Robin Nestle

Robin entered my consciousness in 1986/87. Long term friend of Karin she quickly became a sweet and helpful person to have hanging around the house. Quiet, intellectual, non-confrontational. Another example of a College Age female to provide some cultural context for whatever Karin is going through.

Robin moved in with Karin and I once we’d moved to the townhouse on Pollard Road. Her parents were moving to Thousand Oaks and she wasn’t quite ready to be on her own. Her dad contributed to room and board and Robin was now included in the family routine. She was a good addition to that daily routine. Helped a bit around the house but didn’t contribute a large footprint to my internal space.

Karin soon went off to College and Robin was there to fill the vacuum left by no daughter in the house anymore. We socialized some and talked over dinner, shared the household tasks and formed a friendship that was almost a surrogate/foster mother sort of thing. Robin had grown up without the maternal support of her natural mother. I was happy to provide whatever I could.

As time went by Robin and I found a mutual interest in road trips and camping. We had a marvelous time camping at Sonora Pass with She’s a Pepper, my Brittany Bitch. We slept on a tarp under the stars and swam in the Walker River with the dog. This became something we could do for entertainment from time to time. We visited Ashland together and camped out at Crater Lake. Later we camped at Zion with Nellie and Bob the cat.

As I developed an interest in running she stepped up as my occasional running partner. I’m sure I would have been a lot better off had she been my regular partner instead of the co-dependent running relationship with Joe. Robin was a supportive friend always interested in my personal welfare.

Robin attended Alanon meetings with me and considered the RCIA route as I made my religious conversion in 1991. After Robin’s marriage to Tom and then to Ben we remained close friends and still went on a couple of trips together.

I miss Robin now that she is so busy with the traumas of life. Losing her father and her sister in 2009 has been a terrible emotional stresspoint for her.