Follow the link for the cool photograph and the author's terrific account of Robb's appearance in the book, which we quote extensively:
Robb emailed me saying he’d like to participate, mentioning that he’d like to be in the photo with “a gun in one hand, and a Bible in the other.” He then added that he might be “too scary” for the book. He was actually right along the route I’d already planned through Ohio, so I called and scheduled a shoot with him.
The business about the gun and the Bible and being “too scary” I found intriguing, but when I arrived I found what looked to be a perfectly ordinary college student — in this case, a seminary student studying biblical archeology. He was exceptionally articulate, cheerful, funny, and didn't fit at all the mental image I was expecting after hearing his auto-description. (I find myself stealing his line about subcultures [”I’m from Indiana. The subculture there is not a subculture. It’s the predominant culture.”] in interviews all the time, because I think it’s a really marvelous observation.) He has a really bubbly, uplifting personality; he’s devout but not without a sense of irony. I imagine that he’s going to be the sort of clergyman who will be successful in reaching out to young people. In any event, he seemed to express his religion as being fun, rather than somber, and that peppered his conversation about guns too — guns were fun, religion was fun. I got a “life is good” vibe from him that left me kind of bouncy and energetic on the way out.
That's Robb: a "life is good" vibe just about all the time, leaving everyone else feeling that life is good.
Robb and his beloved Christina are making the matrimonial pledge next month. We wish them a blessed, well-armed marriage.
7 comments:
*scratches head*
Huh?
They can pull my bible from my dead, cold fingers.
Or vice versa
Having trouble relating to Robb, Dustin? The world is more interesting than we sometimes realize. Too bad that your liberal political view stifles that realization.
I've known my share of Robbs. Just because a guy likes guns doesn't mean he wants to kill people, or that he doesn't love that guy portrayed in your icon.
Robb, if I get the chance, I hope to meet you. You sound like a fun guy. Best wishes for your marriage.
jim shoes
Wow, way to paint me with a broad brush and assume that I have a narrow -minded view of the world. Maybe before insulting me you should have asked what I was referring to. I was more confused with what the point of the book was than anything else. It wasn't completely clear from the post.
So, before making an ass of yourself, maybe you should have asked me what I meant.
I will admit I was a bit troubled by this line:
guns were fun, religion was fun
But hey, if someone gets their jollies off of using guns, so be it.
Point taken. I'm sorry for what you perceive as an insult. My guess from your prior comments was that you are pretty much a pacifistic, anti-gun kind of guy.
I wonder whether a broader experience and appreciation for people of different backgrounds and political views might lead to less head-scratching and posing of questions like "huh?"
Guns, motorcycles, RVs, Norwegian Wolfhounds, AC-DC, bottlecaps, fine wines, first editions, old masters: we live in a world of people with weird hobbies and collections. My observation is that most of these folk earn the label, "mostly harmless."
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