...not realizing the finality of that hug, mercifully.

Bill stayed with us for four days week before last, came in on Wednesday and
played our house concert on Saturday. I want you all to know he enjoyed those
days. He spent most of his time during the day sitting on our front porch,
picking, writing, talking on the phone. He finished the last verse of a song he
said he'd been working on for seven years. Said our porch did the trick! :-))

My husband and I were at work during the day so he had the place to himself and
our two dogs for company. He loved them and they loved him back. In the
evenings, we sat together on my couch and I shared youtube videos with him. He
was delighted to see there were so many videos of him. We watched the Robert
Mugge film piece of Robert Johnson, we watched him at Me & Thee with the elderly
lady on bones and giggled, we watched the one 'official' video Rounder did of
Broke Down Mill. Then I became his jukebox and he would call out an artist or
song and I would search and almost always find it. He would be amazed and then
we'd watch together, stories flowing from him. We watched Dave Van Ronk, Leonard
Cohen, Judy Collins, Dylan, etc. It was a great time.

On Saturday, his friend Fred Koller came and joined Bill for a couple songs at
our house concert. They both enjoyed that a lot and Bill was headed to Fred's
when he left here last Sunday morning. I hope they got to spend some quality
time together, as we did.

Please know that Bill was loved and honored while he was here, he kept saying
how nice it was to be able to relax a few days before the concert. I don't think
it was random that he came to stay with us, he is very much like my father and I
think I still have internal work to do in coming to terms with our alcohol
decimated relationship. I am thankful to have had the time with an artist I so
admire and to be able to say we felt like friends when he arrived but we were
surely so when he left.

My deepest condolences to his family and all who loved him. He was looking
forward to seeing his mother on the return trip, my heart goes out to her. If
there is anything we can do for you, Ellen, or anyway we can be of help, you
need only ask. Thank you so much for putting us in touch and thereby allowing me
to have Bill at our house concert. He will remain in our hearts always.

Grateful and deeply saddened,

Denise and Rick Williams
Hillbilly Haiku House Concerts
Lebanon, TN
http://www.hillbillyhaiku.net
http://www.facebook.com/hillbillyhaiku
hillbillyhaiku@...