Now that I have discussed my grief (mixed with joy, for what was, and if God intervenes, what may be as well), I can now discuss matters which bring me joy. My friend Billy. I use the word “friend”, but I have had him described as a brother. I appreciate this term. I admire the things Billy shares.
From time to time, Billy will use his wisdom with me. I get it in short bursts. It is encouraging, and I eagerly look forward to each morsel. But perhaps I could elaborate, a little on Billy. Well, for one, I feel strongly that he is my little brother, “William’s” namesake.
I did not always appreciate Billy. I remember when our families first began to “hangout”. I noticed we shared many things in common. For example, a neat array of firearms. Also, both our Moms (my “Aunt Mary”), enjoyed reading to there children. We both sat through John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, as our Moms read it to us. Also, the Hiding Place as well.
Our Moms first started talking, in 1995, I believe, at Church. They were living in a camper at the time, in the church parking lot. I remember the camper being there. I was not sure who was in it, though. I have always been kind of an introvert. We were at the time, attending the OPC Church in Bothell, Washington. Trinity.
I remember the first time the Robinsons came over. That was really the first time I had ever remembered meeting Billy. We showed Billy, and his brother Matthew (Matt, as he was called) the woods. The old foundation. The river and the park, up in Arlington, Washington.
For some reason, Thanksgiving became a big deal to our families. Every Thanksgiving, we would go somewhere. One year, we even rented a cabin from a NAVY recreational facility on the coast! That was so cool. I still remember watching Airplane, for the first time. I cracked up at that one, even as a kid.
Billy was really into watching movies back then. He was the one who bought Jingle All The Way. He gave it to me for my birthday. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he goes on a mission to find his son a Turbo Man doll. That was probably his funniest movie!
Our Moms also delved into Psalm singing. For a while, we even looked at some music history, which ended up being fascinating to me. I appreciated the Psalm singing and music history more, later in life. While I was in the NAVY, and as I did not regularly attend church I could recall the many promises of God, from singing in the Psalter. Sometimes we would try and find the longest one. I found one that had 23 verses to it! We sang it, and Billy went into the bathroom lol.
I remember a game we used to play. It was Axis & Allies. My Dad, and his Dad, my Uncle Rob would take Billy and me hunting. One year, in 1996, we went. Billy told me to bring our game with me. So, I put it on top of all the guns in the Chevy Nova. Instead of doing much hunting, we got snowed in. So, Billy and me got to play a lot of Axis & Allies that hunting season. Yes, we were in the old camper they had used to stay in, so we were nice and warm, plus we had hot chocolate.
We did make it out hunting a little bit, that time. I remember going out just after it had finished snowing. It was so silent. I still remember the silence, because it was deafening. It made me think of it being at night, yet the sun was out. It was so beautiful, seeing all the white. I wish I had a picture of it. It made me think of the North Pole.
In the end, Billy’s family had to move to Michigan. I was always saddened by that. But eventually, I got to travel, and fly to Michigan and I visited Billy for his graduation from Christian Liberty Academy. That was in 2000. Right after I had first connected with “icanslamsatan”. I remember that Billy had a car, and we would go driving sometimes. He took me into Grand Rapids for the first time. It was neat. You really ought to go.
Every now and then, Grand Rapids comes up. When it does, I think of Billy. Billy has a certain love for that place, and I think its wonderful. One time, after I had gotten out of the NAVY, I took a class on World Religions, at TCC. During the class, we reviewed the Apostles Creed and guess where the translation was from? Grand Rapids! Of all the different copies they chose to use the one from Grand Rapids, that I had read when I was a child. So, naturally, this was another moment where I thought of Billy.
Well, that is all for this post. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and you got the grasp of the truth of closeness with Billy, in my youth. Maybe I will write more later, but Billy got off of Social Media years ago. Sometimes, I think I should get off as well. But right now, my Facebook has a lot of engagement. Hopefully, for the right reasons.
The Courier 