We lost our good friend, Bobby Ivie (aka, bivie), on Monday night. Needless to say, this was most unwelcome news.
Bobby came into our vape world on September 3, 2012. Exactly one week after the birth of THE BIG THREAD. We recognized him by his Ten Years After album cover from their Ssssh record. Alvin Lee was his favorite guitarist. That avatar changed several times, mostly zombie stuff and even a portrait of Ronald Reagan. But he ended where he started...with Alvin Lee.
Bobby was an accomplished musician and made a professional career in writing (not-music). But I knew him for two other things. The first was the Bobby who made me laugh like so few I have ever come across, real or virtual. I don't know what it was about his humor. It hit me between the eyes. I'd light up any time I saw him make a post because I knew there would be something in it that would make me laugh. There were times I'd come close to spitting my Mountain Dew all over my monitor. He could be so serious then suddenly with one phrase have me wetting my pants. I often wondered how God could make somebody so funny. What a gift!!! Maybe some people don't find "turn signal fluid" funny, but I did. And whenever I think of Bobby I think of that auto mechanics conversation he had with Frank (aka 73, RIP). In Bobby's memory, I'm going to take a bottle of brake fluid and change the name to "Turn Signal Fluid" and keep it in my garage on the same shelf as the rest of my automotive supplies. I hope lots of people ask me about it so I can tell them about my friend.
Oddly, "turn signal fluid" was also the other side of Bobby I got to know. The more serious side. He never professed to know everything. In fact, he was a very sweet and humble man. Bobby knew a lot about auto mechanics. But he would make fun of himself just so people knew he wasn't better than them. What better way than to make a fool of himself making people believe he thinks there is such a thing as turn signal fluid. It was vintage Bobby. To know Bobby is to know he was smarter than all of us but you would never know. He didn't want us to know.
There was one other thing Bobby didn't want us to know. Sadly, Bobby suffered from chronic depression. It was a constant battle for him. He revealed this to me late one night. He often wrote me long letters. That's when I got to know Bobby and what a wonderful human being he was. My respect for Bobby was limitless. What I discovered was this brilliantly funny man was also a warrior. One can only imagine the demons he battled every day of his life. I wasn't sure what to do. I just wanted to make sure he didn't feel alone. I know I'm not God and I have certain human talents but they did not include any expertise in depression. I thought a short while and asked myself what I could do to help my friend. It was obvious. I thought of Sue (our Hula). Sue was often online late at night...as was Bobby. I knew she would be able to keep Bobby company and pay attention to him. But more so, I knew Hula had a gargantuan heart and she would understand Bobby's malady. And there are just some things a woman can do better than a man. They have a tenderness that can penetrate a man's heart a little better than another man can do. Sue was the perfect person to help. I wrote Sue explaining the situation and she embraced the challenge without hesitation. From that point forward, Sue made it her priority to keep Bobby close to her. I know they established a dear relationship. It's not always easy to know everything about someone, but let me tell you, Sue is a sweet lady. I know she hurts for Bobby.
I know many of us here have fond memories of our friend. Many of us got close to Bobby. He meant a lot to us. He slowly faded from the thread. He had trouble getting access to the internet and was consumed with moving back to Arizona. But those who knew Bobby will never forget him. Please leave your remembrances of our dear Bobby on this thread. Perhaps we can get them to his family so they know what a wonderful human being he was to so many people. Bobby had a deep faith and I know he is with Jesus now. But it has to be known he left his print on this temporal beach we call Earth and no amount of tidal waves will erase that. Not ever.
God Bless your sweet soul Bobby. We miss you. Rest in peace, Friend.
Bobby came into our vape world on September 3, 2012. Exactly one week after the birth of THE BIG THREAD. We recognized him by his Ten Years After album cover from their Ssssh record. Alvin Lee was his favorite guitarist. That avatar changed several times, mostly zombie stuff and even a portrait of Ronald Reagan. But he ended where he started...with Alvin Lee.
Bobby was an accomplished musician and made a professional career in writing (not-music). But I knew him for two other things. The first was the Bobby who made me laugh like so few I have ever come across, real or virtual. I don't know what it was about his humor. It hit me between the eyes. I'd light up any time I saw him make a post because I knew there would be something in it that would make me laugh. There were times I'd come close to spitting my Mountain Dew all over my monitor. He could be so serious then suddenly with one phrase have me wetting my pants. I often wondered how God could make somebody so funny. What a gift!!! Maybe some people don't find "turn signal fluid" funny, but I did. And whenever I think of Bobby I think of that auto mechanics conversation he had with Frank (aka 73, RIP). In Bobby's memory, I'm going to take a bottle of brake fluid and change the name to "Turn Signal Fluid" and keep it in my garage on the same shelf as the rest of my automotive supplies. I hope lots of people ask me about it so I can tell them about my friend.
Oddly, "turn signal fluid" was also the other side of Bobby I got to know. The more serious side. He never professed to know everything. In fact, he was a very sweet and humble man. Bobby knew a lot about auto mechanics. But he would make fun of himself just so people knew he wasn't better than them. What better way than to make a fool of himself making people believe he thinks there is such a thing as turn signal fluid. It was vintage Bobby. To know Bobby is to know he was smarter than all of us but you would never know. He didn't want us to know.
There was one other thing Bobby didn't want us to know. Sadly, Bobby suffered from chronic depression. It was a constant battle for him. He revealed this to me late one night. He often wrote me long letters. That's when I got to know Bobby and what a wonderful human being he was. My respect for Bobby was limitless. What I discovered was this brilliantly funny man was also a warrior. One can only imagine the demons he battled every day of his life. I wasn't sure what to do. I just wanted to make sure he didn't feel alone. I know I'm not God and I have certain human talents but they did not include any expertise in depression. I thought a short while and asked myself what I could do to help my friend. It was obvious. I thought of Sue (our Hula). Sue was often online late at night...as was Bobby. I knew she would be able to keep Bobby company and pay attention to him. But more so, I knew Hula had a gargantuan heart and she would understand Bobby's malady. And there are just some things a woman can do better than a man. They have a tenderness that can penetrate a man's heart a little better than another man can do. Sue was the perfect person to help. I wrote Sue explaining the situation and she embraced the challenge without hesitation. From that point forward, Sue made it her priority to keep Bobby close to her. I know they established a dear relationship. It's not always easy to know everything about someone, but let me tell you, Sue is a sweet lady. I know she hurts for Bobby.
I know many of us here have fond memories of our friend. Many of us got close to Bobby. He meant a lot to us. He slowly faded from the thread. He had trouble getting access to the internet and was consumed with moving back to Arizona. But those who knew Bobby will never forget him. Please leave your remembrances of our dear Bobby on this thread. Perhaps we can get them to his family so they know what a wonderful human being he was to so many people. Bobby had a deep faith and I know he is with Jesus now. But it has to be known he left his print on this temporal beach we call Earth and no amount of tidal waves will erase that. Not ever.
God Bless your sweet soul Bobby. We miss you. Rest in peace, Friend.
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As did others in the Army. 
I'm sorry. 
