Robin Vargas

Robin regularly came to Manna House, mostly for coffee. Like a number of our guests, she had a job. She worked at Jack Pirtles. She made just enough to usually have a place to live. Then she tired of Memphis and moved to another city. She might have become one of the many guests who I get to know, and then disappear, never to be seen or heard from again.

So I was glad when we reconnected on Facebook a few years ago. We became “friends” and I got glimpses into her life away from Memphis. Occasionally we exchanged messages. She wondered how a guest she knew was doing, or she asked, “Whatever happened to….?” She seemed to be doing ok. Life was still hard, but bearable. The move had changed the scenery, but not the grind required to keep a job and a place to live.

Then one day she shared a survey that asked, “What country song was written about your life?” The answer was, “Rodney Atkins, If You’re Going Through Hell.” Why this song? Because “Robin you never give up, no matter how dark your days get. You’ve seen failure, but you’ve never been one to give in or back down in the face of fear. ‘If You’re Going Through Hell’ is a beautiful tribute to your spirit and a reminder that you are always stronger than you believe.”

Robin lived that song. Her son died about two years ago. Then about a year later she was diagnosed with cancer.
“Things go from bad to worse

            You think it can't get worse than that And then they do.”
            Don't slow down if you're scared don't show it,
           You might get out before the devil even knows you're there.


            I've been down to my last match…
            But the good news is there's angels everywhere out on the street
            Holdin' out a hand to pull you back up on your feet…"

Another guest at Manna House remembered Robin as one of those “angels everywhere out on the street.” She wrote, “She was one of the dearest people that I met during my years on the street… She will be very missed.” Indeed she will.

On February 10^th of this year Robin posted, “Hi. I just wanted to say goodbye to all my friends and family. I'm suffering from stage 4 lung cancer, can't barely breath so it won't be long. Just want you to know I love you all. And if you smoke, please, please, quit. God bless you. Going to hospice. They said the way I'm breathing it won't be long.”

She died 9 days later.

From what I knew of Robin’s life, nothing ever seemed to come easy for her. But she had an unconquerable spirit. “Good morning, God bless,” she wrote on Facebook posts. In her note about going to hospice, there is no self-pity. In the midst of her own ills, she shows concern for others, “Just want you to know, I love you all. And if you smoke, please, please, quit.”

             Much like the country song Robin identified with, she had a realism that held onto hope rather than giving in to despair.

“If you're goin' through hell keep on going,

              Much like the country song Robin identified with, she had a realism that held onto hope rather than giving in to despair.

“If you're goin' through hell keep on going,
Don't slow down if you're scared don't show it,
You might get out before the devil even knows you're there.

I've been deep down in that darkness,
I've been down to my last match…

But the good news is there's angels everywhere out on the street
Holdin' out a hand to pull you back up on your feet…

Another guest at Manna House remembered Robin as one of those “angels everywhere out on the street.” She wrote, “She was one of the dearest people that I met during my years on the street… She will be very missed.” Indeed she will.