Billy Hill Badassery Award 6 - Random Citizen on Sidewalk

Billy Hill was driving down a busy street in his neighborhood this morning, coming back from a client meeting and a short stop to visit with a friend, and he sees this older, skinny gentlemen with an Owen Wilson shaped head (if you know what I mean) walking up the sidewalk.  Well, not just walking, he was . . . maybe parading?  Yes parading.  But all by himself, at least from what the naked eye could see.  Not sure what HIS mind saw, who knows, he could have been the freaking Grand Marshal of the Fuck You brigade.  Sorry if that language offends you.  Note, that is not an apology for using it I am just sorry if it offends you because it is really a universally wonderful phrase but . . . well let me explain what is going on here.  

You see, this man had his right hand stretched way up into the sky like he was picking apples from the branch of a tree that was just out of reach.  Up on his tiptoes and trying to reach as high as he possibly could.  And his right hand was clenched white-knuckle tight, all except for the bird of paradise, the middle finger, you get the point (Billy Hill pun).  And he was thrusting this in the air, and waiving it around with such vigor that at times, I believe his feet may have even come off of the ground.  He was thrusting it towards the heavens, towards the businesses on the road, towards the passing cars, basically at the entire world.  It was one huge Fuck You to the entire world.  Billy Hill had to laugh, and laugh loudly Billy Hill did.  

Billy Hill wanted to stop to take a picture, he almost turned around to do so but, Billy Hill has a very important rule that he strictly adheres to:  

If you see a man walking down the sidewalk of a busy road with his hand stretched way up in the air and his middle finger is extending from a clutched fist that he thrusts and waives around violently in all directions NEVER EVER stop to take his picture.  

This rule has served Billy Hill quite well thus far.  

But Billy Hill flipped the finger right back at this gentleman, not to show disapproval of his behavior but really, just to acknowledge that Billy Hill knows where he is coming from.  Sometimes you just need to tell the world to Fuck Off.  Take your broken, fallen, evil, hating, mean, non-comforting self and just Fuck Off.  

You see, this has been a tough year for Billy Hill as well.  Having experienced a horrible collapse of his family, losing a great friend and father figure to cancer in September, then losing another great friend to cancer in May, then losing his father in June, having his nephew-in-law (a great bourboniser) in the hospital with a weird thing going on with his head causing him to black out, and then just recently losing another great friend in a drowning accident that left a young wife and young kid without him, Billy Hill gets it.  In fact, seeing this man was almost a gift from God for Billy Hill.  He sort of needed that, a reminder to pause from time to time and just tell the world to Fuck Off.  And so random citizen, Billy Hill grants you the Billy Hill Badassery award.  Thanks for the moment.  

And, not to exit this post without a great opportunity for an education, do you know where flipping the bird came from?  Well, Billy Hill does.  Here is the story:

The use of raising the middle finger actually began back in medieval times.  French warriors would cut off the middle finger of British archers because, that was the finger they used to pull the string back on the bow.  And so, the archers who replaced them would stick their middle fingers up in the air to mock the French showing them that they got their finger and that they are going to launch an arrow through their ocular cavities (yes the French were assholes even back in medieval times, some things never change).

So you see, it is not a bad thing and if you are offended, you should relax, find a quiet place somewhere where no one can see you and just raise your hand in the air and lift that middle finger and say "Fuck You spouse that divorced me and wiped me out financially", "Fuck You dad that treated me like crap", "Fuck You person that has abused me and made me feel bad about myself", "Fuck You you mean Fuck", "Fuck You random stranger that keyed my truck", "Fuck You people that are making bourbon outside of Kentucky", "Fuck You death", "Fuck You cancer", "Fuck You Islamic murderers".  It can be therapeutic.  Don't get stuck there mind you.  Remember you have a God that loves you perfectly and is quite aware of what you are going through and understands.  And even if you have to say "Fuck You God" which many of us have had to do from time to time (and if you never have, then count your blessings), He is big enough to understand and love you even through that.

So, random citizen, Billy Hill does not know what you are going through, where you have been, what is hurting your heart and why you may feel lost and alone.  Did you lose a friend?  Did you lose a family?  Did your shoelace break?  So often when people are hurting we try to say words to comfort them but really, you never know what to say because you never really know where they are at.  So, let people hurt, let them grieve, let them process in their own way without judging them and just let them know that you are standing right there beside them.  Every experience, every hurt, every pain we go through makes us better - if we let it.  As Howard Hendricks said "There is no garbage in the Kingdom of God".  He will use everything in our lives for his Glory, even a PG rated blog post.  

Billy Hill here, I like it neat.  

Billy Hill Badassery Award 5 - Billy T. Smith

On this Memorial Day weekend of 2016, Billy Hill extends a thanks to all those who have fallen to protect a nation that so many, externally and internally, have tried to destroy.  The soldiers that left behind the comfort of their homes, the hugs of their children and spouses, the smell of bacon cooking in the morning, running water and a soft bed, entered into extreme circumstances, some of which every next breath they took was a gift.  But today is a day to recognize those that did not come home, but rather those that gave their all so that all of us in this country can maintain the freedom of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  And for the most part, as those soldiers lay on the ground breathing their last breath, and those that were not even aware of the approaching end, they were not thinking of the color of our skin, the religious beliefs we embrace, the morality of the people back home, the lack of appreciation that so many would show, etc.  They were fighting for our nation as a whole and for each of us as equals.

And I know that while today we honor the fallen and we have Veterans day to honor the living, many people don't understand that there is more to death than just breathing your final breath.  You see, many soldiers died in battle but yet, did not physically stay behind.  Young innocent men and women died to their innocence and came home different people.  Yes, the kids ran out on the tarmac to hug their returning dad or mom but, it was not the same person that they had hugged goodbye.  You cannot go through the hell of war without dying in one way or another.

And so, without distracting our honor for those that have fallen, we can also honor the "falling".

So, as I sit here this morning while Billy T. Smith is in a hospital bed in Tennessee fighting for his life, yet once again, I take a moment to issue him a bad-ass award.  And although just like all of us he has  his shortcomings, he nonetheless left this country as a young innocent man with a wife and three little children, and returned home a year later but yet, really he did not.  He would soon find that the Agent Orange that was showered upon him in Vietnam would begin to deteriorate his nervous system, robbing him of physical capabilities far too soon for his age.  And also he returned with a soul filled with memories of countless soldiers that laid with their heads in his lap as he comforted them with prayer and encouragement as they drifted off to join the ranks of the "fallen".

Billy T. Smith was an Army Chaplain and his fellow soldiers described him as a foxhole chaplain.  He refused to stay behind at camp in the comfort and safety of his tent and chapel, but rather hauled a communion set all over Vietnam to meet with the soldiers on the battle field lines, to bring them words of comfort and encouragement, to bring a little bit of home to them.  As a recipient of two purple hearts, it was clear that he was dedicated to his mission.  Below is a picture of Col. Chaplain Billy T. Smith baptizing soldiers in the South China Sea during the Vietnam War.  He is a tough man, not only surviving Vietnam, but also a quadruple bypass and struggling with the loss of feeling in his extremities.  And today, he once again is soldiering up to push back death and say "not me, not today, not this time".

The words of the song "The Reverend Mr. Black" always brings tears to my eyes"

He rode easy on the saddle, he was tall and lean
First thought nothing but a streak of mean
Could make a man look so down right strong
But one look in his eyes, you'd know'd you was wrong
He carried a Bible and a canvas sack
The folks just called him, the Reverence Mr. Black.
He was poor as a beggar but he rode like a king
Sometimes in the evening I could hear him sing:
"you gotta walk, that lonesome valley, you got to walk, it by yourself
nobody else, is gonna walk if for you, you gotta walk, it by yourself"

Well if every I thought that man in black
Had a yellow streak up and down his back
I save the notion for the day
When a lumber jack came in and it wasn't to pray
Cause he kicked open the meeting house doors
And he cussed everybody up and down the floor
And then when things got quiet in the place
He walked up and cussed in the preachers face
And he hit that reverend like the kick of a mule
And from my way of thinking it took a darn fool
To turn the other cheek to that lumber jack
But that's what he did, the reverend Mr. Black
And he stood like a rock, a man among men
And he let that lumber jack hit him again
And then with a voice just a quiet as can be
He cut him down like a big oak tree when he said:
"you gotta walk, that lonesome valley, you got to walk, it by yourself
nobody else, is gonna walk if for you, you gotta walk, it by yourself"

Well I followed him that day and I don't regret it
And I hope I'll always be a credit
To his memory, for I want you all to understand
The Reverend Mr. Black was my old man.

