An Ode to Robin and Scott

Ten years ago I wrote a blog post about our old friends Michele and Ryan Gray and how influential they were in our (Ashley and me) lives.  In that post I made a passing reference to Michele’s brother Scott, which was understandable since the post was about the Grays, but was not done lightly, for Scott is a remarkable guy and has been worthy of a blog post or ten since I met him many moons ago.  And speaking of old friends, Robin Folweiler has been pals with Ashley since about nineteen hundred and ninety-one or thereabouts when they were both fresh young ski bums in Jackson and I had the honor of meeting shortly after I met Ashley. This threesome came around to full circle recently when Ashley was the officiant at the wedding of Robin and Scott on August 8th.  

When I met Scott he was a basement-dweller in Ash’s house, and very quickly I got accustomed to his razor sharp observations and equally-sharp wit when  – after the first night at Ash’s house – he referenced The Fanny Pack hanging on a kitchen chair.  Yes, at the time I was sporting a small Patagonia fanny pack to carry my valuables  – a man-purse, if you will – even though very little of what I had was actually valuable, either in terms of money or things.  Ash thought it was hilarious too, but in our new state she wasn’t quite sure if it was appropriate to poke fun at me, but once Scott did Ash immediately jumped on board, and so it began:  a decade(s)-long journey to understand/appreciate the not only the hilarity but the tight bond between Ash and Scott.  Their history together was long and inside jokes that were gut-busting to them were a bit bewildering to me, but indeed their resonant laughs that would practically bring them to tears were of course infectious.  So inevitably not only was I laughing my ass off without really knowing what was so funny, gradually/eventually I got in on them, and was honored to be on The Team of Hilarity.  

But Scott’s ability to beat a poor, long-dead horse incessantly for a quick gigglefest is not limited to his closest friends.  His ability to make everyone feel good with a quick joke or gentle jibe and having a big laugh himself at others’ wit is legendary.  He is one of the best examples of being both a great listener who adds on to what you say (versus simply providing his own opinion) and is a fascinating guy with a ton of amazing life experiences that are well-told on a skin track or a dog walk (ie he’s both very interested and very interesting; a great combo that I talked about in a blog post a few years ago).  In fact, he’s such a good listener and thinker of an array of potential responses that he’ll wait for you to carry on and ascertain which is the most appropriate direction to go with the conversation before helping you go there, making you feel astute along the way.  A great conversational skill that I admire and try to emulate.  

However, this skill does not necessarily come naturally to everyone and probably not even to Scott; it took law school and a very successful law career to develop these conversational abilities.  Asking a lot of questions and knowing – or at least anticipating – the answers and quickly preparing both encouragement and further responses is a critical trait for lawyers. Yes, it may be simply strategic when put into practice in a legal setting, but if you think of most of the lawyers in your life my guess is that you share the same opinion that I have of them:  regardless of their field, lawyers’ general ability to read a room and think quickly, strategically, and thoroughly is unusually good.  In many cases that strategic thinking is enhanced by a good dose of humor (get the jury to chuckle!), which are also the characteristics of a good general conversationalist, and Scott is one of the best. 

That said, it’s always good to be on the right side of the aisle with Scott.  His knowledge of water law  – and many other types of law – is truly encyclopedic.  As the old saw goes:  “Whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting over”, and I can only guess at how many folks in Utah rue the day they tried to wrangle with Scott over water rights, and there is no doubt that the integrity of much of the water supply for the Salt Lake Valley has his efforts behind it.  But it’s not just water:  Scott has worked on all sorts of cases, and in fact once received the Pro Bono (ie free) lawyer of the year for his work with nonprofits facing legal challenges.  Despite this (and like many lawyers I know) Scott has always fit more into his life than most; despite a demanding job and a religious zeal for exercise, he’s got an extraordinary ability to make himself available to all people, all the time (maybe it’s the lawyer deal of tracking and billing their time!?!).

