[s-cars] remembering Bill

Mon Sep 17 07:54:17 PDT 2007

I too can count myself lucky to have known Bill, also getting to know him through the freezzing my bawls off late night garage club...  Bill was the MOST selfless, kind, gentle and humorous soul that I was lucky enough to come to know through the Audi community.  We shared a common love of UrS Avants and Type 85 cars alike.  We ran many parts gathering missions on behalf of one another, and Bill even came to help Bob Rossato (another amazing Audi friend I am blessed to know) and me with my first diy t-belt service on my 200 20v this past Jan on a sub-zero night.  Bill, of course, brought hot coffees for all.  I remember laughing with him over the stupidifyingly numbgly single-chord guitar solo in Neil Young's "Down By The River".  This might be lost on some of you, but Paulie knows what I'm talking about...  I too was thinking about the 'coolest tunes award' from //SFest, as I had to duck my head in and listen when I saw Paul's head bobbing back and forth with a big 'ol smile on his face.

I am still trying to reconcile this one.  As I told Bob Rossato yesterday, this one hurts, so I can't imagine the pain that Colleen, Abe and his family must be suffering through.  My thoughts, prayers and well wishes are with you all.

Jim
James Pasqualoni
Boston Global Advisors
T: 617-204-2406

----- Original Message -----
From: pkrasusky at ups.com <pkrasusky at ups.com>
To: tmullane at gmail.com <tmullane at gmail.com>
Cc: s-car-list at audifans.com <s-car-list at audifans.com>; Pasqualoni, James E; jnorris at usgs.gov <jnorris at usgs.gov>; user109411 at aol.com <user109411 at aol.com>; yellowcuda at gmail.com <yellowcuda at gmail.com>; robert.rossato at hs.utc.com <robert.rossato at hs.utc.com>; konecc at snet.net <konecc at snet.net>
Sent: Mon Sep 17 10:16:34 2007
Subject: RE: remembering Bill

HA!

Thanks for the brevity, Tom.  And, crap!  I totally had meant to include it as a typical "Bill-ism" and forgot in all my wordiness...  "RATTRO"!!!  How can one leave that out???

Bill had coined that affectionate name for his then recently acquired red '90 90CQ - Rattro.  He got it after PO had a new paint job but they never finished reinstalling the interior after some water damage, bumpers off, etc.  Man did he and Abe spend some hours on that thing.  

When I saw it finished I failed to understand the appropriateness of the name Rattro as the car REALLY looked REALLY damn NICE!  But, in a typical Bill way (he was always self degrading), and to hear him spin the tale on the car assuredly put you into stitches laughing.  The time I'd seen it we'd met @ Brian's "shop" for lunch - Bill dumbassedly had agreed to meet Bob D'Amato "on his way" to pick up some UrQ parts for Jim P. as I'd con'd Bill into the fact that he and Bob "both worked in Farmington".  Not even close, they were, but he did it anyway.

Heh, Rattro.  I still get a chuckle out of that one.

Bill, being his selfless self, even fab'd up HID brackets for Jim's Avant at the time.  They'd never met at that point.  Kind of guy he was, always going wayway out of his way.

A Bill quote that comes to mind was in reference to running 4kq's on 1/2 a quart of oil.  "They LOOOOOOOOOVE it!!!".  Only Bill.

Just remembering another call I got at work from Bill one winter's afternoon.  Paul, it's Bill.  The Avant shut off on the highway - Colleen and I are on our way to meet Abe to ski @ Stowe / Jiminy Peak (?).  Where are you Bill, I ask?  Hartford - we didn't even make it out of HARTFORD.  We're going home to take Colleen's Alero - least that's assured to actually MAKE it there and back.  I remember him having to cringe in that irony and having to admit to Colleen just in fact how sad a point that actually was.  D'oh.

Ah, Bill...  or as Abe often said...  Billyboy...

________________________________

	From: Tom Mullane [mailto:tmullane at gmail.com] 
	Sent: Monday, September 17, 2007 10:01 AM
	To: Krasusky Paul (WQQ2PXK)
	Cc: s-car-list at audifans.com; james.pasqualoni at gs.com; jnorris at usgs.gov; user109411 at aol.com; yellowcuda at gmail.com; robert.rossato at hs.utc.com; konecc at snet.net
	Subject: Re: remembering Bill

	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 