Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Robert Schimmel - brother; funny, ill, pain in the ass
My brother, Robert Schimmel was in a terrible car accident. He is badly injured, but his need for a liver transplant actually exacerbates his situation...and ability to heal. The past several days have been a living horror show for Robert's family. In addition, his daughter Aliyah was also badly hurt. Neither of them were responsible for the accident, but those details are not as important as hoping for their recovery.
We all love Bob [we've known him longer] and are hoping he'll snap out of it, make a recovery and stay with us... but man, he was on our last nerve.
Things you might not know about Robert: Obviously, he's funny, he always has been. He was a musician & composer way before comedy. He is incredibly generous; to a fault...he has a penchant for gadgets [electronics & cameras] and pens [who needs so many sharpies?]...and is the condiment king [try this mustard] and foodie [thank him for the success of Bristol Farms, Whole Foods and A.J.'s]. He is gracious to almost everyone and a good friend to only a few.
He loves his children. Parenting is not one of his skills, but unconditional love is.
Blame it on his liver, if you like - but Bob is so unorganized...bordering on hoarder behavior. This was making us crazy. He moved in with my Dad a few months ago - bringing a huge mess to an orderly house. We lost our Mother just days before, but Bob is going through a divorce and waiting for a transplant...seemed like a good idea to have him close.
He was at my house just before we went on vacation, he saw my Dick Blick catalog. He said "this must be like porn for you."
My husband & I were in North Carolina - and visited Biltmore House, where "Being There" was filmed. Peter Sellers was one of Bob's idols, and he liked this movie. The day of the accident, I tried calling him, so I sent photos of the house to him [and my brother Jeff], letting them know where we were. Here's a still from the movie... I was thinking of Bob. At the end of the movie, the main character "Chance" walks on water. My interpretation has always been Chance is so innocent, so child-like - he doesn't know he is supposed to sink. Bob is kind of like that.
Right now, Bob is currently walking on water - or floating on love - a description a doctor made when Bob's son was at home in hospice care...almost 18 years ago.
I have no idea what Bob's chances are, or what we can expect for him. But if he makes it, I started a list of things he needs to do, and my brother Jeff added to it. Maybe you can think of more.
14. Thank everyone for their prayers
Jeff Schimmel More things Robert Schimmel still needs to do:
We all love Bob [we've known him longer] and are hoping he'll snap out of it, make a recovery and stay with us... but man, he was on our last nerve.
Things you might not know about Robert: Obviously, he's funny, he always has been. He was a musician & composer way before comedy. He is incredibly generous; to a fault...he has a penchant for gadgets [electronics & cameras] and pens [who needs so many sharpies?]...and is the condiment king [try this mustard] and foodie [thank him for the success of Bristol Farms, Whole Foods and A.J.'s]. He is gracious to almost everyone and a good friend to only a few.
He loves his children. Parenting is not one of his skills, but unconditional love is.
Blame it on his liver, if you like - but Bob is so unorganized...bordering on hoarder behavior. This was making us crazy. He moved in with my Dad a few months ago - bringing a huge mess to an orderly house. We lost our Mother just days before, but Bob is going through a divorce and waiting for a transplant...seemed like a good idea to have him close.
He was at my house just before we went on vacation, he saw my Dick Blick catalog. He said "this must be like porn for you."
My husband & I were in North Carolina - and visited Biltmore House, where "Being There" was filmed. Peter Sellers was one of Bob's idols, and he liked this movie. The day of the accident, I tried calling him, so I sent photos of the house to him [and my brother Jeff], letting them know where we were. Here's a still from the movie... I was thinking of Bob. At the end of the movie, the main character "Chance" walks on water. My interpretation has always been Chance is so innocent, so child-like - he doesn't know he is supposed to sink. Bob is kind of like that.
 | |||
| the end of the movie... "Being There." |
I have no idea what Bob's chances are, or what we can expect for him. But if he makes it, I started a list of things he needs to do, and my brother Jeff added to it. Maybe you can think of more.