ODE TO WILLIAM HENRY

Hey Willie, handsome little boy born and raised in Philly;
Gladys gave birth to you in the year of 1927 on a beautiful spring day in the month of May;
Introduced you to the world and gave us your presence;
We gather here on this brisk winter’s day to celebrate your life with sincerity and with expressions of complete reverence;
We gather here to remember you together;
We hold tight to the memory of your life in our hearts always and forever;
As a boy, you were often judged for misbehavior, but the conduct of your mentality was simply misinterpreted and not understood;
Mama had no choice in sending you away to school, she prayed everyday so you would learn your lessons in order to do some good;
Hey Bill, you were so happy to see you had a younger brother;
You would love and protect him like no other;
Ralph, the Ebony Italian Stallion riding through the Philly streets faster than any motorbike trekker;
He rode that bike so well, made it all the way to Philadelphia Police Inspector;
Hey Bill, at age nineteen, off to distant shores to be a merchant marine;
You will make nothing into something and live the good life;
With your head always held up high and shoulders back you would ride in the fanciest cars ever seen;
Bill demanded the best and man he could wear a suit, he was such an elegant fella;
He wore his mustache preppy and his behavior similar to the natural courtesy of an English gentleman, without concern, he proudly walked with an oversized umbrella;
Hey Bill, do you remember when we were chilling out at that groovy jazz scene and that cat was smoothing out a romantic tune using a fiddle;
Speaking of sweet music, what ever happened to that classy little gal from Connecticut named Dorothy Little;
Just like that, Bill and Dot were happily married in 1964; she was so pretty, the most attractive bride you ever did see;
Bill was delighted; he overflowed with sunshine and glee;
God blessed Bill and Dot with children and gave them a beautiful three;
Jocelyn, Stefanie and Jeffrey were born into their union;
South Orange New Jersey is the town they would learn the ways of the world and get cool in;
Bill worked hard and was a dutiful husband for there was a lot at stake;
Besides, Dot had a trump card and his name was Big Brother Nate, and with a hard ace like him coming at you, there was no escape;
Jocelyn is like her dad, she is the life of the party;
Get down and rub on her the wrong way though and you will sure to be sorry;
Smart, quick witted, fast on her feet, and task oriented with a great smile that reveals nothing but teeth;
We have been rubbing elbows all night long, what time does the party close;
Hanging out with Jocelyn or Bill the party doesn’t end until the sun shows and even then nobody knows;
Stefanie (little Bird), a well mannered little girl with two pony tails and equipped with a smile that could sell a salt water fish a lake or a pond;
She would spread her wings from door to door selling Avon;
On Fridays, little bird looked forward to go to the lanes with her dad to see him bowl;
Bird, with all of her wisdom, young and bright, really was an old soul;
So happy and cheerful she would be, proud to be daddy’s little girl;
Around him she would rather be than any place in the whole wide world;
In 1987, when Jeffrey was about ten, Bill and Jeff boarded a white water challenger raft;
A race they were in and sure to win, Jeff’s dad had a hidden seaman’s coast guard craft;
Bill boarded that raft head held up high and shoulder back with a close fitting diver’s wet suit on;
Bill shouted proudly, hey partner, US merchant marine on board and on the call;
A little ways down the river the water turned rough, it was calm but now its white;
Our bold fearless merchant marine suddenly switched his tune into extreme fright;
Little Jeff watched in disbelief and was very perplexed, wondering what had happened to him;
Bill shouted loudly, SON, I CAN’T SWIM!
Hey dad, be careful, don’t stand up to tall or you will certainly tip over and fall;
Bill and Jeff rowing merrily down the stream;
They didn’t win the race but, they were the best damn looking, best dressed father and son challenger racers on the team;
Hey Bill, Your journey has just begun, MAY GOD LOOK AFTER YOU AND BLESS YOU ALWAYS;
We gather here to say farewell to a man named Bill Taylor;
Your spirit will always be in our hearts and you will always be our number one sailor.

Troy Balkum©