Here I am so very far away and yet still connected to members of that wonderful group of high school friends I grew up with and loved like family.  Certainly I went all through high school with Bob who we called Bigfoot most of the time. I have not even heard his name in over 50 years, but yet my mental picture of him is still clear as day. He is young, tall and alive, smart and talented,  which makes the news I received today a bit more shocking. I hope his family is doing well and will accept my condolence.

I went to California the April after high school graduation. I went to college and stayed. I came back briefly to NJ in 1966-67 to take classes and work at Trenton State College, when I ran into Bob again. He was going to Rider College at the time.  Ed Gorchinski and I had an attic apartment in Trenton which we lost, because our friends from the sorority were very loud people who liked to sing at all the wee hours of the morning.  They were really priceless and wonderful fun people,  who got us thrown out of more than one apartment in my short year and a half return to NJ. 

As it happened Gorge and I ran into Bob who had an apartment across the river in Bucks County, PA. He needed some roommates and Gorge and I needed an apartment.  One door closes and another door opens as they say.  I don't remember Bob even being in the apartment past the first day. He commuted home a lot. The apartment was in his name however.......

It was really a lovely modern apartment, which was perfect for myself and Gorge's very active social life,  and of course the sorority of wonderful but very loud singing girls. There were activities every weekend either at a place the sorority rented for a party, or at our apartment.. er Bob's apartment... er..... the apartment Bob never came to.

So when the police came to the apartment one lovely Saturday night, (with all the sorority girls still singing),  and asked for the person who's name the apartment was in. I went to the door and  being 'slightly' inebriated or very drunk, I just said I was Bob Pawelik.  The police in Pennsylvania wore Smokey the bear hats, which sent everyone into wild hysterics as I remember.  This did not go unnoticed by the police. They were calm,  but did their duty and made out an official report. This was the report that got Bob evicted from the apartment he never came to! 

God bless Bob, he went into a mild incredulous shock when he got the news, but he didn't go ballistic when Gorge and I sheepishly told him he had been evicted from his apartment. He kept asking me, why did you give them my name?  I could not think of anything else to do. I had turned age 21 in that apartment. Young people do crazy things. I went back to school in California after that. I had not only turned into a Californian and did not realize it, I went through even more changes in the coming years. I never saw Bob again. He is therefor still that very much alive young guy in my mind. 

May Bob rest in peace and enjoy the great beyond. I am sure they will enjoy him.

A former classmate and 'roommate'. DJS