Bill

Born in Kansas City Missouri and raised in the suburb of Raytown. I was the youngest of three; I had both an older sister and brother with a considerable gap before I came along. I once asked my mother if I was an accident, she responded with, “You were all accidents”.
At the age of ten I lost my hero, my “Daddy” passed away. He worked for Kansas City Transit, started as a trolley conductor and later as a bus driver. Many times he was offered administrative positions, but that sort of work was not for my father. For “Daddy” it was all about being with the people; he loved everyone and everyone loved him. While working one day, he pulled the bus to the side of the road, stepped off the bus and fell to the sidewalk suffering from a heart attack. He died in the hospital several hours later. Although I only had him for ten years he embedded core values that have remained with me my entire life. Most importantly I learned to treat everyone with respect and if at all possible to lend a helping hand.
With my father’s unexpected passing this put my mother in a distressing position. Without having the proper time to grieve the loss of the love of her life and her very best friend she was now a single mother. I have the highest respect for the way my mother stepped up and took on her new responsibilities. She thought me that regardless of our problems we must keep moving forward with our lives. Also, to not take life so serious, that you lose your sense of humor. As she says, “it is better to laugh than to cry.”
After graduating from Raytown South High School, the Cardinals, I worked on the design floor of Hallmark Cards before enlisting into the Navy. I remained in the Navy for 21 years. Traveling to the various countries, in my case primarily the Far East, I learned that regardless of where you are born and raised in this world, we all have the same basic issues with life. Generally the same things make us laugh and the same things make us cry. I will not pretend that each day of those 21 years was a bed of roses, however it is an experience that I would proudly do all over again.
The accomplishment that I am most proud in my life is becoming the father of seven remarkable children. As any parent knows there are those times that are more trying than others. Sometimes, these “trying times” last for moments. Other times they last for days, months, or even years. But no matter what, the love and pride I feel for each of my children is never tainted.
Hot Topics:
Religion: I feel you can hold true to your own beliefs without passing judgment on others. The bottom line is that if a person can find a belief system that teaches them to respects themselves as well as others, than I say “great.”
Politics: I am very disappointed in our current administration. This is the first time in my life I have felt the President and his staff feels they are above the rest of us. Too many decisions are made for either personal and/or political gain as opposed to the betterment of our country.
War: I get the sense that personal gain has been put above protecting lives? It is a difficult task to achieve peace when our primary tools are bullets and bombs. Hopefully our next President will know how to “talk” to people as opposed to the shoot first philosophy.
Gay and Lesbian Marriage: In this day and age where the world has so much hate and violence, why, if not encourage, at least not interrupt any relationship where two people find love and respect for one another?
Marijuana: I feel it should be legalized. Without even getting into all the known and unknown medical benefits; I would rather deal with a person that is high on marijuana as oppose to one who is drunk on alcohol. One will most likely want to fight while the other may ask for something to eat.
My Family