"There's no such thing as assless chaps! Chaps are already ass-less! It's redundant to say 'ass-less chaps'!" I don't know why Will Davis cared so much about the proper name of chaps, or why the hell we were always talking about them, but we knew that we could get him going by just casually saying something like, "So I saw this great pair of ass-less chaps the other day..." Although he was in on the joke, he never failed to disappoint by going into a faux tizzy about chaps and whether they are/are not ass-less by nature. As I sit here typing this, I can't help but smile at the amount of minutes we all devoted to discussing such news-worthy topics. I guess I can't help but smile when I think of my and Elliot's "Son" Will Davis.
If you've been keeping up with the blog from the get-go, I'm sure you've read the multiple tales that involved Will. I know he did. He would always give me grief that he was never given enough print time, and that "Survey says 'More Will!'". Will was one of the first people Elliot met when we came to Spain and one of the most memorable. El reported back to me our first week that "this other Captain" was a cool, single guy who is having a blast in Spain". I first met Will when Elliot and I went over to his house on the Paseo for some beers. I immediately thought to myself, "This guy looks like Bradley Cooper" and texted my friend Julia that she needed to visit ASAP because I found her future husband. Will, the guy with the easy smile from Kentucky, knew more about Bourbon than anyone I've ever met. That night, I also learned that he went to Miami of Ohio, tried to immerse himself in the Spanish culture, and was a pretty funny guy. We immediately liked him.
Over the next few months, El and I became close friends with the Bradley Cooper of Kentucky and shared many adventures and memories with him. We took some memorable trips together, including an overnight to Granada where Will tried to score free drinks from bartenders by pretending to be a rep from Ron Barcelo Rum who was doing "research" for possible distribution to the States. Although he didn't get a single free drink, he enthusiastically asked the bartenders for their ideas on marketing strategies. I think he was starting to believe that he actually DID work for Ron Barcelo, and would excitedly yell, "That's a great idea!" when they said something he liked. When he wasn't impersonating Ron Barcelo employees, he acted as my and Elliot's tour guide at the Alhambra, sharing tid-bits of information he picked up from a guided tour he once had there.
There was Carnavale in Cadiz, where we took a party bus filled with people wayyyy younger than us and partied until 6am, returning booze and urine-soaked from the encounter. A German girl on the bus stole and wore Will's costume cowboy hat and said in a German version of a Southern accent, "I'm from Kentucky!" while hopping from foot to foot like she was in a saloon.
Will recommended reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway before our day-trip to Ronda, and I was truly able to appreciate the history of the city by following his advice. Will and I shared a passion for history, trading books and boring everyone else with our debates on Tudor history, Eleanor of Aquitaine and what really happened to the two princes in the tower. He always prefaced historical facts with, "What's interesting is....", but chances were good that I (the only other history nerd in the bunch) was the only one who actually found it interesting. Will was very well-read and intellectually curious; when he was interested in something, he threw himself into it completely. He was just a freaking fascinating guy to talk to, and he always had something to say about every little topic. Elliot loved getting into debates with him, and it makes me laugh to think about their heated (is there any other kind?) Israel/Palestine discussion.
Then there are those memories that are the most abundant, the ones closest to home in Utrera and Sevilla. The Cruzcampos in the Paseo Irish pub, the barbeques at the House of Brouse, the hookah at Arabia's, and the desserts at 3am in Sevilla. The guys "suiting it up" for a night on the town, and the leathery looking cougar who hit on Will at Sevilla's Feria. He claimed that she was hot, but I think his vision was slightly distorted from hours spent in a caseta on an "alternate location" for his office.
"It's not my fault!" he would protest when his Visa for Saudi Arabia was delayed and he had to move in with us. You see his household goods had already been packed and shipped to storage, and you're only allotted 10 days of temp housing en route to your next duty location. If you use up more than 10, you pay out of pocket, and that's never cheap. Our house is bigger than two people need, and we had a furnished guest bedroom, so why wouldn't we let him stay with us? Besides, it was only going to be for a week, two weeks TOPS.
Two months later, Will was still our roomie. It seemed like Murphy's Law was running the State Department, as one thing after another delayed Will from getting his required Visa to PCS (including his passport being accidentally shipped to Hawaii?). With every passing week of him living with us, his presence became the norm and the harder it became to imagine him leaving.
