My friend Bill

I met my friend Bill around 20 years ago when we lived in Lynnwood, WA. We both shared an interest in photography. Bill and I made the step into digital cameras around the same time. He chose a Sony and I went with a Minolta. When we both upgraded to DSLR cameras Bill went with the Sigma SD9 and I the Canon 10D. We did a lot of photography together. The only area we didn’t see eye to eye on was politics, Bill the conservative and I the liberal. In spite of that we had a great friendship. Bill was always there when needed to help with something or just a friend to talk to. Bill and his wife moved to Oregon a few years back into a home they owned and had rented out for years. As often happens when people move away we didn’t see much of each other. Phone calls and emails became our main means of communication. Bill’s wife Gail stayed with us several times when she was in the area visiting friends. My wife and Gail have remained very close over the years. We drove to Oregon a couple of times to visit.

The last time I saw Bill was in January of this year. The visit was short due to Bill’s health. He was diagnosed with a form of leukemia shortly before moving to Oregon. He finally succumbed to the health problems he had been fighting over the years. Last night we had a very short but thunderous storm. The lights flickered and even darkened for a moment after a rather loud thunderclap. This morning we learned that Bill had died last night. That storm had been Bill’s 21 gun salute.