Once in a while, I need an extra hand with a project and Coby is the person that often comes to mind first.
He’s one of the nicest people I know. He loves animals, he’s thoughtful and hard-working. He also has skills with tools and construction techniques that I don’t have and he’s always willing to offer ideas and advice.
I first met Coby 30 years ago when we were getting ready to go on a backpacking trip in the wilderness with Jay and their father, Ben. This was an outing that was a first for me on many counts. Coby couldn’t have been much more than 12 at the time. He was comfortable in the outdoors. This was one of the many skills he would learn from Ben who was a woodworker by trade.
I got to know him a little better during a couple of weeks working on the shed. We’d work from whenever he could get here until dark, and then we’d have dinner before he’d have to head home. I’d sometimes make snarky observations, while we were working such as: “Holy hell, did you tighten the chuck on this drill enough?” Then he’d tell me how his dad used to get peeved about the same sort of thing.
Coby had to juggle a lot of responsibilities and drive all the way across town to get here, but I am glad he made it.