Living with Will allowed us all to really know each other, and we became extremely close as a result. It was like having a kid home from college. We joked that he was our son so much that friends on base referred to him as that, and we all certainly played our roles. Will would whine "Daaaaaaad" when Elliot would put his foot down about Will bogarting our broadband with Free Project TV. We cooked him dinner every night, gave him rides to work, and I made him do chores. When I washed towels and bedding, I'd use extra fabric softener to make sure things were super cozy. The other day, I was going through my old text messages and saw one I sent to Will that said, "Dinner's ready, your laundry's done, and the movie is starting." One night, he excitedly said he was going to make us stir-fry for dinner. When we all took the first bite of the famous stir-fry he'd been bragging about, Will looked at me and El and said, "Uhhh I don't know why this is so bad; normally it's really good!" From then on, cooking duties were left to me and El.
The three of us did everything together. We went to spin class (where he sweat so much, it looked like he jumped into a pool fully clothed), went sight-seeing together, and we spent many nights drinking tinto on our porch talking. The most important thing we all did was care about each other; we really were like a family.
Living with Will was incredibly fun, and he was an ever-grateful houseguest. He'd pick up groceries for us, offered to help pay for our basement A/C unit, would wait at home if we were expecting the landlord, replaced the beer he drank (well, sometimes ;), and did random kind things for me and El. He took El's car to get the oil changed and once brought me breakfast at work when I was running late and didn't have time to eat. Even though we repeatedly told him he didn't have to, he kept insisting on buying us presents for letting us stay with him (in addition to money he gave us for utilities). Elliot was given an expensive bottle of Scotch, but I told him I didn't need anything. Never one to let a kindness go unanswered, after he PCS'ed to Saudi I received a package with an Arabian coffeepot and teapot, one that I absolutely love and have displayed on our dining room buffet.
After he (eventually) got his diplomatic Visa and went to Saudi, we all frequently emailed and Facebook'd each other. I kept up my "Ma" duties by creating a travel guide for when he and his friend Stacey traveled to Ireland (with the Excel spreadsheet colored orange, green and white, of course). When he came to visit us this past May, we picked up right where we had left off. He was in great spirits because he found out he would be PCS'ing next to Boston, his top choice. When we went to Romania with him and Stacey the following weekend, we added more Will stories and laughs to our memory banks. When we left for the airport, I gave him a big hug and already looked forward to the next time we'd all be together. At the time, I didn't realize that the hug we shared was going to be my final goodbye to him.
This past Monday, I received a phone call from Stacey telling me that Will had been killed in a motorcycle accident Sunday night. The day after he returned to Louisville from Saudi Arabia. Always safe on his Ducati, he had been wearing a helmet and going the speed limit. No one was at fault in the accident except for the rain on the roads. The pain is still so raw and powerful, and El and I are absolutely heartbroken for his family and other friends. We lost what feels like a family member, and we are going to miss him for the rest of our lives.
Will was a hell of a guy, one whose personality knew no bounds. His happiness and humor always made him fun to be around. He loved riding horses, and took advantage of every opportunity to do so. I'll never forget our talks about Henry VIII, or how he wished military uniforms were more old-school and had sashes. I won't forget him hollering for "feats of strength!" at a Bucharest beer hall, or the taste of that "world famous" stir-fry. I will never forget how much he loved kids, and how he would go leaping and rolling around the Contracting office playing war with his co-workers' children. I'll never forget thinking at first that his fleur de lis tattoo was because he was a Saints fan. I will never forget how much love he had for his family, friends, country, and the city of Louisville. I will especially never forget how he always went above and beyond to SHOW his love for others. Will had a kind heart, a warm soul and an aura about him that made people's days brighter.
Will, we are going to miss you so very, very much. But I know that we are going to see you again, in a heaven that has horses, Bourbon, and assless chaps. And when I get there, we'll find out exactly what happened to the two princes in the tower....
If you've been keeping up with the blog from the get-go, I'm sure you've read the multiple tales that involved Will. I know he did. He would always give me grief that he was never given enough print time, and that "Survey says 'More Will!'". Will was one of the first people Elliot met when we came to Spain and one of the most memorable. El reported back to me our first week that "this other Captain" was a cool, single guy who is having a blast in Spain". I first met Will when Elliot and I went over to his house on the Paseo for some beers. I immediately thought to myself, "This guy looks like Bradley Cooper" and texted my friend Julia that she needed to visit ASAP because I found her future husband. Will, the guy with the easy smile from Kentucky, knew more about Bourbon than anyone I've ever met. That night, I also learned that he went to Miami of Ohio, tried to immerse himself in the Spanish culture, and was a pretty funny guy. We immediately liked him.
