The Bob Factory
The last Bob factory closed down a few years ago. Not enough demand.
Popular names for children change every decade, sometimes every year. The Dorises and Roberts of the 50s gave way to the Kimberlys and Davids of the 60s, the Heathers and Jasons (and occasional Moonflowers) of the 70s, the Ashleys and Brads of the 90s, and the Olivias and Ethans of the 00s.
Emma is making a comeback these days, and Liam, Sophia and Mason. Precious few Bobs.
You just can’t get the parts anymore.
The last Bob factory wasn’t a union shop and, sad to say, that probably kept it going longer than most with desperate layoffs and benefit slashing, plus it picked up some business as the other Bob factories shut down one by one until it was the last one left. But bills mounted, and there were whispers of embezzlement and mismanagement., and then the machines slid to a halt and the doors shut and the chains went up.
You can still find Bobs here and there, if you look. Handmade they are, on Etsy and Depop and eBay and Amazon’s used bobsellers. None of them look the same. Some of them are in the style of pop culture celebrities or fictional characters. Most are carefully crafted to look like vintage Bobs of old, designed from the memories of those who miss them.
Some Bobs are worth a lot of money, to the right collector.
And old men and women sit in the bars and drink their Social Security checks away, telling each other tales of the days when they made Bobs, and made them right.
