The Great Game Hunter

I don't remember the first time I met Bill. Try as I might, I can't recall that moment when Colynn brought me over to him and said "Bill, I'd like you to meet my niece". I think back upon the hundreds of thousands of Christmases, Thanksgivings, Easters, birthdays and other random family gatherings of my lifetime and try to recall his first appearance. Relatively speaking, it was only a small fraction of time that he was in my family memories, but it felt like he was always supposed to be there, as if he filled a void we never realized was there until he filled it. And now I can't remember our family without him.

Bill was a kind, handsome man with an infectious grin, twinkling eyes, and rosy cheeks that would make any Santa impersonator Grinchy-green with envy. I can't remember ever seeing him without a smile, even during those moments when someone would be feeling a bit cranky and snap at him for no apparent reason. He would just chuckle and let it roll off his shoulders. He had a patience and good-natured-ness that few posses.

Colynn and Bill got married this past October. It was a beautiful intimate ceremony at the home of a friend. They had a large celebration of a reception in November. Thanksgiving was the first holiday that he attended as an official member of our family and even though we loved him the same after the wedding as we did before, there was a definate change in the feel of our family. For the good, of course.

Every year our family gathers for various holidays, but the biggest and most exciting gathering is always the 4th of July. Everyone gathers out at my mom's house for a BBQ. And I mean everyone: family, extended family, extreme extended family, ex family, close friends, old friends, new friends, acquaintances, random people walking down the street, the cashier where we got the meat for the grill.... (okay, not really, but it seems like it). We eat, swap stories, play horseshoes, sing along with the musically talented members and finally end the evening with a truly spectacular display of fireworks (one year, we even had the sheriff called out on us!) Bill was always ready for the day with his own brand of celebration: he'd always begin the fireworks early in the day with his dry-ice bombs (for those of you who have never attended 4th of July with Bill, those are plastic bottles like the kind water comes in that he would fill with dry ice, replace the cap, then leave somewhere in the yard. The dry ice would cause the bottle to expand until finally BOOM, it exploded with the sound of a car bomb) Those of us who had been around long enough would always keep one eye on Bill all day and knew that when we saw him walking swiftly toward the crowd with a mischievous glint in his eye, it was time to cover our ears and wait. It was always fun to watch the unsuspecting faces of our first-time guests.

Bill also has a place in my memories of more intimate groups. Colynn, Bill, Mom, Don, my friend Barb and I were all regulars at the plays at Clark College. We had season tickets to all the performances and it was always fun to meet up and attend them together. It always felt strange when someone wasn't able to make it and we had to replace them with one of our alternates. It's a special activity that we shared together and will never be the same without him.

There were sides of Bill I didn't know as well, like the great outdoorsman his children and Colynn knew. Those were theoretical hobbies to me. I knew the man who liked 4th of July pranks and introduced and played Apples To Apples with the family. He was a fun, funny, kind, gentle man and our family is better because he was a part of it, even for the short time that he was. And those are the images I will forever treasure in my heart.

Here's to you, Bill! Thank you for being a part of our family. We love you and miss you and look forward to the day when we will all be reunited in that better place.