Colourful Characters

January 19th, 2011

While traveling it is inevitable that you will encounter a myriad of different people from many walks of life. You make connections with some and merely pass by others. Some are instant friends while others take some time and energy before a bond is forged.

One man that I met, Robby from Belgium, struck me instantly as a friendly fellow. The short, thickset, shirtless bald man approached me one afternoon as I sat plucking away on my laptop at a table in the Olive Garden. He had heard that I was from Canada and wanted to inquire about work opportunities in my home country. Robby is a tiler by trade and the industry is still in some turmoil back in northern Europe so he’s investigating other options.

Love the hat Robby:

Me and Robby:

Over the next 3-4 weeks, I spent more and more time with Robby and his oddly matched roommate Merv, a kite surfer and dock worker also from Belgium. The only reason I say oddly is that they just didn’t look like two guys you’d expect to see hanging out together. Robby: short, stocky, bald – Merv: tall, long hair, mustache. Mallory affectionately called them like Asterix and Obelix (from those French cartoon books). The bond...simple: lifelong friends of over 40 years.

Robby enjoying a "Hello to the Queen" dessert:

Robby with his groupies, Mallory and Rewa:

Robby is a budding comedian...or at least I think he thinks so. He is a master of corny one liners and longer jokes that cause one to groan involuntarily. Some were obviously canned jokes while he was also able to craft new ones on the spur of the moment. The more times I heard his deadpan delivery, the funnier I found him. I’d like to share a few of his comedic moments although without Robby driving the punch line home, this will not do it justice.

- “I once had a dog that died because he thought too much...he thought he was going to get fed.”
- “I only go to male dentists. When I’m in the chair before he starts, I can hold his balls and say ‘We’re not going each other are we?’”
- Someone had one of those metal head massage tools at the table in the restaurant and a few people tried it. It was passed to Robby and he stated “I tried it once and it got stuck, so they had to cut my hair off...”
- “Dave likes plain rice...because he likes to fly.”
- “I once had an accident where I broke all of my fingers. The doctor worked on them and later said ‘I have good news, your fingers will be alright and you’ll be able to play the piano.’ But I never played the piano before...”
- Robby is missing part of his pinky finger. We asked him one day how it happened. I inquired whether it was from work and he said “Yes, it was work related, I didn’t want to go so I cut it off...”

Robby and Merv outside their home:

Sending him off:

Enjoy your travels Robby and thanks for the laughs!