Bobby O’Shields and Red’s Place

 Car of the day:

 The car was Mildred's (Bobby's sister) a '46 Ford convertible.

For today:

 You have a lot of time to think when have a bad back and switch from ice to heat, LOL! I thought of my cousin, Bobby O’Shields, lately. In my mind I KNEW Bobby, after all his mama was my aunt on daddy’s side and his dad was a cousin on mama’s side. But the titles were always Uncle Irvin and Aunt Bert (Bertha).

I didn’t know his real name until I read his obit. It was Robert (Bobby) Jones O’Shields.

(Bobby, me and Guy Abee in Valdese one summer, Shirley hanging us on the line and Bobby's sister Mildred took the picture. Shirley and Mildred were like bobby and I, a lot a like)

Growing up, we spent at least a week together every summer. It was a delight to be with the family. Uncle Irvin was a giant of a man with  red hair, at least 6’ tall and 200 lbs. Aunt Bert was at the most 5’ and weighed less than 100 lbs, but as feisty and tough as a cougar. They lived in the back of their ‘country store’ called Red’s Place.

This was the picture with his obit. I went on to read the obit never noticing until later that was Bobby on top of the store. LOL

Bobby met and fell in love with Virginia, she had 4 children. They never had a child together and Bobby accepted her kids as his. I honestly never got to know any of the children.

Bob was an avid gun collector. He once spent the night with us in Charlotte when he attended a gun show there. We had time to talk. Yep I thought I knew him, but it was only from our childhood. I know he felt the same although all we had shared was a childhood. It was worth it because he was a sweet gentle soul, quiet and caring. He was the same the last time we talked in our 70s.

Our family men seem to merge with the families of the women we marry. It was the same with Bobby. BUT I must admit I was a little disappointed in his obituary. Whoever wrote it never once mentioned another member of his family. Not even acknowledging he was predeceased by a brother, sister, mother and father. BUT at least there was a picture of Red’s Place where he sold gas at 28.9 cents a gallon. ;-O

NiteShipslog

 

PS: