Wild Bill

Having insight on his past, helped me to better understand why he had fits of rage. I remember an incident for example when he struggled to remove a terminal off a pole. He tried to unscrew one of the lags which supported the terminal and bruised his hand instead. He quickly became angered. He cried out to the terminal, “you coc#@%&?” He violently ripped the terminal off the pole and he forcefully threw it down to the ground. That was a typical Wild Bill moment.

After working with him for several years more, I came to accept Wild Bill’s behavior and respected him. I became aware why he was the way he was.

He had given his all for what he believed of our nation. He had been a fearless warrior left traumatized and in psychological shambles. What worsened his plight, our government had abandoned him in his pain.

There have been many men and women who have served our country well; many of whom our government did not then, has not yet and most likely never will be able to give back to them all they rightly deserve for what they have sacrificed. Many of them have been injured in so many ways; not all being physical wounds.

Wild Bill died several years ago. Tragically as with most veterans, few if anyone will remember who he or they were and what they did. They become like the leaves which gave us shade and protected us from the heat during hot summer days, then withered away when the winter came.

I write this story to offer some remembrance for him and so many others whom have placed their lives in harms to way to protect us and our way of life. Though our government may have had some agendas other then those for the best interest of our nation by conscripting them, our veterans followed their assignments because they believed they were serving us…the people.

Not too long ago I ran into an old lineman who knew Wild Bill well. We discussed about some of the old times and past days. Then he told something which made me smile. He shared with me an old secret few knew. He revealed Wild Bill had cheated when he set the pole stepping record many years ago; he had used a larger drill bit. I smiled, mainly because the secret confirmed Wild Bill wasn’t a beast after all.