Billy Hill here, I like it neat

Billy Hill Here, on Ab-Normal Town

So, Billy Hill lives in a place called Normal Town, which is just an "area" within Athens Georgia.  Actually Billy Hill kinda lives on the edge of Normal Town and the edge of Cobbham (a historic district in Athens).  Normal Town is not really an "official" area but rather, just a self-proclaimed area that takes its name from the recently closed down Naval Supply School.  Now, Billy Hill believes you should be and let be and being critical of something really does not accomplish anything.  And so, rather than rag on the "Normal Town" crowd, Billy Hill is just going to talk about his observations.

You see, there is a nice little quaint bar in Normal Town, actually several of them but this one bar has a good bourbon selection.  And so, Billy Hill likes to pop in there from time to time.  Of course, Billy Hill wears shoes, smells like he took a shower in the last two weeks, has clothes that match and are not substantially wrinkled and has a job that is not funded by tax payer money and so, he never really quite fits in at a Normal Town bar.  In fact, he sort of stands out like a living soul at a Walking Dead party.  So, he just quietly sits at the bar and enjoys his bourbon in solitude, which suits him just fine, otherwise he would have to be listening to some government indoctrinated zombie talk about the wonders of Hillary or Bernie.  That right there will ruin a good bourbon.

So anyway, as Billy Hill sat in this one particular bar last night waiting on a friend, two very obviously Normal Town Walkers (See the Walking Dead for that reference) of the some-what female persuasion come strolling into the bar.  Each of them has a dog with them.  Not a lap dog mind you, but very large dogs.  Billy Hill found this somewhat alarming and he immediately changed his mind about ordering a pizza to eat there on site.  But this was not the most alarming thing.  The most alarming part was when one of them, smiled in a way that she thought was cute, and held up a plastic baggie obviously filled with dog crap, and asked the bar tender if she could put it in a trash can.  Then she handed this bag of dog crap, across the bar to the bar tender who then put it in a garbage can behind the bar.

That is when Billy Hill decided that he has had his fill of Normal Town and instead of turning left off his front porch, he will forever more turn right and head down town.  You see, Normal Town proudly declares that they are NOT NORMAL.  Well folks, I am here to tell you that THAT is not "not normal".  That my friends is ABNORMAL.  You actually (a) took your dogs to a bar where people eat food (b) you actually let you dog crap in the vicinity of said bar (c) you then picked up the dog crap and thought it was smart to walk right by outside garbage cans and dumpsters and bring said dog crap INTO the bar and then (d) declared out loud for all to see in hear that you had done so and then asked someone else to handle the stupidity of the mess that you created.

Billy Hill would not be surprised to see this scene in Normal Town some day (sans the lovely landscape).  Really, what is the matter with people?

Billy Hill here, I like it neat (and in a dog crap free zone)

Bourbon Review: Joey D's Oak Room

Billy Hill Here, blogging remotely but had this on his mind and had to dump it before it fell out.  And it is not r-e-a-l-l-y a bourbon review but rather, a review about bourbon and bourbon people and well . . . just read it and see. 

Billy Hill had to trek into the big ATL this week for some meetings and a little bit of crow eating.  You see, Billy Hill got pissed at a client last week and in the midst of Billy Hill and the client yelling at each other over the telephone, Billy Hill just fired him on the spot and told him to go find another attorney . . . . and then immediately as the words rolled out of his mouth he remembered his mentor's advice "it is always easier to make a bad client good than it is to get a new client".  So, Billy Hill asked the client to meet him at his Office in Atlanta (they had never met just talked on the telephone) and so they did.  Turns out the guy, though quite annoying on the telephone was really quite a sporting dude and Billy Hill had a blast meeting him and getting things back on track.  