Over the next few months, El and I became close friends with the Bradley Cooper of Kentucky and shared many adventures and memories with him. We took some memorable trips together, including an overnight to Granada where Will tried to score free drinks from bartenders by pretending to be a rep from Ron Barcelo Rum who was doing "research" for possible distribution to the States. Although he didn't get a single free drink, he enthusiastically asked the bartenders for their ideas on marketing strategies. I think he was starting to believe that he actually DID work for Ron Barcelo, and would excitedly yell, "That's a great idea!" when they said something he liked. When he wasn't impersonating Ron Barcelo employees, he acted as my and Elliot's tour guide at the Alhambra, sharing tid-bits of information he picked up from a guided tour he once had there.
There was Carnavale in Cadiz, where we took a party bus filled with people wayyyy younger than us and partied until 6am, returning booze and urine-soaked from the encounter. A German girl on the bus stole and wore Will's costume cowboy hat and said in a German version of a Southern accent, "I'm from Kentucky!" while hopping from foot to foot like she was in a saloon.
Then there was Memorial Day weekend in Lagos, Portugal where Will managed to sunburn only his ankles and we all had upset stomachs the morning after eating spicy Indian food. If someone had lit a match in the vacation house we were staying at, the whole place would have exploded. When El accidentally filled up our tank with diesel gas, Will gave him a ride to the body shop on his beloved Ducati. The sight of Elliot perched like an owl on the back of Will's bike was one of those "laugh so hard no sound comes out" moments. And what kind of wife/friend would I be if I didn't take photo evidence???
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| Rollin' with the Homies |
Or what about Lisbon, where we drank too much sangria at lunch? How about climbing the walls of a castle, overlooking the city below us? Or that beef carpaccio at dinner that Will, Stu and I talked about for months afterwards? I don't know if any of those moments compare with us trying in vain to find an Irish pub and accidentally walking into a Scottish beer hall that looked like it was straight out of Beowulf.
Will recommended reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway before our day-trip to Ronda, and I was truly able to appreciate the history of the city by following his advice. Will and I shared a passion for history, trading books and boring everyone else with our debates on Tudor history, Eleanor of Aquitaine and what really happened to the two princes in the tower. He always prefaced historical facts with, "What's interesting is....", but chances were good that I (the only other history nerd in the bunch) was the only one who actually found it interesting. Will was very well-read and intellectually curious; when he was interested in something, he threw himself into it completely. He was just a freaking fascinating guy to talk to, and he always had something to say about every little topic. Elliot loved getting into debates with him, and it makes me laugh to think about their heated (is there any other kind?) Israel/Palestine discussion.
Then there are those memories that are the most abundant, the ones closest to home in Utrera and Sevilla. The Cruzcampos in the Paseo Irish pub, the barbeques at the House of Brouse, the hookah at Arabia's, and the desserts at 3am in Sevilla. The guys "suiting it up" for a night on the town, and the leathery looking cougar who hit on Will at Sevilla's Feria. He claimed that she was hot, but I think his vision was slightly distorted from hours spent in a caseta on an "alternate location" for his office.
"It's not my fault!" he would protest when his Visa for Saudi Arabia was delayed and he had to move in with us. You see his household goods had already been packed and shipped to storage, and you're only allotted 10 days of temp housing en route to your next duty location. If you use up more than 10, you pay out of pocket, and that's never cheap. Our house is bigger than two people need, and we had a furnished guest bedroom, so why wouldn't we let him stay with us? Besides, it was only going to be for a week, two weeks TOPS.
Two months later, Will was still our roomie. It seemed like Murphy's Law was running the State Department, as one thing after another delayed Will from getting his required Visa to PCS (including his passport being accidentally shipped to Hawaii?). With every passing week of him living with us, his presence became the norm and the harder it became to imagine him leaving.
