R.I.P. William A.G.

This morning at 8:17 a.m. (PST), I received this terse message from Sandy W., my old friend William A.G.'s longtime ladyfriend:

Sorry [me]....
But Bill passed away last night at
7:45pm. 

He was 75 years old, with his 76th birthday just over a month away.

Bill had been in a full-term care facility in Victoria for several years to this point, but had recently been placed on his deathbed. He had long since lost the ability to walk nor to even stand.

Sandy had gone over to visit Bill this past Tuesday (February 1) from her Vancouver apartment because she had been notified that he would not likely survive the day. What she found was Bill heavily sedated and unable to open his eyes, and with his tongue partially extruding from between his lips. He never articulated the entire time she was there, and only made a few occasional sort of grunts or similar sounds.

She believed him to be at least semi-conscious, however, because he softly gripped her hand when she took his.

At one point he did open his eyes, but all she saw were 'the whites' ─ his eyes must have been 'rolled up', and suggests to me that he may not have been conscious.

One of the nursing staff had told her just before she saw Bill that they had stopped feeding him, and he was not attached to an I.V. unit. But Sandy had no idea when Bill's 'fast' actually began ─ was it days earlier?

Somehow, Bill lived two further days.

I think that Bill and I first got to know one another in 1962 when we both attended the Surrey branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). I stopped attending in 1964 when I was 14 years old; but nevertheless, if not for being in attendance those few years earlier, I would never have met Bill, who was to become one of the dearest people in my life. 

I owe him more than I can ever say.

Because Bill moved over to the Island, I had not seen him since sometime in the 1990s when he still lived in Surrey. Yet, now that he is forever gone, the world seems a little lonelier to me.

All of those photos are from the 1970s.

Darn it ─ I no longer feel like working on this post.

All else I shall say is by way of reference to an excellent three-hour Joe Rogan Experience interview that my younger brother and I watched this morning. This specific source is at Rumble: MUST WATCH: Joe Rogan Talks With Maajid Nawaz (Episode #1780). 

The video can also be located at other sources. 

Due to its length, we did not bother watching anything else. My brother thereafter soon readied himself and left for the afternoon. 

My wife had to work a full day today at the Thai restaurant where she has part-time employment (with an 11 a.m. start to her day), so she left here on her fairly long drive soon after 10 a.m. 

I am going to tune in a Christmas movie now, and pour myself some Captain Morgan Spiced Rum.