[s-cars] remembering Bill

[Tom Mullane]

Nice read, Paul.

I met Bill the same way you did, through the S-car community.  I was always
amazed that he could be so meticulous yet work on old junkers; hard to
reconcile the two I'd imagine.  He seemed to be OK with it though.

Bill did my HID conversion too...also in a freezing cold garage.  I tried to
find a few pictures of the event (Marc Swanson was around, so you can rest
assured the event was well documented) but I couldn't find anything decent
enough to post.  From the pictures, I went to email to find my favorite
"Bill quote".  I've been reading old emails and laughing quietly at work for
the past half hour.  I guess I never realized what a good sport he was.

Anyway, I found the quote I wanted, and it may be only funny to me (and
perhaps to a few other married Coupe owners) but I think of it every time I
see Robyn struggle her way in and out of the Coupe, muttering and cursing
under her breath.  I'm sure there are others that own a ride that their
significant other has a "new level of hatred" for:

"I was reading the thread about the car--and Robyn hating the coupe---
Colleen is the exact same way.  Don't get me wrong she hated the
4kqs, but there is a new level of hatred with the coupe...'why are the doors
so heavy, why did you have to get a red car, why doesn't the AC work, is it
always this loud' and on and on and on---gotta love it."

Tom



On 9/17/07, pkrasusky at ups.com <pkrasusky at ups.com> wrote:
>
>
> Wanted to share some thoughts about Bill as my way of trying to feel
> better about this.
>
> I too met Bill from here on the List.  Trying to recall but seems that
> he'd contacted me about getting together to check out my recently obtained
> //S6 back in the spring of '02.  He'd come up to my place after work one
> evening in his 4kq and we hung outside shooting the breeze for hours,
> instantly realizing how much we had in common and having lots of laughs
> together.  I remember going inside after and Jen exclamating something to
> the effect of "geesh that was a long visit for someone you don't know".
>
> A month or so later he came up to "watch" my suspension and big brake
> install that Bob and I were tackling over a weekend, and of course at some
> point I was pushed aside so the enginerds could work their magic.  Brian
> Werstak (Coventry Motorcar) had dropped by with his diegrinder to trim the
> strut towers in a beautiful ~60k silver //S6 Avant and Bill was smitten -
> picked it up a few weeks later.
>
> Bill was quite quite talented, you may remember his boost gauge install.
> We called it the Knight Rider / KITT gauge as it was red LED's in one of the
> dummy center console switch plates.  But it was one of the nicest cleanest
> installs you'd ever seen.  Talented, but moreso, SELFLESS.  Bill was always
> willing and eager to help, despite his many projects of his own left
> sitting.  Came up one night and knocked out my HID install - fab'd up some
> brackets for me, wired them, we were done in an hour with his expertise.
> Like Rich said, part of the freezing garage gang here.  Then when I'd tree'd
> my 4kq and had a parts car @ Bob's for disassembly, he beat me there one
> night and he and Bob were under the rusty hunk of crap, freezing, filthy,
> yanking parts off before I arrived.  Later we all took pleasure in using
> Bob's "elements of destruction" and making things go smashysmashy on it.
>
> He was such the 4kq extraordinaire Abe Berman had nicknamed him "UrBill",
> helped me do a scratch alignment on my 3.99kq when I got it back
> together.  I think he won the //SFest 2004 or so Ronal wheel gift
> certificate, picked up them 5 spoker's you may have seen on his car @
> //SFest here last month.  He & Colleen brought them nifty Audi pictured
> cakes to //SFest 2006 without being asked.  And at //SFest 2007, I'd parked
> his Avant and gotten out and found him - awarding him the "coolest tunes"
> award for the 75 cars I'd parked, some stupid hippy music we both enjoy.
>
> Not knowing much of the details of what happened other than what was on
> the 11:30 news last night (white Fordish looking pickup truck upside down),
> I'm guessing Bill wasn't speeding.  Years back Bob, Rich, and I had met up
> for a gathering @ AAAngelo's pizza place down in Wallingford, we'd met Bill
> en-route after work.  We caravan'd up the onramp, I look back, Bill is about
> 8 miles back.  Pasqualoni and I were just last week commenting on how he
> drove like a grandma.  See Bill was one of the inquiries I had on that 90k
> mile RS6 that was available locally recently, Jim and I couldn't figure out
> WTF Bill would do with the thing!
>
> I'll miss our "sub-List" convo's, fortunately we just had one Friday.  Abe
> and Bill had started this "off List" distribution to me, Bob, Jim
> Pasqualoni, and Tom Mullane.  Always centered around stupid Audidom, we'd
> have laugh's at absurd Audifans Marketplace ads, things on Craig List, etc.,
> and Bill would never let me down and always slayed me with laughter.
>
> That's what I'll miss most about Bill…  Bill was one of the literally
> three people in my life that I can name where EVERYTHING that came out of
> his mouth or keyboard was FUNNY (Bill Mahoney and Edweirdo Walsh being the
> other 2, funny I met them both here on the List too - least I see Bill
> annually - Ed, you suck huge hairy bauls!).  He was just that kind of guy,
> always always *always* making me laugh.  Had a great warped twisted spin on
> things.  He was also very quiet, unassuming - so much so that many here
> probably didn't get to know him that well.  Definitely one of those people
> that seemingly wouldn't harm a fly or do any wrong - an all around great
> guy, and someone that caused me to spend more time with my Audiot friends
> than my "real" ones certainly.
>
> Abe here had introduced his friend Colleen to Bill, and I'm sure this is
> hitting Abe hardest as they were from what I could tell THE *best* of
> friends.  Abe just finished VT to CT commutes to Bill's to finish the crate
> motor install into Abe's Barracuda in Bill's driveway.  And Bill and Colleen
> were seemingly inseparable.  I used to bust on him constantly for always
> bringing her to the GoF's @ my place - despite the total sweetheart she is -
> "Bill, come on, this is a dude's thing!".  They were really a pair, great
> together.
>
> A number of us will be getting together on a floral arrangement to send
> Colleen, I think Darin's preparing details on the S-Cars.org site on
> that.  And if you'd like to join the group of us attending the services
> sometime this week, email me and I'll let you know when I or others hear
> back from Abe with the schedule.
>
> Jen got rear ended in her ML in town earlier that same day - barely needs
> a bumper cover, things like this sure put that in perspective I guess.  And
> to hear Colin McRae also perished that same day - man, what a shitty day.
>
> As Bob and Rich said…  Bill will be sorely missed.  I really liked him.
> Keep him and his and Colleen's families in your thoughts and prayers.
>
> And, to me, further reinforces what I've said now for years since loosing
> my dad @ 18 - Carpe Diem.  Enjoy it while you got it folks - rereading this
> all just makes me sad.
>
> -Paul
>