Page 59 - Demo

ROBERT HIGDON
WATERFRONT LIVING
Artwork can be admired in every room. Yes, even the bathroom.
One of Thierry W. Despont’s masks greets visitors with drawn eyebrows in the entryway, while Wilby, Robert’s young miniature Yorkie, enthusiastically joins the welcoming committee.
Light oods through windows and skylights. Stairs lead up to the hallway and main living area. With breathtaking water views as backdrop, the residence reveals the eclectic taste of an avid art and antiques collector’s world travels. Stacks of art and history books complement unique furniture pieces and décor. Artwork can be admired in every room. Yes, even the bathroom.
Gilded mirrors re ect the light, and on the periphery of skillfully arranged colors, patterns, and furnishings, people he loves and admires smile from photo frames. In many ways, his home o ers a glimpse into his soul.
On a shelf by the window, a 17-year-old Robert smiles half con dently into the camera. In another frame he is 27, standing next to Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. “I was a kid when I started running around the White House. I rst worked for Senator Lawton Chiles, who later became Florida governor.” Events placed him at the right times in the right places. He joined a communications rm and worked with Carolyn Deaver. Her husband Michael was the deputy chief of sta at the White House at the time–this lead to Robert's work assignments with the Reagans.
“Mike Deaver scared the hell out of me,” he remembers with a wry smile. “‘Be a well and not a fountain,’ he once told me. I will never forget that. When someone asked a question, I would say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ without ever volunteering details.”
www.PanamaCityLiving.com • May - June 2018 • 59