Bob Dickinson

Bob Dickinson was born in 1943 in Danville, Illinois. After his father returned home from the war in the Pacific, he and his parents moved back to his father's hometown of Covington, Indiana, a little farming community just across the state line. From the time he was two years old until he left for college at the age of 18, Covington served as his background for all things, good and bad. A childhood filled with fun and humor, his book, Root Beer Floats, tells the story of these happy and carefree days of his youth.

After graduating from Purdue University with a degree in pharmacy, Bob married his high school sweetheart, Alinda, and for the next 20 years they made a life for themselves in Illinois, where he practiced his profession and they began a family. In 1987 they decided to move back to Covington where they bought a large federal-style home which was built in the 1860's and where they reside to this day.

Bob retired in 2006 from the VA Medical Center in Danville, where he had practiced pharmacy for the past 20 years. Although he has been writing poetry, short stories, and song lyrics for most of his adult life, mostly for friends and family, in his book he says that it was because of his retirement that he was finally able to do his childhood story the justice it deserves.

He would like to write another book, but only time will tell. Asked if it would be another memoir, his answer was, "Absolutely not! Next one's got to have some good stuff in it. Even though I think Root Beer Floats is a great coming-of-age book, once is enough for happy and light. Next one needs a bit more grit, and I don't do real-life grit. So I guess the next one will have to be a novel."

You may contact Bob Dickinson at exit8pub@yahoo.com