VENDOR WRITING

A visit with my sister

BY WILLIAM B.

[Editor's Note: This submission by William B. was created out of a recording of a conversation between him and Contributor Staff Writer Hannah Herner. It's been edited for length and clarity.]

Well, first of all, I was filmed by Channel 5, not this past Sunday but the Sunday before, at this chicken place on 8th Avenue, the very first one on the right hand side. I was on Channel 5, a little short video.

Do they have a new spot?

No, it’s not a new spot, I was just waitin’ on the bus. Sometimes I get a donation or sell a paper or two there. I didn’t find out about it until that Monday because one of the workers that works at the Room at the Inn told me all about it.

My pastor took me out to see my sister the day before yesterday. It was Monday. And I hadn’t seen her in about three years. She was in the tornado, in Hermitage. So she had to move out of Nashville. And she's taking care of quite a few grandkids.

Where does she stay now?

She’s in Mount Pleasant with one of her — well, two of her daughters right now, but we can’t say both of them because one of them is trying to dodge a boyfriend. He tried to kill her. Just say one daughter, April, and my sister Sandra. And a bunch of grandkids. I got to see two that wasn’t even born when I saw her last.

I get the urge to start singin’ to get my sister to sing with me, ‘cause we used to sing together back when I was 17. She was also a bit of a dancer, a go-go dancer [laughs].

That visit really lit up my laugh. That took me from out of a real dark spot and into a real bright spot. And when that happened, we had the night to visit and I was so tickled. I hadn’t seen the grandkids in quite a while, I mean I’d been talking to them on the phone.

What song did you sing?

I sung several!

What do you and your sister like to sing together?

We sung "Dream" by the Everly Brothers, we sung "Last Kiss," you remember "Last Kiss?" Oh where can my baby be? And I’ve been workin’ on my voice, so I’ve been giving myself voice lessons. And I’ve been able to get maybe three songs now without my laryngitis setting in and plus I let my highs go down a little bit lower, and my lowers go down a little bit lower.

And now that I’m with The Contributor, I didn’t know this, too! Hannah, I didn’t know this — I thought I was 71. I’m older than 71. Yeah, this guy I met was 71 yesterday, he was born in 1949. I was born in 1948. He said, “you can’t be 71, I’m 71.” And he was born in November also, so he knows what he’s talkin’ about, evidently. But I’m 72, goin’ on 73 this year, Thanksgiving day, by the way. That’s something you can put in there.

But what I will say about The Contributor… Since I’ve been here with The Contributor — I didn’t know I had been here four years with The Contributor! That’s how much time and, what I — you know, what I forgot over the years, because, I think the older you get, the more things go faster for you. Like, for years, it’s going so fast, it blows my mind. Here we are in August! I mean yesterday it seemed like January to me. So here we are in August, and I got a birthday coming up. I'm gonna be 73, and on Thanksgiving day. I’m going to have a good time that day. I’ve got another lady, she’s helping me do my story, she’s helping me do my story, getting ready to the one for the video for the America‘s Got Talent and the one for the Voice, the next edition of the Voice, if we can get them in there in time.

But she’s helped me through most of that, and she thinks I’ve got one hell of a story. And she’s from Sweden. I won’t give her name yet because I don’t know if that’s okay, to give her name.

How’s it been going in Berry Hill?

Right now, Berry Hill, it ain’t all about the money. I got a lot of people out there. I consider customers and friends who say, “You are amazing! How long have you been doing this?” And I’m gonna tell ‘em! ‘Cause I’m never lost for words. And I wanna show my bodyguard and my puppy off.

I always wanted to say to TheContributor, if I hadn’t have met them, I’d probably be dead. Because I had nothing going on in my life, they had gave me the opportunity to do what I’ve always wanted to do in my life. It was be an entertainer, a salesman. A writer. Never knew I could do all this. If I had have, when I was younger, I probably wouldn’t have ended in so much trouble. And now that I’m with The Contributor, I just brag about it to other people. I kind of testify about it to everybody that I meet and wants to listen. And with The Contributor, what it’s done for me, it’s given me hope, dreams, and so much of my life, I mean, if I need extra money for medicine, I got it. If I need extra food during the month, I’ve got it.

Because I take a little bit of the money that I make back into the business. But the Lord has blessed me with the Contributor. Blessed me with Ethos Church. I never want to leave that out either. That’s another one I want to put in my story. Ethos has been so good to me.

And my stories? I push the heck out of them when they’re in The Contributor. And people say, “Wow man, 14 years?” Yeah. Coming up on 15 clean. I felt like if I ever let myself fall down like that again, I’ll just wanna die. I mean, that’s how I really feel. If I got back down that bad where I’d have to be back on drugs or streetwise, I just wanna be dead. And I would pray for the Lord to come and get me. I’d do that because of my pain. He’s not listening about the pain. I mean, he’s listening about it, but he’s not listening about coming to get me yet, because he’s getting the angels ready for me to play the spoons up there for them. He’s gathering all the spoons up for the angels for me to teach them how to play (laughing). So how’s your mom?