I met Rolin in 7th grade English class at Otto. When I saw the last name on his paper, I asked if his father sold cars at Bud Kouts Chevy. He said yes and I told him we'd bought our last 3 cars from Marion. The rest is history. Rolin became a really good friend and my life was forever changed by spending as much time as I did at the Stutes household. What a family! Each sibling was very talented and Mrs. Stutes was incredibly lenient without being naive. Mr. Stutes had been a radio man and had a lot of high-end audio equipment. When the parents were away, we'd really rock out! The Beatles and Chicago were big. As may be no surprise to those who knew him, Rolin was the first person to get me stoned. Probably the summer between 10th and 11th grades. We then hitch-hiked from his house down Waverly and across on Willow to Sir Pizza. I remember being so paranoid during that journey that I never got stoned again until after high school!
Unfortunately, Rolin moved into heavier use of mind-altering substances and never regained a "normal" life. He got busted for dealing ( he always claimed that it was a set-up) and as a part of his sentence he was sent to California to spend time at Synanon, supposedly for drug rehab. He wrote me a number of times about how incredible CA was and how he planned to help build a community in the mountains. Eventually he went AWOL. Prison followed. He later married, had children and settled up near Reno. For awhile, he would drive an old bookmobile bus to the annual Burning Man festival (search for Black Rock bookmobile). We spoke a few times on the phone, but I was busy raising a son and working and although only two hours apart, we never re-connected. Drugs took their toll on his health and he ultimately passed away as a result of too much abuse. He was a free-spirited rebel, but like the song said, "fought the law and the law won". R.I.P. friend.
Thomas Carr
Ancestry has Rolin dying April 15, 2015
Robert Hosley
I met Rolin in 7th grade English class at Otto. When I saw the last name on his paper, I asked if his father sold cars at Bud Kouts Chevy. He said yes and I told him we'd bought our last 3 cars from Marion. The rest is history. Rolin became a really good friend and my life was forever changed by spending as much time as I did at the Stutes household. What a family! Each sibling was very talented and Mrs. Stutes was incredibly lenient without being naive. Mr. Stutes had been a radio man and had a lot of high-end audio equipment. When the parents were away, we'd really rock out! The Beatles and Chicago were big. As may be no surprise to those who knew him, Rolin was the first person to get me stoned. Probably the summer between 10th and 11th grades. We then hitch-hiked from his house down Waverly and across on Willow to Sir Pizza. I remember being so paranoid during that journey that I never got stoned again until after high school!
Unfortunately, Rolin moved into heavier use of mind-altering substances and never regained a "normal" life. He got busted for dealing ( he always claimed that it was a set-up) and as a part of his sentence he was sent to California to spend time at Synanon, supposedly for drug rehab. He wrote me a number of times about how incredible CA was and how he planned to help build a community in the mountains. Eventually he went AWOL. Prison followed. He later married, had children and settled up near Reno. For awhile, he would drive an old bookmobile bus to the annual Burning Man festival (search for Black Rock bookmobile). We spoke a few times on the phone, but I was busy raising a son and working and although only two hours apart, we never re-connected. Drugs took their toll on his health and he ultimately passed away as a result of too much abuse. He was a free-spirited rebel, but like the song said, "fought the law and the law won". R.I.P. friend.