Robin Williams' Gift of Time Just As His Ended

My longtime friend, Tess Barker, while growing up in Ventura County just north of Los Angeles was a performer in community theatre groups which encouraged her to further her interests. Since graduating college, Tess pursued her love of writing stories, stage and movie manuscripts, as well as a SAG performer in ensemble productions and films. Her quick wit and timing coupled with the purest and most immediate medium of live stand-up comedy offer her a venue for her original material to come alive on stage in her stand-up routines. Tess is currently a writer on a reality based comedy show on Mtv. She recently shared with me an insightful story about a comedy icon superstar. Her story is particularly poignant due to the timing of events that unfolded within just a mere seven days period.

The Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, CA is a renovated 1910 Vaudeville Theatre which caters to music, comedy and theatre with an intimate seating for 320 people. It is a perfect venue for comedians like Mark Pitta's weekly comedy night and stars like Robin Williams, Dana Carvey, Richard Lewis, Mort Sahl, Arj Barker, Dick Gregory and Kevin Nealon. Tess Barker was invited back due to her prior comedy stage routine success.

Tess went on first that evening and left the stage to audience laughter and a round of applause. As Tess darted behind the stage curtains she dashed back to the dressing room to relax after her euphoric stage high. As Tess turned, she flew through the dressing room door running right into Robin Williams in which her first flustered words were like, "Hi, I'm Tess!". After apologies given were accepted, celebrity aftershock quelled, an enjoyable time followed in that small dressing room that night. It was quite magical, very special, a mellow tribute to a very kind man.  

©2014 Rovalocity, LLC. At The Throckmorton Theatre backstage with Tess Barker and Robin Williams - August 3, 2014.

It was reported that Robin Williams sent out on a social media site on July 31, 2014 his heart felt Birthday Wishes to Zelda Williams, his daughter, for her twenty-fifth birthday with a picture of Robin holding her as a small little girl. It was so typical of Robin Williams, a loving Dad.

It was ironic that a mere three days later that Tess Barker met Robin Williams at The Throckmorton Theatre and hung out with him and three other performers in their backstage dressing room. Tess said, "Robin was original, off-the-wall, hysterically funny." And yet, "He could get up front and personal sharing his ideas and opinions about our acts, of which he felt were very good, as we sat around and conversationally chatted." Tess continued, "He was super friendly, caring, polite and humble too."

At one point during the evening everyone went around the room calling out who they thought they looked like. Tess turned to Robin Williams and asked."Who do you look like?" Robin thought for a second, and gave a sly grin as he announced, "Bono!" He went on about why his choice as everyone agreed wholeheartedly too. 

Robin Williams died in his home in Tiburon, California, where he was discovered on Monday, August 14, just one week after he gave the gift of his life, three hours of his valuable time to that intimate group in nearby Mill Valley at The Throckmorton Theatre. Yet, there was so little time left, only a week. Computing 100% at 7 days, 168 hours, the three hours were 1.7%. If Robin had lived a year after that chance meeting, 8,760 hours, 1.7% would be 6 days of his time. It just goes to show how all time is relative like in Einstein's theory of general relativity that time is but an illusion. 

So, it's not how much we do with so little time that is important in the end, it's what we do; but then it's just so maddening not knowing when it all ends. Even though Robin Williams chose his method to die; he probably played that scenario out many times in his mind before he actually did it, but he still never chose the 'end time' as he simply ran out of his 'own time' which is something only God knows when for sure.

The day after meeting Robin, Tess recalled of sensing an unsettled feeling she felt about Robin's demeanor. It was almost like a sadness, a melancholy look deep in his eyes and about his face that was so imperceptible and yet so telling about a man who was mired in his own sorrows. In a 'coulda, woulda, shoulda' moment I mused with Tess about her saying something at the time, but would that have changed anything? We agreed, "Probably not!" Too sad. RIP Robin Williams.