The first day I met Bob he had just had an article printed about him in a magazine and everyone on the Tat was joking around and calling him “The Amphibious Deity” (which was apparently the title of the article: Bob Daffe the Amphibious Deity”). He was eating a raw potato, duct-taping a neoprene bootie to his foot and then he stuffed me in a duckie before I could scream in horror that I had no fucking idea what I was doing or how to steer the thing. He used that very same bootie to push me straight into the river. Literally. I was grabbing at rocks like a petrified child trying to cling to the shore and he kicked me right down the Tat. I got sucked into the current and floated away in terror.
No word of a lie. I thought I was going to die.
And the rest.. as they say… is history.
I am starting with this story because I think this is how many of us remember Bob, pushing you to your limit because he knows you will be OK – even if you don’t know it yourself. Bob has muscled me into a lot of rivers that I thought I would die on – I always ended up bobbing to the surface and that, my friends, is how you learn about life. Thank you Bob for that lesson – the river of Life is not for the faint of heart!
The best years of my life were spent on the Tat and I figure I went down the Tat easily over 100 times in those two short years. Now 25 years later I look back at that time as the strongest and the most fearless I have ever been or ever will be. I have Bob to thank for making me fearless, making me strong. Bob gave me a job with reckless confidence in me that I didn’t even have in myself (he also gave me his camera and his ammo box so I could make a living and live the Vida Loca in the Yukon). He gave me the chance of a lifetime and for that, I am truly grateful. Thank you Bob. Thank you.
There are many CRAZY stories about Bob and these I leave to ya’all to tell around the fire. It is the little moments of living on the Tat and hanging with Bob that have still stayed with me after all these years.
Yummiest Bob: Smashing avocados on the Alsek with river rocks to make Guacamole.
Scariest Bob: The Klehini River safety talk – the only time I have heard Bob say “if you swim you’re on your own”
Bob’s Best Line: Back in the day when I was working in the coal mines …
Most contentious unresolved Bob Discussion: The proper way to cut a tomato
Tenacious Bob: fixing that school bus for three days when the only thing that was working was the horn!
I send my love to all of you that knew Bob and all of those, who like me, are missing him at the moment but if ever there was someone who lived life to the fullest it was Bob – so I choose to celebrate what a wonderful friggin’ time he had here on this planet and all the joy and happiness and learning he brought to us all.
They say when you drop a stone in the river it changes the course of that river forever.
I think we should all just drop a stone in the river for Bob, change the course of those rivers in his name – just as he has changed the course of all our lives by being a part of it. Bob you will be missed. ❤️ Karen.