Living with Will allowed us all to really know each other, and we became extremely close as a result. It was like having a kid home from college. We joked that he was our son so much that friends on base referred to him as that, and we all certainly played our roles. Will would whine "Daaaaaaad" when Elliot would put his foot down about Will bogarting our broadband with Free Project TV. We cooked him dinner every night, gave him rides to work, and I made him do chores. When I washed towels and bedding, I'd use extra fabric softener to make sure things were super cozy. The other day, I was going through my old text messages and saw one I sent to Will that said, "Dinner's ready, your laundry's done, and the movie is starting." One night, he excitedly said he was going to make us stir-fry for dinner. When we all took the first bite of the famous stir-fry he'd been bragging about, Will looked at me and El and said, "Uhhh I don't know why this is so bad; normally it's really good!" From then on, cooking duties were left to me and El.
The three of us did everything together. We went to spin class (where he sweat so much, it looked like he jumped into a pool fully clothed), went sight-seeing together, and we spent many nights drinking tinto on our porch talking. The most important thing we all did was care about each other; we really were like a family.
Living with Will was incredibly fun, and he was an ever-grateful houseguest. He'd pick up groceries for us, offered to help pay for our basement A/C unit, would wait at home if we were expecting the landlord, replaced the beer he drank (well, sometimes ;), and did random kind things for me and El. He took El's car to get the oil changed and once brought me breakfast at work when I was running late and didn't have time to eat. Even though we repeatedly told him he didn't have to, he kept insisting on buying us presents for letting us stay with him (in addition to money he gave us for utilities). Elliot was given an expensive bottle of Scotch, but I told him I didn't need anything. Never one to let a kindness go unanswered, after he PCS'ed to Saudi I received a package with an Arabian coffeepot and teapot, one that I absolutely love and have displayed on our dining room buffet.
After he (eventually) got his diplomatic Visa and went to Saudi, we all frequently emailed and Facebook'd each other. I kept up my "Ma" duties by creating a travel guide for when he and his friend Stacey traveled to Ireland (with the Excel spreadsheet colored orange, green and white, of course). When he came to visit us this past May, we picked up right where we had left off. He was in great spirits because he found out he would be PCS'ing next to Boston, his top choice. When we went to Romania with him and Stacey the following weekend, we added more Will stories and laughs to our memory banks. When we left for the airport, I gave him a big hug and already looked forward to the next time we'd all be together. At the time, I didn't realize that the hug we shared was going to be my final goodbye to him.
This past Monday, I received a phone call from Stacey telling me that Will had been killed in a motorcycle accident Sunday night. The day after he returned to Louisville from Saudi Arabia. Always safe on his Ducati, he had been wearing a helmet and going the speed limit. No one was at fault in the accident except for the rain on the roads. The pain is still so raw and powerful, and El and I are absolutely heartbroken for his family and other friends. We lost what feels like a family member, and we are going to miss him for the rest of our lives.
Will was a hell of a guy, one whose personality knew no bounds. His happiness and humor always made him fun to be around. He loved riding horses, and took advantage of every opportunity to do so. I'll never forget our talks about Henry VIII, or how he wished military uniforms were more old-school and had sashes. I won't forget him hollering for "feats of strength!" at a Bucharest beer hall, or the taste of that "world famous" stir-fry. I will never forget how much he loved kids, and how he would go leaping and rolling around the Contracting office playing war with his co-workers' children. I'll never forget thinking at first that his fleur de lis tattoo was because he was a Saints fan. I will never forget how much love he had for his family, friends, country, and the city of Louisville. I will especially never forget how he always went above and beyond to SHOW his love for others. Will had a kind heart, a warm soul and an aura about him that made people's days brighter.
Will, we are going to miss you so very, very much. But I know that we are going to see you again, in a heaven that has horses, Bourbon, and assless chaps. And when I get there, we'll find out exactly what happened to the two princes in the tower....
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| Our Spanish Family |
Wow, amazing stuff. I am glad that you had the great opportunity to be in Will's life and bet he was glad that you were in his. He was a good guy. I worked for him for a while in Spain and remember him fondly. "Hey Pete, check out East Bound and Down. Friggin funny stuff". Here I sit, with the following questions, "who is this New Captain? and Why is he in my office?" Will and I got along well, to a point, but with Enlisted and New officers, things alway get to be shaky. My total condolences and utter appreciation for your blogged memories. Too young they always say, but his mark will be remembered always.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words and for sharing your memories of Will; they are appreciated!
ReplyDelete