Remembering Bill

Bill Kraski loomed a giant among the weak. My first words to him were always, “how you feelin?” For as long as I knew him, Bill was a member of “the walking wounded;” sometimes seemed to be “dead men walking,” Just his appearance welled up tears in me — Till he started to converse.

Authentic laughter

Then came the smile, a little tease, then authentic laughter, now a return to a controlled face. “Okay!?” – was a half question/half reply — he “noted” my comments. “Okay?” Next came something that required deep thought, (some details were missing), nevertheless after a few queries, profundity occurred. Bill gave us, in a short sentence, hours of meditation; the baritone spoke as a news reporter. 

Bill spoke of his D.J. days, when prompted. I think he played “MacArthur Park” first of anybody. He liked Bela Fleck and anything “light jazz.” I didn’t know Bill back then but the rich voice was enough to quell all doubts. He preferred “John Tesh” in the call room at B.W.N.

He had a command in him – authority!

Bill sold waterproofing from the phones; he took calls too, he handled complaints. Most hearing him for the first time thought he was, of course, the owner. He had a command in him – authority!

It all makes sense, maybe not at first.

Bill was a blog writer, a step above us amateurs. “Apologies for the delay in getting to part 3, I’ve been dealing with some health issues. To a degree I still am. But I also don’t want to delay this part of the series any longer than absolutely necessary. So, here we go.” He was immersed in it. Dedicated. “I’ve been using smart-phones since the days of Windows Mobile. And I’ve been actively Christian, even before that.” It all makes sense, maybe not at first.

I personally got a kick out of the “Tin foil” sandwiches that he really loved and lived on. Wire hanging from his ear, he savored the flavors, he took big bites. Fries too. Bill could taunt with the best. Subtle, deadpanned, sometimes they went over your head. If you got em you roared. So did Bill.

He hired a friend to drive him back and forth to his job at Waterproofing. I never knew, maybe could have chipped in. Bill paid his own way.

Sometimes he had hair. Sometimes facial.

Our loss, God’s gain.