TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- His grandchildren gave him the idea. Whenever they visited Grandpa Bob Freeman's apartment, they were intrigued by the pictures hanging on his walls - collages of family members as well as pictures of animals and the outdoors.

That prompted Freeman, 86, to start collecting picture books and old calendars.

Then he got some scrap matting about to be thrown away at a craft store and started matting the pictures to give away not only to his grandchildren, but to kids in the Tucson apartment complex where he lives. The kids were thrilled, he said.

Soon he was taking pictures with him to the grocery store, on the bus and to nearby thrift shops. That was 11 years ago.

Since then, Freeman estimates he's given away 80,000 pictures and often gives away bunches at a time.

"I take 30 or 40 with me every time I go out," he said.

Gina Inman, a legal secretary with the Pima County Attorney's Office, said Freeman, her stepfather, has always been a sociable, outgoing person.

"He's very, very interested in people's life stories. As far back as I can remember, he's been like that," said Inman, 43.

"He started being active in civil rights way back before it was even common," Inman said.

"He would stick up for Native Americans and black people. He was always, always fighting for the underdog. He's got a moral backbone."

Freeman said that even though he's no longer married to their mother, he's remained close to Inman and his other stepdaughter, Dina Inman, both of whom live in Tucson.

Gina Inman said pictures Freeman designed hang in many of the offices where she works.

"He comes up with these fabulous posters. And the kids, when they see him in the store, they say, 'Hey, you're the poster man.' "

Sharon Silver said her 11-year-old daughter, Alexandria, recognizes Freeman when she sees him at the local Fry's grocery.

"I thought it was sweet," Silver said, referring to the first time Freeman approached them with some pictures. "The kids really like it." She said her daughter has used the pictures to decorate her room.

One of Freeman's close friends is a neighbor who helps take care of him. Kristin Greenfelder, an illustrator who works from home, said walking through Fry's with Freeman is a "lesson in patience" because he knows so many people.

Greenfelder, 37, met Freeman nearly two years ago and the unusual pair became fast friends.

They met in the Fry's parking lot on a rainy evening. Greenfelder noticed an elderly man in a neck brace waiting by the door as she walked in.

She shopped and then noticed him again as she was leaving and wondered why he was still there, waiting.

Greenfelder went home and realized she'd forgotten something so she drove back to the store. Freeman was still there, now standing outside in the rain looking for a cab that was an hour late.

"I said, 'What are you doing out here? Get in the car. I'm taking you home,'" she said.

As it turned out, Greenfelder lives about a mile from Freeman.

Greenfelder, then new to the area from Michigan, now checks on Freeman a couple of times each day. She takes him to the grocery store and to his doctor appointments.

"When I first picked him up, I actually felt sorry for him. Now I realize he's a mentor for how to live," she said.

Freeman helps her keep her own fears and frustrations in perspective, Greenfelder said, especially when he tells her about his memories of being a Marine in World War II at Guadalcanal, an experience that left him with post-traumatic stress disorder.

After the war, Freeman spent much of his life opening horse and dog racing tracks in the United States as well as Mexico and Colombia.

He has a gift for math, and Greenfelder likes to challenge his ability to add in his head.

Often, Freeman talks as she sketches. Currently, he's reading her copy of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath."

Gina Inman said Freeman relies on Greenfelder a lot.

"It keeps him going. She makes him laugh," she said. They also challenge each other to be better people, Inman said.

"She'll call him on his faults, and he'll call her on her faults."

Now, Freeman's one wish is for someone else to carry on his tradition, to do a simple thing to "make a child smile."

"I'm not going to be around here that much longer," he said, and then added with a laugh. "I'm 86 years old. My God, I'm on overtime already."

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Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com

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