So, after all the meetings for the day, Billy Hill Here headed out to meet a great friend, owner of the award winning Goodnitelite http://www.goodnitelite.com/, at Joey D's Oak Room in Atlanta.  It had been quite awhile since Billy Hill had crossed their threshold but, they are worthy of a visit if you are in town.  Aside from the fact that their food is spectacular, the first thing that really smacks you in the face is their liquor wall with a fine selection of bourbon, and i mean fine.  

After being cheered as I entered the bar, evidently my total tardiness was shared by my buddy with the bar staff and as I rolled in, a mere 45 minutes late (yikes) I was greeted by hoops and hollers and out stretched arms, sometimes it pays to be late.  

Well I ponied up to the bar after a bear hug and spotted some W.L. Weller way up high on the bar wall and asked for a pour.  

I was admittedly mesmerized as the young 6'2" blue eyed blond bar tender lady rolled the library ladder around and scurried up to the top shelf.  So mesmerized in fact that I did not even notice the older gentleman behind the bar pulling out a bottle and sliding a pour in front of me.  He smiled as he walked off and said "try that". 

I did and I must say, it was a step out of Billy Hill's neighborhood but, it was a pleasant jaunt.  There is not much that Billy Hill enjoys more than seeing the smile on someone's face as they wait for you to try their go to, or experience one of their latest finds, and so I gladly lifted the glass, breathed in the aroma, turned it up, and filled my mouth with a delightful liquid gold.  And man, did Billy Hill like it!

It was not a bourbon, but rather a rye whiskey.  And although rye whiskeys are really hot on the market these days, Billy Hill, being a straight up bourbon man just hasn't bothered to deviate from his bourbon path until this fine gentleman at Joey D's reached out.  Well, you will now find this has a reserved spot on Billy Hill Here's personal bar. It was Michter's, Single barrel straight rye.  And like Billy has said before, Billy Hill does not get into the fruity, nutty, spicy nuance descriptions of a whiskey.  If it makes him slap his leg and say "Dang, where can I get a bottle of that for my shelf" then it is good.  Otherwise it is Maker's Mark, only fit for mixing and, Billy Hill don't mix. 

But for those that do get into those fruity nuances, and for the Democrats, here is an excerpt from Geoff Kleinman's website:

"Why is rye so hot? Most American whiskey on the market is bourbon, which is made from at least 51% corn. While corn delivers some really nice flavors, it can sometimes lack complexity. Rye is often added into the mix to help give whiskey depth, spice, and character. Popular bourbons like Woodford Reserve, Four Roses and Wild Turkey use a fairly significant amount of rye in their mix.

To be labeled an American rye whiskey, you must include at least 51% of rye in the mix. Many of the rye whiskeys on the market are exactly that, as rye is an expensive and difficult to use grain, however some go even deeper into the rye pool to make the rye the centerpiece of the whiskey. The most profound example of this is Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Rare Rye, which is made from 100% rye." Geoff Kleinman http://www.drinkspirits.com/whiskey/best-rye-whiskey/

Bourbon Review: Bulleit

Not a huge post on this jewel but a great find related to it.  Sam's Club has stepped up its store a bit by now stocking this guy at $29.33 for 750ml.  It is a good top-shelf bourbon that I am sure you will enjoy, and at this price, heck you may even use it as a mixer - if you are un-American in the sort of way :)

Billy Hill here, I like it neat

When Government is Worked

Billy Hill has a hearing impaired daughter.  His off spring are presently enrolled in the public school system having been pulled out of a home school environment a couple years back.  Fortunately, they are in one of the greatest school districts in the state because Billy Hill has typically been quite skeptical and critical of the public school system.  In face, Billy Hill sent his oldest offspring through private school.

But rather than getting into Billy Hill's anti government educating my kids position, Billy Hill wants to share a little story.

You see, recently his daughter's Speech and Language Pathologist that works there at the public school schedule a conference to review her situation.  As is typical of all these parent teacher conferences, Billy Hill was expecting to spend about 30 minutes sitting in a chair that was way to small for a man of his stature, and listening to some government employee spend about 70 percent of the time with small talk, and then telling me my daughter was doing fine and not to worry.  Well, Billy Hill was presently surprised....

