Bob
“Every day I wake up, and I’m happy to be alive!” – Bob Esposito
“Hey, Fam. It has been a very long time since we have reached out. Most of you know that we lost our friend, mentor, and most beloved leader in early June of this year, 2021. We are never to recover but honored to have known and played music with Bad-to-the-Bone, Bob Esposito. We extend heartfelt thanks to all of you for your support over the years and our many transitions. Know that in some way, Bob will ride along with us all where ever we go. Ride on, dear friend… Peace.” From is Contra Blues Band FB post after his passing.
Bob! What can I say about Bob! So much and yet so little! I met Bob because his new girlfriend reached out to me in our earliest days of Myeloma. She found my website in her searches to understand this crazy disease, and we started an email exchange that turned into phone calls. Bob was diagnosed at the same time thereabouts as Dave. He, too, had found his way to Little Rock and the Myeloma Institute at UAMS. Weirdly we never met there. It was thru Bonnie that we learned of one another and became friends.
In my early conversations with Bonnie, who was his “new” girlfriend, she was trying to sort out what this whole disease was and Bob’s life expectancy. Of course, her family and friends were suggesting she was out of her mind to be enamored with some guy who had CANCER! And since she was somewhat new on the scene, she didn’t have a say in the matter regarding his care. So as we had our first conversation, I’ll never forget it. She asked me many questions and then shared with me her family’s comments and concerns. I remember saying to her as we were both the same age, around 50 at the time. “Bonnie, we could marry some guy at our age, and he could have a stroke or something!” My point was, at our age, we can’t know or control these matters. I remember she and I laughed and laughed at my quip! I remember telling her, “If you enjoy being with Bob and he makes you happy, GO FOR IT! He has every opportunity to have many years ahead of him. However long that may be is anybody’s guess. But he’s in the best place possible for that to be a long time.”
Bob in front with the red guitar
Much to my happiness, she took the plunge, and as luck would have it, we met up in Spring Hill, FL, when we were visiting my inlaws. They were also in the area at the time, and she reached out. They came over, and we had the most beautiful evening together. Later we met up when our check-ups coincided in Little Rock and went to dinner at the Flying Fish in Downtown Little Rock.
What I learned of Bob was that he lived in Northern Virginia when we lived in Maryland. Both are suburbs of the DC area. He got his divorce papers, foreclosure on his home, a pink slip from his job, and a Myeloma diagnosis all in the same week! And as he shared this with me, he had a broad smile! He blew my mind how he shrugged it all off as just another day. He moved to North Carolina to live with his brother, and his brother was his primary caregiver during his many trips to UAMS for treatment. But if it weren’t for Bonnie, I wouldn’t have known Bob.
What I loved about him was how he LIVED! Man, did that guy live! He was part of a band, the Contra Blues Brothers. He took motorcycle excursions frequently! You would never know Bob had an incurable blood cancer. He was always on the move, living his life to the absolute fullest!
He and Bonnie bought a house together, and he took excellent care of her to not be burdened with his healthcare financial burdens. They had many years of fun together.
I remember when we hugged at the door in Spring Hill, our first in-person meeting, and I said to Bob, “You know you owe me, right?” with a big smile on my face. He smiled back and said, “HELL YES, I DO!” From that moment on, I was very invested in the Bob and Bonnie love story.
How he came to his end was he was living large as he always did. He was dirt biking and had a spectacular wipe-out. In that wipe-out, he contracted a fungus from the dirt, which can lead to other healthcare crises with myeloma patients, which he never could recover from. It was one of those things that you don’t think about can happen with an immunosuppressed person. It’s lower on the list of worries, but it’s on the list. Bonnie did the best she could for him with covid restrictions and not being in Little Rock. He could have lived more safely, more protectively, but that just wasn’t Bob.
He was one of my Myeloma Heros, and I will miss him greatly. God’s Speed, Bob! You lived LARGELY and FULLY! You taught me so much! As did you, Bonnie! You took the plunge when everyone told you were crazy! And you had many years of fun and love. You are my hero too!
