

Zone 8

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