I hate this Facebook feature at times …

[Thumper]

…. but maybe it’s a time to make a positive out of a negative.

I received a message from FB this morning, suggesting I “help Bill Steils celebrate his birthday”. Heck, Bill left us over 5 years ago, but maybe a birthday reminder can be a good thing …. something to stir up fond memories. I never met Bill personally, but we talked over the phone regularly. Probably weekly as a matter of fact. He was not only a hunter and fisherman, he was a racecar nut and all the way until the end, he was still fielding a dirt track car, and was successful at it. That’s what we talked about mostly. In fact, he was having handling problems with a new car he built and I hooked him up with Buzzie Reutimann. Buzzie worked with him, got the car ironed out and Bill won the championship that year.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzzie_Reutimann

We miss you Bill. I hope they have a big ol’ Walleye lake with a racetrack around it up there, so you can have the best of both worlds!

Happy Birthday Fido!

[Big Skyz]

I really struggle every time Larke's birthday shows up on my Facebook reminders. I just can't quite make myself delete his name from my friends list though. I sure do miss that man.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Hell, I have voice mails from Larke I can’t bring myself to delete. Y’all would prolly put me in a home if you knew how often I listened to them.
BkB

[Big Skyz]

Barry, actually I completely understand that. Just days before he passed away I was visiting on the phone with him about what handgun to get my daughter for concealed carry. I did buy the gun he recommended btw. I miss him terribly.

[Thumper]

Yep, I got the same notice on Larke’s birthday. I remember the morning I received the call of his passing. It was one of those classic “it can’t be true, I just talked to him yesterday” moments. We probably talked 3-4 times/week. He’d told me there was a problem as he had zero energy. Said when he’d work on the farm, he’d just grab a quick bite to eat and go straight to bed, totally out of energy. The morning he passed, he was just getting ready to go to the doctor as he’d made an appointment.

I really, really miss his regular phone calls.