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Hi. This is Julie Buttgen. Bob’s wife. And for Bob’s birthday, I am going to write The Bob Report for him this week.
Can you believe it? Bob turns 56 today. He’s not shy about his age; most people think he’s a little younger than he is, but they might just be trying to flatter him.
I should have known what I was getting into with Bob from the night we first met, back in the early 1980s. October 29, 1982 to be exact, when we were both living in Florida and writing for competing newspapers. I was having a costume party for Halloween, and told a mutual friend to invite Bob. Well, he showed up late because he had to cover a football game that night, and he was about the only one there without a costume!
I said “Where’s your costume!” and he said: “I am wearing one. I’m dressed as a sportswriter.”
Well it was fast train to marriage town from there. Bob can probably tell you what game he had to cover that night but he can’t remember what I got him for his birthday last year. Go figure.
I think that’s the way it is with guys. They can remember who won what Super Bowl in what year but can’t tell you when their mother-in-law’s birthday is. Bob gets emotional watching certain parts of big-time sporting events, like the National Anthem before the World Series and when they introduce the honorary captains for the Super Bowl.
You never know what’s going to get Bob all worked up.
The other night I thought he was going to pass out from giddiness because he was channel surfing (one of his favorite things to do, by the way) and he came across the pilot episode of “Mission Impossible.” Big Deal. But I acted like I was excited for him. The guys lives in the past when it comes to TV shows.
Bob is a good guy, I should admit. Sure, he has some faults but who’s perfect? He likes to volunteer and do stuff around the community; a lot of what he does happens without people knowing it, and he’s the last guy who would crow about it. Just the other day I heard him on the phone, calling up businesses to raise a bunch of money so some kids at West Noble could take a field trip. Then a month or two ago, there was a family that had to move because of a fire, and Bob made a bunch of calls to raise money so they could move.
Bob and I have both been blessed with great parents who gave us just wonderful lives as we were growing up. There’s not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about his beloved mother, who passed away in May of 2006. She was a great woman.
There are several reasons why Bob and I have been compatible for 25 years. We were born and raised in the Midwest. Neither one of us had sisters. (He always brings that one up; not sure if it’s a big deal or not.) We are both Methodists. (Bob likes to tell this joke: “When I first met my future wife, Julie, I found out she was a Methodist so for our first date I took her to a potluck supper.”)
Anyway, we both worked for newspapers; both are Green Bay Packer fans; we believe in the sanctity of The Big Ten as the best athletic conference in the nation; and both like Jimmy Buffet.
Bob does have his downsides. He watches too much TV and has to change channels like every 30 seconds. That drives me crazy. Would it kill him to watch an entire show without surfing around during commercials? Because as good as he is at channel surfing, he always manages to miss parts of the show we’re watching, such as the final answer on Jeopardy.
He also leaves the cap off the toothpaste way too often. And don’t get me started about towels and other items not making it into the hamper. And what’s the deal with guys not cleaning the sink after they trim hair? Am I alone here, ladies? He not very mechanically inclined, and even though he thinks he can, he’s not the world’s best cook. Or singer. Please don’t let him near a microphone when he’s in the mood to sing.
But he’s a great father to our daughters even though he’s prone to “holler” at them when a little psychology would work better. He’s an expert at “Leave It To Beaver” trivia but that’s not exactly going to get us through our retirement years. He’s kind-hearted and has a soft spot in his heart for old people, veterans, teachers (his dad taught for 35 years) and Brett Favre.
So there you have it. One woman’s assessment of Bob Buttgen, your friendly, small-town newspaper editor. For better or worse, he’s all we have, and I happen to think he’s doing a pretty good job at it. But I am a little prejudiced.
Bob will be back next week with his own version of “wit and wisdom.”
Happy Birthday, Honey!
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