Bill Callahan, Presente!

Jul 6, 2012| Comments 3

Two years ago my good friend and mentor, Bill Callahan died.  He had been dealing with Parkinson’s disease for a decade. And though it slowly incapacitated him physically it never conquered his indefatigable spirit.  When I found out Bill had been moved to a hospice in June of 2010, I flew to Washington D.C. the next morning to visit him and say good bye.  I was blessed to spend 12 hours with him, mostly watching him sleep.  But in those moments when he was awake, his eyes sparkled as always and his smile, while I showed him videos of my son or read him passages from Don Quixote, was as brilliant as ever.

I had known Bill since 1996 and worked with him at the Quixote Center from 2001 to 2008.   In August of 2002 he performed the marriage service for my partner Kim and I.  As we approach our 10th anniversary we still laugh about the sweat dripping off Bill’s nose during the ceremony as he persevered in his heavy robe in the August heat.  In the years I knew Bill we had many great conversations, and few arguments.  I never knew him to be bitter, or really hold a grudge, and certainly I could never find a way to stay angry with him for long.  I’ve never known anyone quite like him.  A physicist as well as a priest, Bill would be as happy today with the news of the discovery of the Higgs boson as he would be disappointed in the Vatican’s treatment of LCWR.

He would, no doubt find a way to smile about both!

For everyone who knew Bill it was his boundless sense of optimism that left the biggest impression, followed by his stubborn determination.  He loved the Quixote Center and imbued the place with a sense of playfulness amid the serious issues we grappled with.   It is this legacy we work to keep alive today.

When Bill died, his body, at his request, was donated to the medical school at Georgetown University.  Having provided this last service to the community his ashes are next week bound for Nicaragua with whom, second only to Quixote Center co-founder Dolly Pomerleau, Bill was in love.  “Padre Bill” is well remembered in many parts of the country, and the rich soil of Nicaragua is a fitting resting place.  His ashes, tilled into the ground, will nurture gardens and leave a hint of laughter in the air, forcing a smile on people’s faces as they walk by.

Bill died on July 5, 2010 and upon hearing the news I tried to write down a few thoughts.   Bill lived his life in poetry, and in the end that was the only way to capture what he meant to me.  So, I share that here to celebrate his life and knowing that he meant a great deal to many of you as well.

Dear Bill

It is quiet
The world still
In anticipation
Taking a breath
And considering
What is to come

Imagining a garden
In Brentwood
Under deep blue sky
Sorely in need of grooming
Yet bountiful and smiling

One can hear laughter
On the grape vines
And smell the sweat
In the ground
Released
With the tug of a potato

What comes next
When a life
Lived with joy
Lived with passion
Lived with determination
Open hearted
And purposeful
Passes

The world
Stops for a moment
In anticipation
And on the wind
A booming laugh
A song off key
A dream of justice
Leaves a trace on the skin

Such a life
Is the reason for life
Nourishing the ground
So good things grow

We say goodbye
Thankful for your touch
And the moments
Too few

-          Tom Ricker