{"id":319,"date":"2018-05-16T23:27:09","date_gmt":"2018-05-16T23:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.granitecitynow.com\/?p=319"},"modified":"2022-07-04T04:41:42","modified_gmt":"2022-07-04T04:41:42","slug":"for-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.granitecitynow.com\/?p=319","title":{"rendered":"For Bill…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Remembering-Bill-Paxton\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I never met Bill Paxton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But he was one of my all-time favorite actors. (Also, yes \u2013 that is<\/em> his signature tattooed on the outside of my wrist.)<\/p>\n

And after years \u2013 decades, really \u2013 of watching his films, seeing him charm the hosts and audiences of late night TV talk shows, and soaking up every bit of information offered in this entertainment publication or that I felt like I had a pretty good handle on the attributes that made him who he was.<\/p>\n

And who he was\u2026 was a movie star, a family man, a storyteller, a goof ball \u2013 and a simple guy with a genuine soul.<\/p>\n

All of the things I thought I knew were more than validated on Father\u2019s Day 2017. I was invited to attend a tribute for Bill in Manhattan, at which the people who really<\/em> knew him shared their memories of going to school with Bill, or rooming with Bill, or performing with Bill.<\/p>\n

And the words from those people who knew him in his \u201cearly years\u201d shined a light on another aspect of who Bill was \u2013 a friend.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

They read poems and delivered prayers. They recited Shakespeare. They quoted Bill and a character or two from his movies.<\/p>\n

There was mention of \u201cthe third rail\u201d and Bill\u2019s fixation on that story and the specifics of way it was told.<\/p>\n

His friend Rachel recalled walking across town with Bill one winter day; she was wearing a favorite dress, she said. A group of workmen noticed her, and her recollection of how Bill described them checking her out was no doubt heard in his unmistakable voice: \u201cThose guys looked at you like you were a ham sandwich.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for a brief moment, Bill was there. And there was laughter.<\/p>\n

We heard about Bill\u2019s ability to make a \u201cspectacular omelette.\u201d The secret apparently lies in whipping the Dijon mustard just<\/em> right.<\/p>\n

They told of the risks Bill took to produce forbidden performances in obscure places \u2013 on subway platforms or the rooftop tennis courts above the library (that\u2019s a thing??) at New York University.<\/p>\n

We learned of a production of \u201cOne Flew Over the Cuckoo\u2019s Nest\u201d and the invention of the \u201cShoeshine\u201d character.<\/p>\n

I listened as these friends and former roommates recalled meeting Bill and talked about their first impressions of him. Some were fascinated with him, some not so much \u2013 at first.<\/p>\n

There were descriptive tales of Bill\u2019s unwavering confidence, and his Texas drawl, and his interest in the intricacies of people and things \u2013 and their history or what made them specifically unique. His friends talked at length about Bill\u2019s passion for aesthetics and his enthusiasm for art.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bill\u2019s son James talked about his dad\u2019s boundless energy and how he\u2019d go into drill-sergeant mode to get James up and moving in the morning: \u201cGet your ass outta bed,\u201d James jokingly grumbled, mimicking his dad\u2019s articulation. \u201cYou\u2019re burnin\u2019 daylight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, it was Bill\u2019s voice uttering those words. And again there was laughter.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t just listen to these stories; I watched how<\/i>\u00a0they were told \u2013 with enthusiasm and fond remembrances.<\/p>\n

I observed their body language as each friend or family member spoke; there were grand gestures and tremendous smiles and looks off into the distance as details and emotions came flooding back.<\/p>\n

I saw the smiles on their faces and the tears in their eyes. I heard them laugh and sniffle and pause, their words and movements and gazes of reflection altogether revealing the adoration in their hearts.<\/p>\n

To them he wasn\u2019t Bill Paxton, the actor; he was Bill Paxton, their friend.<\/p>\n

And then there was that video.<\/p>\n

Bill\u2019s longtime friend and collaborator, Tom, put together a heartwarming collection of documentary footage of Bill with his dad, John. As it played out, the video morphed into a sort of memorial for Bill.<\/p>\n

Our laughter turned to tears.<\/p>\n

The movie clips and video snippets and personal photos and wistful piano all were beautifully combined in this visual poem detailing Bill\u2019s \u201cextraordinary life,\u201d and the emptiness felt by everyone in that room was overwhelmingly realized.<\/p>\n