Billy Hill was instructed that his children could not come into the classroom and so he sat them in the hallway with their iPads and said "please don't kill each other".  He entered the room and sat down in tiny little chair at the tiny little table and waited.  One by one six different people entered into the room and took a little chair to themselves.  Billy Hill was think, what????

Once the parties were in position they began to introduce themselves.  The person calling the meeting was the Speech and Language Pathologist.  But also present was an Audiologist that drove, the Vice Principle of the school, a Special Education Teacher, a School Psychologist and even my child’s teacher.  We spent about 2 hours talking about my little girl, the time they have spent with her and laying out a plan for helping her to have as much of an advantage as she can given her situation.  They had conducted a litany of tests on my sweet little angel to establish where she was in her auditory skills, vocabulary, comprehension, enunciation and even how she was emotionally handling her situation.  They had worked with her to develop skills in dealing with her impairment, including giving her tools on how to communicate with others about her impairment.  They had been working feverishly as a team to ensure she was properly analyzed and then completed a mountain of paper work outlining their procedures and applying for funds to provide further assistance in ensuring that she received the proper equipment, instruction and environment for maximizing her education.

Billy Hill had never asked for this to be done, the "government" school took it upon themselves to recognize that my little girl with her Spiderman hearing aids was struggling and to initiate the process to get her taken care of.  It reminded Billy Hill of a story . . . .

A coal mine in a small Pennsylvanian town had collapsed injuring many and killing several of the miners but two miners had been trapped inside.  The town had come together to try to dig the miners out but after several hours of intense work and unstable conditions, the people were forced out of the mine to avoid further casualties.  The mining company then decided to attempt to drill another shaft down to a point they felt was behind the debris and hopefully open a route to bring the trapped miners out safely.  But time was of the essence knowing that they only had a limited amount of oxygen and that the exposure, lack of food and unknown injuries made this an urgent matter.  They commenced drilling as soon as possible.  Local news picked up on the story and soon the story was released nationally.  It became very apparent that the mining company had insufficient equipment and that by the time they could drill the hole, it would be too late to rescue the miners.  A company in California got wind of the story and within a matter of hours, the company disassembled their state of the art mining system, loaded it on a train and shipped it to this small town in Pennsylvania and flew a team of equipment operators in to the town.  The team set up the equipment and commenced drilling the rescue shaft.  After many hours of round the clock work, they broke into the main shaft and quickly lowered a rescue team to search for the miners.  They were both alive and as one of the miners was raised through the shaft and back into the crisp fresh air, he looked around and saw all the equipment, the hundreds of local people with tents set up to feed the workers and pray for the miners, the large number of workers, the TV crews with cameras and lights, the medical crew on standby to treat the miners, the man said “all of this, for me?”

So, Billy Hill sort of had this kind of feeling on this particular day to see all the care, concern and effort that was being expended on his sweet little girl, all of that for my sweet girl!  

So, is the government school system all that and a soda pop.  No, it still sucks but Billy Hill's county just sucks a little less.  But, these teachers and professionals, with a love for kids, working within the confines of the government system, went beyond the call of duty, worked the system and  brought about good for one random little girl.  

All the negativity that is promulgated about the government school system and the poor educational system in our country, Billy Hill still believes it is true.  But now, Billy Hill is more motivated than ever to bring about change.  Because this team of individuals made it clear that it is not the teachers and professionals that have created this demise, it is the government's involvement.  If we can get our teachers to get paid more than the skulled tattoo bearing pizza delivery guy, stop forcing them to do ridiculous mandatory pass or fail testings, and let smart business people run the system, no telling what these teachers with hearts could accomplish.  

Recently Billy Hill was on the set for the filming of an upcoming movie.  He was blown away by the amount of money that is spent making just miner elements of the movie.  All of this money being poured into generating 90-120 minutes of entertainment.  And yet, many of these same people that are cheerfully consuming such massive amounts of wealth are standing up and pointing fingers of condemnation at wealthy business people and demanding that they pay more taxes to take care of underprivileged people.  Yet these entertainment people that generate no benefit to society are flying first class or in their private jets to attend extravagant parties and returning to the multi-million dollar mansions.  They applaud Bruised Springsteen for taking a ludicrous position on commode etiquette and drive a young person out of business for standing on her beliefs.  

