When I was 6 years old, my best friend was a chap named Robert Dorssers. We called him Robbie.
I remember Robbie in the school yard, being carried around pretending he was Superman.
I remember being invited to his house for his birthday, April of 1967. We played with his GI Joe in the bathroom sink.
I remember how kind his parents were.
Sadly, I remember the day he died....hit by a car while riding his bike. I was at the Church...receiving my first communion with my Dad...when I noticed one of Robbie's brothers walking toward the Church...letting our Priest know that Robbie was in the hospital...and could he come quick...
That was June 24th, 1967.
June 27th, 1967...my birthday, I was a pallbearer at Robbie's funeral.
Through the years....as I have had my own children, I have often thought of Robbie. I can't imagine the utter devastation the family must have gone through during this time. Even as my own children struggled with life, including one needing major surgeries, whom we almost lost.
I can't imagine.
But I remember Robbie. I just need to say that I have not forgotten him. That his friends remember him.
The poem inscribed on the back of Robbie's funeral card seems abt:
Lord he was yours...
And not our own...
You have done us no wrong;
We thank you for the precious loan
Afforded us so long.
I do indeed look forward to seeing my friend again...
I have not forgotten you Robbie!
