The hardest writing assignment ever.

For reasons which will become obvious, it took me over a month to write this. To reach the point where I could write it. To wade through four decades of memory and put down the facts, catch a little of the man's life, to reach some kind of understanding of who he was, now that this is a static target, and condense all of that down into the smallest space possible, as I was being charged by the column inch. It appeared in the Sheridan Press on Nov. 29, 2007.

Robert Louis Strickland, 79, died October 8, 2007, at Westview Healthcare Center, of a stroke. His remains were donated to science. Strickland was a local writer, best known for his many articles and editorials in local newspapers, and for his series, “How to Enjoy Yourself at a Mental Hospital.” He was preceded in death by a daughter, Kay Olsen, and is survived by daughters Carolyn Manning and Joy Jennerette, and by a son, James, five grand children, many friends, and his cat, Dusty. Memorials may be made to the Brain Injury Association of America (http://www.biausa.org/), or to the Sheridan Dog and Cat Shelter (http://www.dogandcatshelter.org/). The family wishes to thank the staff at Westview and the V.A. hospital for their care of Mr. Strickland, and their kindness.