It makes one ponder . . . . 

Billy Hill here, I like it neat

Billy Hill Badassery Award 4 - Groot

"I am Groot"  A great line from the Guardians of the Galaxy but what does it mean?  Whatever the director wanted it to mean maybe.  Or is there a deeper message that was being communicated here?

Anyway, as Billy Hill was driving his keyed up Ford F-150 truck down the highway today listening to Redbone's Come and Get Your Love, it dawned on him that Groot is certainly one bad-ass dude worthy of the Billy Hill Badassery Award number 4.  

Yes, just looking at him you can tell he is one bad-ass mofo and certainly, he was one dog with more than just a bark.  So, Billy Hill is certainly not going out on a limb to grant this honor to Marvel's marvelous creation.  In fact, his total character firmly roots him as a worthy recipient.

You see, a bad-ass does not have to be a jerk, in fact, a bad-ass can be quite kind.  In fact, one could argue that badassery without kindness is just jerkiness.  There certainly is a line between a bad-ass and just a plain old ordinary ass don't you think?

And yes, so Groot was a hero in the battle scenes, fearless and lethal.  But not a beast.  And most of all, he taught us a good lesson: "we are Groot".  So Billy Hill pondered, what does I am Groot really mean?

Then Billy Hill found this great excerpt and stole it for the blog.  Groot is a giving and helpful character and probably the nicest guy on the team; he is such because he doesn't have any feeling of desire, greed, or "the world owes me ____." Each character in GOTG has an agenda in the team: Rocket and Quill want money, Gamora and Drax want revenge, Starlord wants recognition, but Groot doesn't express any desire. He isn't seeking anything for anything he wants, he's already complete and satisfied, a sentiment he makes very clear: "I am Groot."

Since he is complete, wants nothing, (except he did want his cut of the take) he instead devotes his time to give others what they need. He stuck with Rocket - perhaps the biggest sore thumb in the universe with no companions ("Ain't no thing like me, 'cept me!") - to try and give him what he needed, companionship. When he got wrapped up with Gamora, Drax, and Starlord, he saw other people consumed by their desires for murder, vengeance, money, lust, and glory, and decided to give them what they needed as well - friends.

When Rocket's making their escape plan from the prison, Groot's already executing it because he wants the team to bond. Rather than ignoring the street urchins in Knowhere, he offers one a flower - a simple gift, and being far from mortal pleasures, a greater present to the girl than money. And if you replace his 3 words with their assumed deeper meaning from paragraph one (i.e. I am complete, happy, and enlightened through kinship and severance from mortal desire), it makes more sense when he chooses to say them - and why the other characters, especially the debatably most sinful, Starlord the master thief, can't understand them. Rocket criticizes the 12% plan, Quill gets angry at his future prisonmates, Rocket lampoons Drax for his crazy murderous tendencies, each time Groot is trying to tell them the importance of accepting each other and turning from sin.

It's no mistake that when Groot lights up the dark interior of Ronan's ship (enlightening it, if you will), someone asks how Groot learned to do that, and Quill already knows the answer (simple pattern recognition, or finally getting to know the words' meaning?). And immediately after Drax comes to understand the full breadth of their friendship. Soon after that, Groot embraces his family to save them from imminent death. Now, in his final moments, the Guardians understand their friendship. They understand, even for a brief moment, that revenge, wealth, lust, all pale in comparison to the joys of being accepted and loved by friends and family. Here in this scene, where the other characters "wee the light", Groot speaks new words to show how proud he is of them. "We are Groot." In his death, the Guardians fully understand how important it is to work together by sharing the Power Gem's burden and defeating Ronan. And Groot is reborn.

And so Groot, Billy Hill proudly bestows upon you the Billy Hill Badassery Award, and Billy Hill thinks to himself, "am I Groot?"  Man at times it does not seem so, but at other times, usually when surrounded by true friends that love and accept you, that KNOW you and STILL LOVE you, yes, there are certainly some Groot moments.  

Billy Hill here, I like it neat