Wes Wenk

It's now a month since "Keats" is gone, and I still have to stop myself from calling, texting, emailing him about the same stupid stuff we always talked about.  He always insisted Roy Rogers and Arnold Palmer had the same face!  He perfected a way of stopping his car while driving, without the car kicking back at all, that he called a "Keats stop"   He called and texted several times a game last year when the Cubs won it all, and nothing meant more to him than that day's Cub game, no matter where he was.

When we were both age 11, a camp recruiter talked us  into "unlimited batting cage action" at the Mickey Owen Baseball School in blazing hot Miller, Missouri, and we talked our parents into sending us for two weeks, that ended up feeling like two years!   We arrived the first day, in 102 degrees and 100% humidity, to find that there was no pool, no lake, but they did give us itchy, hot, wool uniforms.   Worse, when we finally found those famous batting cages the guy kept talking about...the cages had no pitching machines! (Just mesh nets,  forming a long, thin tube. So Bobby had to pitch to me, and if I managed to hit one of his pitches back, his life would be in danger as there was no place to duck!).  During the second week of this baseball inferno, I woke up on the top bunk in our sweaty cabin, and woke Bobby up  below, telling him "Hey! It's already Wednesday! We're out of this place in 3 more days!"  Bobby calmly gave me the bad news that it was only Tuesday, so we had 4 more days left of non-stop, sweat-shop baseball from dawn to dusk.

By then, we could take the train and the "L" to Wrigley on our own, and one game, when we spent the whole day in the left-field bleachers... I caught two baseballs in batting practice, Keats caught one, and Johnny Marx hadn't caught one yet, and couldn't bear being the only one without a baseball. So when he finally got one just before the game started, Keats knew Johnny well enough to know Johnny could never leave well enough alone.  And when Marx kept tempting fate, bouncing the ball on the flat (at that time) green wall, Keats kept warning to put the ball away, and stop bouncing it, or he'd lose it over the wall. Sure enough, it tumbled over the wall and now it was Johnny Marx' worst nightmare.  Our joint solution to the problem was to urge Johnny to throw his mitt down over the ball, and hope that a player would come by below us, and toss both of them up to the supposed owner! Lucky for him, Santo came over and tossed them both up to a very relieved Johnny Marx.

After surviving baseball school....One of the stupidest, fun things we did that same year was to try to film our own version of our favorite baseball movie, "Pride of the Yankees".  We both saw it and recorded it so many times we knew the whole script word for word. (Sample...On Lou's first game with the Yankees, his parents are there watching at Yankee Stadium.  Mrs. Gehrig asks Mr. Gehrig, "What do they do with the pillows?"  Mr. Gehrig: "They are not pillows Momma, they are bases. You slide into them!"  Mrs,. Gehrig: "I slide into them?"  Mr. Gehrig: "Just watch momma, just watch!")

We were determined to produce a remake of "Pride of the Yankees".  So we tried to hook up my old "AIWA TP801"  tape recorder so the sound would match the 8mm projector we were filming with, to of course produce our own "Pride of the Yankees" movie, right around Highland Park.

That same summer. former White Sox and Angels announcer Don Wells, a friend of our family from my dad's old White Sox days, was staying at our house for a few days when the Angels were in town...and when Wells heard that Bobby and I were "filming"  our own version of the movie,  he quickly volunteered to portray Bill Stern, a famous sports announcer in those days, who was a hero of Don's, and who had a small part in the movie, playing himself. 

The two of us were all excited that a major league announcer, Don Wells, liked the idea and was glad to read the Bill Stern part we had typed up for him, as Bobby  held the projector,  and I held the tape recorder, hoping we could somehow sync them together in our state-of-the-art 1965 technology!

We filmed a few scenes, but of course never finished the film...still have bits and pieces of it to this day. But what on earth would motivate us to watch that movie over and over for years,  memorize the entire movie, try to film it, and spend so much time on it?

Now I think I get it...God must have wanted us to memorize Gary Cooper's perfect protrayal of Lou Gehrig, that famous speech at Yankee Stadium,  and his brave handling of an incurable disease. He wanted us to learn how to die courageously, without complaint, and that's exactly what Bobby Keats did, just as courageously as Gehrig did. I only hope I can be half as brave as he was when my time comes.

"Keats"...you followed the script perfectly, never complaining once since the day you called me with the diagnosis in March of 2016, never feeling sorry for yourself, and feeling sorry only for your friends, that you had to give them any bad news at all.  You kept saying "I'm fine with it, totally acceped it. I was lucky to have more than 60 years, when so many people, and kids, have so much less."

We were the lucky ones, to have known you and have lots of fun times to remember,  where you made it so much more fun for us. But thank you, for teaching us how to bravely, and unselfishly handle something we'll all have to face.  I better watch that movie a few more times...I don't know if I can perfect it the way you did!

I'm getting better at handling it, I have to admit. (Every time I think about calling you and realize I can't, I picture you warning Johnny Marx to "put that ball away before you lose it!")  You were right about that, too!

Thanks for making the last 64 years so much more fun!

Wes

John Rosenbaum

Well said Wes, as always.  Keats will be missed

Ken Liebenson

Wes,

    That was a beautifual tribute to a dear friend!

Ken Liebenson

Rick Scoglio

Yes.  Beautiful eulogy Wes.  He will always remain "Bobby"

R I P Bobby

David Cantagallo

Nothing less than expected from you Wes. A great tribute to a true champion of everbody else but the guy going through a journey we wouldn't wish on anyone.  I was at the memorial for Robert at Brian and Alison Levant's home on Saturday, October 28th,(would have been Robert's 64th birthday)and the ourpouring of love and tribute to Robert from all in attendance was fabulous.  Randy Firestone who I vaguely remembered from our Northwood days spoke eloquently, emotionally and solemnly about his association with Robert beginning at a very young age.  Mark Victor, a long time friend of Robert's and his son stood tall and reflected with grace and heart felt love of their friendship with Robert.  Like all of us, we are so more than blessed to have Robert Keats in our lives and in our heart.  Physically and no longer to be able to speak to him on the phone, I'll have to live with that void.  But Robert's spirit will carry me through all the emptiness and will overcome that void.  I'll love you forever my friend and I thank you for you. 

Nate Lerner

Wesley,

What a great tribute to Keats. Many are amazed at your memories, and I am truly amazed you remembered the AIWA TP801.

Thanks for being you!

Natie