So long to a friend

Robert Hansen was a contradiction. Take the face. This was the face of someone who'd lived a hard life; one on the streets in the cold and the wind. He looked older than his 58 years and sure smoked a lot. A lot of street people do. But getting to know Robert, he displayed a playfulness. A gentleness.
If someone was getting their picture taken at a Real Change event, he would walk behind people and flash a peace sign over their heads. I rode to the state capital with Robert once on Martin Luther King Day. We sat in the back seat of Brooke's car (the Real Change volunteer coordinator at the time) and Robert was having all kinds of trouble with his seat belt. Then before we rode back to Seattle, I had trouble hooking on my seat belt. Turns out I was looking straight ahead and Robert was holding on to the belt whenever I pulled it. He just smiled when I caught him.
The serious side of Robert was that he was interested in what was going on in the world. He spoke against budget cuts in front of the Seattle City Council. Once he got into a little tet-a-tet with Council Member Richard McIver. At one point, McIver told Robert his numbers were wrong. For months, Robert delighted in telling that story and how, in fact, his numbers were accurate. He said even Nick Licata, another Council Member, told him he was right.
Robert also attended events sponsored by the Freedom Socialist Party at the New Freeway Hall when he lived in Rainier Valley. Linda Averill rememembers Robert coming to some of her events when she ran for Seattle City Council. Members of the FSP and the Radical Women also knew Robert sell Real Change at the Seward Park PCC and at the Columbia City Market in the summer. A lot of people did, and he'd often tell his customers what articles were of particular interest.
A lot of people are upset about the circumstances surrounding Robert's death- how he was released from the hospital prematurely and was found dead in his new van that he was so proud of. In death, Robert stands as an example of how we all need health care. But on a personal note, I'll always remember that wide-eyed, open-mouth, toothless smile.
A Memorial Service for Robert Hansen takes place, Friday, May 14 at City Hall Plaza starting at 1:00