Heaven Bound

Billy's father passed away last week; the funeral was yesterday.  Billy's dad's name is Robert Walter Skinner and he battled cancer for a really long time.  I know that Billy would never invite sympathy on himself, so I'm getting the word out in case anyone wants to drop a kind word or two.  You can comment here or email him at billyskinner@gmail.com  Myself, I never know what to say when someone loses a loved one.  Basically there is nothing you can say because death is totally fucked.  There are two things that make it better:  1) No matter the duration and despite all of the bad things, living life is a joy, and 2) There is hope that we live on in one way or another.

If anyone cares to make a donation to the American Cancer Society on behalf of Billy's dad, you can do so online here or by calling 1-800-227-2345.  You'll need Billy's dad's full name and an address for them to send a card to.  Billy's address is 1328 Bomar #4, Houston, Texas 77006 and his mom's address is 3517 Diana Dr., Longview, Texas 75602.

Billy is fond of posting song lyrics on his blog.  I wish I had a bigger catalogue of songs to draw from for some appropriate words.  The Kelly Willis song, Heaven Bound, is the best I could do:

Electricity roared but you looked so bored on the line
Nobody knows how it felt to see that cannonball melt in your mind
Calling all cars, one less dog behind bars, one less man in pain
It hurts to see you go but darling don't you know we're so glad you came

And you'll stay gone a long, long time
Day by day you'll fly across our minds
Only a fool would want to stick around
When you're heaven bound

Disconnect the phone, heart from bone, voice from mind
So sad and blue, how'd you do, of course you did just fine
So grab a tail on this big gray whale and do your best to stay brave
In that final hour he was just a beautiful flower that couldn't be saved

And you'll stay gone a long, long time
Day by day you'll fly across our minds
Only a fool would want to stick around
When you're heaven bound

And you'll stay gone a long, long time
Day by day you'll fly across our minds
Only a fool would want to stick around
When you're heaven bound

Comments

[Snake Diggity]

Billy, sorry for your loss. From reading your blog I know that there was no wasted time. God bless.

[allbilly]

Thanks Chris. You are a very good friend. That post was very kind of you. When I lived in Austin, Kelly Willis and Bruce Robinson brought their kid to Shipe park where my oldest played. Seeing her as just a normal mom and him as just a normal dad made me like them even more.