Enter Robin.  Robin grew up in the Boston area and went to the prestigious Middlebury College in Vermont; a fairly standard thing for East Coasters to do.  But what was not standard is to take that degree and blast off to Jackson, Wyoming to wait tables and sling bagels in the pursuit of skiing!  That is how Ashley and Robin met; Ash was also so enthralled with the pomp of upscale Eastern schools that she too forwent a career in finance or somesuch in New York or someplace to chase big mountains and powder in the Tetons, and it was inevitable that these two would meet and become fast friends.  Ash had also met Scott whilst on the summertime dirtbag ritual of river guiding and made the introduction to Robin, and the sparks flew immediately.  However, ‘twas the innocence and fleeting nature of youth, and they both went on to different lives.  But in the meantime, Robin continued to thrive in Jackson; no mean feat, because as great as Jackson is, ski bums are super common and while the community is friendly, it’s also quite competitive.  Who can go the fastest, hardest, highest, baddest…..it did – and still seems to – matter in Jackson, which is understandable when the mountains and an iconic ski resort are always looming over a town filled with idealistic and strong young athletes.  But Robin kinda stayed above the fray; while the obvious path was to be a Big Mountain Ripper at the resort, she became one of the best nordic skiers not only in the valley but in the entire northern Rockies.  And while doods and doodettes were climbing hard, she was “climbing” too….on her mountain and road bikes, which paid off by again being one of the fastest ladies pedaling around for decades.   

In the meantime, she parlayed her hard work ethic, academic chops, and infectious charisma into a great CEO-esque job well-above the standard ski bum world; a very difficult ascension in a town filled with overachievers in undervalued jobs.  While not quite as flamboyant as Scott, Robin’s extraordinary athletic/aerobic prowess, dazzling smile, and intense loyalty to her friend base has made her a legend in Jackson and amazingly, fortunately, she has the same whackadoodle sense of humor as Scott and Ashley!  

After a few years apart, Robin and Scott’s paths crossed again, with all their kids getting into the tight community of intermountain ski racing, and their frequent gallivants around the West chasing kids who were in turn chasing slalom and GS gates resulted in a fun friendship. 

When a few years ago they both found themselves single again they realized that the sparks that flew in the early 90’s  still amazingly had some life to them, and they started to spend a lot of time together, despite the not-a-little physical distance between Scott’s Salt Lake and Robin’s Jackson.   In the meantime Scott had evolved from a ski resort king into a formidable endurance athlete himself, and over the many hours they spent together on the skin tracks, single tracks, paved and gravel roads, and groomed nordic trails (okay, maybe not so many of those for Scott!)

they realized that it could work at a deeper level than just indulging the sparks.  And thus…mawwiage!    

Ashley  got the word from Robin and Scott that they were gonna hitch it up while were pretty early on our Big Trip, likely in July or August, and thus we knew approximately when we were coming home.  And when Ash got a cryptic message from both of them while they knew we were in the wilds of Morocco that they wanted a zoom call, I knew that they wanted an opportunity to ask Ash – as their mutual longtime pal and introducer ohso-long ago – to be their officiant.  And so it came to pass that a coupla weeks ago there was a memorable wedding that was full of riotous fun and surprises for all:

A few close friends provided some super-fun, clever, and heartfelt Suessian poems for the pair to consider as they strode confidently and happily into their new life together, and I think pals Marty and Dana summed it up well:

On the way up the skin track, Scott mulled what he’d need:
A biker! A skier! With staggering speed!
A pig-playing, can-jamming, smart, steady mate,
And wildly attractive. No pressure. Just fate.

And Robin made hers on a gravel-road grind,
One hundred nine miles to make up her mind.
She needed a fella with humor and wit,
Who’d treat her like royalty. Only one man fit.

Ash and I are honored not only to be part of these two fine people’s wedding but also simply to be a part of their lives, and we look forward to their many yuks and adventures together and (hopefully) with us!