Thanks for the e-mail notice, Jim. I was afraid to open it. I sensed that something was seriously wrong. It turned out even worse.

I'd always been a great admirer of JHim and his songwriting, but that turned out to be only part of the picture. I felt a kinship with Bob, long before I met him. The first time that I performed at the Big Muddy Festival, Dave and Cathy took me to find Bob as soon as I pulled into town. We'd been looking forward to meeting each other, Even though Bob was busy (as were Dave and Cathy) doing final preparations for the festival, Bob drove me around the area, taking me to historic sites, indian mounds, old buildings and a bluff overlooking the Missouri River. He had a way about him. He could breathe life into every rock and stream, and I felt like I knew Boonville by the time we headed back to the festival. I took a slew of photographs that I still tresure, from that first trip. Better yet, Bob and I shared a songwriting workshop together, which was one of the highlghts of the festival.

The folk music community suffers from a severe case of Holleritis. Many gifted musicians never become known beyond their local Hollow.
I appreciated that Dave and Cathy recorded some of Bob's songs, because they were my introduction to his music. Bob leaves a rich body of songs about central Missouri. Hopefully, people will keep them alive by performing them His was a gift too great to be forgotten.

And his heart was as big as his talent.

He'll be sorely missed by all who knew him.

Jerry