For love of work
story by Rae Emary
Sunlight dapples Robert “Bob” Roberts’ back as he jerks left, right, backwards and forwards, guiding his commercial-sized lawn mower over another strip of grass. His flannel overcoat is covered in grass clippings and his brow is dripping sweat. At 81 years old, Bob mows more than 30 lawns a week.
“If I didn’t mow, I’d probably sit down and die,” he says.
He has lived his life by the words his father taught him: “If you want anything out of life, you have to work for it.”
Bob has labored as an insurance salesman, a truck driver and a manager with General Electric, but his work ethic doesn’t stop with employment.
The lawn care specialist grew up in a family of eight during the Great Depression. He learned the value of family and friends when he was in need. Bob has married three times, become a widower and divorced twice. From the remnants of his second marriage arose a strong bond with his wife’s daughter, Misty, from a previous marriage. Down the road, Misty married Bob’s grandson, Richard House, and had his “greatest prides-and-joys,” his two great-granddaughters, Gwendolyn and Alexis.
Bob lives his life as an example for his great-granddaughters. “I love everyone. I may not love everything they do, but I love them, kind of like Jesus,” he says.
Bob plans to retire after his 100th birthday, but he is prepared if the Lord calls him home before then.
Bob Roberts is an active 81-year-old business man, great-grandfather and bachelor who has expereinced numerous tough times in life. However, he says his devout faith in God pulled him out of every situtation. "I've had problems other people have committed suicide over, but I just got on my knees [and prayed] about it," he said, "If there is any problem you got, the answer will be right in the bible."
Bob Roberts mows over leaves during a two-hour job, his largest of the day. He lives by the words his father taught him, "If you want anything out of life, you have to work for it." He has been enlisted in the Army, sold insurance salesman, worked 20 years for General Electric and was wholesale truckdriver for Smith & Clark; yet he enjoys mowing the most because he likes nature.
Bob Roberts pauses while mowing to joke with client Patsi Gordon. He protects his lungs with a filtered face mask to stop his COPD from flaring up.
Julie Stallings hands Bob Roberts his weekly check for mowing her lawn. Julie bragged to him about how kind he was to her mother while she was living out of state. Bob mowed the yard of Julie's mother for a very sum and talked with her for hours before he started working.
Bob Roberts struggles to inflate a flat tire on his mower. The arthritis in his hands makes it difficult to keep a strong hold on small items, especially when exerting force. The flat tire set him back an hour during his work day.
Bob Roberts wakes up at around 6 a.m. and spends about two hours at Gary's Drive-In every morning. He doesn't always order anything to eat, but he does enjoy the company of the drive-in's patrons and staff. "I don't know any strangers," Bob says. "In my opinion a stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet."
Gwendolyn House, 15, (right) hugs her great-grandfather Bob Roberts good-bye as she and her sister, Alexis, leave from a nightly visit. Gwendolyn says she wants to be just like him. He calls them his pride and joy.
Bob Roberts eaves Gary's Drive-in to start his day mowing a total of five yards. He will work from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. , stopping only to eat a lunch of peanut-butter crackers.
Bob Roberts' arthritis has knotted the joints in his hands. He doesn't like to take medication to ease the pain. Instead, he drinks a natural mixture of red-wine vinegar and water every morning. He hasn't taken aspirin in 20 years.