vanderwal.net

[I posted on the morning of August 12th in Facebook]

Saddened yesterday evening to get the news of Robin Williams, but I’ve always wondered how he kept it together. There are few people who have had more influence over how I view the world and how I see things as well as how I think a good inventive mind works.

Not only did I wear out every stand up performance video tape of Robin, tapes of him on the Tonight Show and Letterman, but also wore out records. The timing and framing of his pieces was stellar. Sometimes his impromptu pieces were well planned, but other times they were utter magic.

I had many friends who met him, some partied with him (before rehab), and others had chats. But, I really liked it when I would run into him in Green Apple books (mixed new and used books) in SF. Nearly always he was dressed in avant guard homeless, with my favorite was the occasional Elmer Fudd hunting cap on with one flap up and one down. He was usually roaming the shelves, often in philosophy. I’ve long wondered if it was Robin who inspired Green Apple’s “Used Dreams” section in the store.