Bob was born in Anamosa, Iowa in 1953, the second child of Bob [Lloyd Robert] and Anne [Anna Louise] Blinkinsop, preceded by eighteen months by his older sister Robyn.Exactly two years later, on November 28, 1955, brother Joe arrived on the scene.A few years later, the family relocated to Colton, California, where Bob spent the remainder of his childhood.A fourth child sadly died at birth in 1959, but Doug arrived in 1962 and Laurie completed the family in 1964.
Childhood days were spent playing with a gaggle of neighborhood children, celebrating holidays with the Wilson cousins, participating in scout troops and little league, and attending the Catholic Church.Mom (Nana) was den mother and catechism teacher, Dad (Papa) was coach and breadwinner.Dinner was invariably served at 6pm, and if you weren’t at the table when dinner was served, you knew to march straight to your room without a meal.That rarely happened, but surely made an impression.
Bob’s first job was to update the scoreboard manually at the Little League field; payment was 50 cents and two hotdogs. His first gainful employment (at age 14) was bagging groceries at Jay’s Country Boy Market on Rancho Avenue.He worked in the grocery business throughout high school and college, often stocking shelves on the graveyard shift and sleeping through class the next morning.
Graduating from Colton High School in 1971, Bob stayed in the area for junior college and earned his Bachelor’s degree and teaching credential at U.C. Riverside.Upon securing his credential, he decided (much to his father’s dismay) to forgo a job search in favor of vagabonding abroad with his cousin and best friend, Bill.The stories of hitchhiking around Europe were well worth the sacrifice and could fill a book, but suffice it to say that they returned to California with a combined total of 13 cents in their pockets.A phone call to Auntie Kay was only a dime.Within a week, Bob had three jobs and remained in the Bay Area for a few years.
In 1980, good friend Bert Cooper somehow convinced Bob to move to the desert in the middle of the summer.It was a fateful decision, because he spent the rest of his life (with a three year exception) as a Coachella Valley resident.