Redneck Gone Green Podcast

Howdy y’all,

It’s taken me a while to get around to sending out parts of the Celebration of life we had at the Arcata Playhouse. It’s a long service. We had music and wonderful speakers, so I thought I would share the individual segments with you. If you’d like to see the whole thing, you can find it here.

Our first speaker was Jim Reed. Jim initially met David in a Green Party meeting in 1999, with the following four years closely organizing together on political and social issues, which laid the initial foundation for their lifelong bond and endearing friendship. David called Jim, “Brotherman.” And they were truly soul brothers

Transcript:

Howdy, y’all. It is an honor to be a part of this, for sure. I want to start off by saying I don’t want to offend any of the nice folks here tonight, and I truly have enjoyed meeting so many of you from different chapters of David’s life. But honestly,

there’s a part of me that hasn’t really been looking forward to this day, and Even though this incredibly beautiful ceremony of life is also the symbol of our good friend transitioning from the physical form. So if I start to cry, don’t take it personal, it’s not you, it’s me. There’s a common expression, greatly overused.

You don’t know how much you love something until it’s gone. And that silly expression does not apply in this case. I have known how much I’ve loved David Keith Cobb from the minute I met the man. Like a lot of us, it started with an overwhelming sense of awe. His authentic and intense energy,

his booming voice, and of course that incredibly handsome smile. When I first met David, it was 1999, and I did not... Completely understand the impact that man was going to have on my life. I was a young man turning 27 at the time, which as a male human is still adolescent years.

And like many of us, I met him at a political meeting, a Texas Green Party meeting. And I knew just from the way he introduced himself and what he included while he was in that meeting, that he had captured something that I had been feeling Yet I had not been able to articulate myself.

Writing, social injustice, and building a true democracy which we were promised in our youth. And he gave me something I had never had. He gave me a direction and he gave me hope. It lit a fire under my ass. I quit my engineering job for many years, several years,

four years, and worked closely with David and with him by my side Let’s be honest. With him leading a fearless charge and me trying to keep up, I was willing to take on the whole system. I learned so much about him during those years, about people and organizing.

And I learned a lot of history that they did not teach us in school. But the most important thing I learned was how an incredibly beautiful person he was. He could charm the pants off a five-year-old in an ice cream parlor or an old lady picking groceries at a store.

He could walk into any room and have the ability to make everyone feel comfortable and at ease, even in the wake of his large presence, which he didn’t know any other way to be. In community meetings, he was very good about sharing space and harvesting ideas from the collective community.

He was very good about avoiding stereotypes associated with age, education, religion, race, gender, orientation, et cetera. It was almost like a long time ago he saw through all that bullshit, realizing that this was just a distraction, part of the matrix that the established had set up for us for better mind control.

And what do you see when you shed all those false identities? You see people’s hearts. And I would say that most hearts are good, you know? A scared heart can do dangerous things. But I rarely have met a bad heart, right? I think hearts are good. And that is actually his true superpower.

You know, his true superpower was that connection of heart to heart, you know? David was also an intense intellectual. And sadly, not once in 28 years of being close friends was I ever able to share a new book or an author or a speaker or a professor or a community project,

anything that he didn’t already know about and that he couldn’t draw more connection points for me to learn from. And he didn’t express knowledge in a boasting way either. He sincerely loved sharing. And his love for knowledge did not stop at publications. Because, believe me, after that conversation, he would dig deep into your thoughts and your perspectives.

Telling David Cobb it can’t be done is no different than waving a red flag at a bull. He would smile with that big Texas smile and march headlong into that opposition. And he would often say, We might not win every fight, but they are going to know that they were in one.

Those words were not rhetoric for this man. In no small way, it was his ethos. The affairs of this world, injustice and witnessing innocent people being hurt, laid a very heavy toll on David’s heart. This is not the first time matters have looked bleak, The last hundred years we’ve experienced continuous waves of war and genocide and

a complete assault on our planet that sustains our life. These threats still exist and new ones have come along. But David would say we fight in solidarity, we stand together, and if nothing else, we make sure they know they were in for a fight. David departing did them some hope, losing such a strong leader. Visionary.

But maybe that takeaway is the world doesn’t need one strong leader. The world needs a full community of strong leaders. Going back to filling those holes. And anytime we come across those closed doors and we think the opportunity is lost, that’s when we pull strength from our dear friend, busting those doors wide open.

No longer asking for permission, permission for the world that we deserve, but now demanding it. It would not be a speech about David Keith Cobb, If it would not include a call to action, but that call is not only to be present and do what you can to make this world a better place, but more importantly,

that call is to be the type of person that David Keith Cobb was. On an emotional level, the ability to listen and the ability to speak with a completely open heart. It is very tempting To ask questions about David’s passing. Questions that cannot be answered. And there is no answer that can bring back our friend.

The search of these answers has distracted me greatly. It has distracted me from my mourning. It has distracted me from evolving to a place where I can call upon him and his energy. There is cultural practice, as we all know, of our ancestors calling upon former family members and loved ones for strength and guidance.

And this is where I want to transition. Away from questions and to be completely present with spirit. And let’s be honest, he has a big enough spirit to share with all of us. David being confined was never his forte. Last page is always the hardest. Last Labor Day weekend, our family took a vacation.

We have three kids down to the Guadalupe River and rented a house and had a nice weekend. We went to Famous dance hall in Texas called the Green Hall. If you ever get down that area, make sure you go. And saw one of our favorite Texas country artists, a man named Jason Bolin, which I highly recommend.

I really love the guy. And I was listening to that concert that night. We’ve seen him many times. And I didn’t exactly remember the song, but there was a song that night that struck me. And... And... This song was about a close friend passing away. And I remember just sitting there in this honky tonk and I’m listening

to this emotion pouring out of this microphone. And I was like, man, this guy is feeling some serious pain. I’m so glad I’m not him. But we got a good song out of it. And little did I know the phone call I was going to get the following morning.

But I want to share some of the lyrics of that song. And I hope we can play it later. Have a little Texas Waltz tribute to my friend. And again, if I cry, it’s not you, it’s me. I’m going to say a few lines from it. Name of the song is I’ll See You When I See You.

They say we all need companions and how no one goes alone over mountains and through canyons From the poorhouse to the throne. Oh, but time is quite the driver. It lays a whip into the team. It pulls apart the fibers. Till it’s time we split the scene. I guess I’ll see you when I see you.

And I pray you’re safe and well till then. All the miles that lie between us will be a way back in the end. Oh, time we shared was a blessing. I’d love to live it all again. I guess I’ll see you when I see you. Happy travels, my old friend. Thank you, guys.

In this episode of Redneck Gone Green, Shane is joined by the late David Cobb's widow, Ruthi. Over the last three weeks since we lost David, there has been some confusion around the circumstances of his death. Ruthi and Shane come together to present the grim reality and open up about how grief changes you, but how it also calls you back to your community. We may have lost a fire-starter, a powerhouse, and a giant source of inspiration for many, but there is a way forward—and it's the one he believed in the most. We have to keep showing up. We have to treat each other lovingly. We must realize our fight is against the billionaire class that's pillaging and plundering the world we all live in, and our challenge is to choose love, solidarity, and the long road. If you'd like to make a donation to support David's family, you may do so at https://gofund.me/614c9afb4

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