My experience of meeting Bill Ryan many years ago

[Verdilac]

Well I just thought share with everyone my experience of meeting Bill Ryan. While the mists of time may have clouded Bill's memory or not, my first impression has stayed with me.

One sunny day In the 1980's I was a small boy playing on a beach on the North east coast of England, I remember being with a friend and being intoxicated with fact that I had caught a small sea creature, this was a new experience for me and as I walked up the beach to show my father my find I was confronted by lady with accent that wasn't British, maybe she was American or my friend though Canadian.

This was Quite an experience for me as the only other person I had met from another country was from Greece, being a child I was fascinated with accents or anything that was different, anyway she proceeded to inform me that I was taking the sea creature away from its home and how would I like it if this happened to me, saying she would take it back and that I may kill it if it wasn't returned immediately.

Then a Gentleman stepped in and informed the lady that, he won't kill it he is learning about it, this fell on deaf ears to his dismay for the lady as she grabbed the container housing the creature and ran off in the direction of the water saying He's going to kill it Bill I'm taking it, this upset me greatly as she didn't know which rock pool it lived, ah disaster! remember I was a small boy at the time,the gentleman must have saw how deflated I looked and walked back up the beach with me, him saying kind things, and I actually didn't feel quite so bad anymore at the time. I remember my dad asking , who were they ? I said I didn't know, I've never really met anyone like them before, the lady had a funny accent and the man was really kind.

Imagine my surprise when I saw a familiar face whilst watching a project Camelot piece on youtube years and years later and thinking, its that guy from the beach that day, is it or isn't it? it can't be, so watched more and found it was the same person not just by looking at him but to listening to him and the way he said what he had to say.

I could go on..

So thank you Bill, what may have been an insignificant daily event was quite a positive experience that has helped me discover by wonderful coincidence that there really is more to life, albeit many years later.

[Snowflower]

Verdilac, thank you so much for sharing. I really enjoyed your story.

[craig mitchell]

Well I just thought share with everyone my experience of meeting Bill Ryan. While the mists of time may have clouded Bill's memory or not, my first impression has stayed with me.


Very touching Verdilac. How many people do we effect by our small acts? We all could tell a story about one of those pivotal moments when someone reached out to us.

I met him in Sacramento, Ca. Was impressed with his humanity, ability to communicate. DO YOU HEAR THAT BILL? People seem to like you, go figure!

Does anyone else have a Billstory? (I think it's in keeping with this thread, if not it's delete time!)

[grannyfranny100]

How sweet and knd you shared this. Thank you.

[Truthseeker85]

Thankyou Verdilac for sharing your story. :)

I too was helped to realise there is more to life by Bill, for that I am ever grateful.

PEACE and LOVE

Truthseeker85

[Valley]

Very nice story Verdilac... I was wondering what kind of sea creature it was...? (Perhaps Bill has this answer as well?: )

Blessings All Around...http://projectavalon.net/forum4/attachment.php?attachmentid=29617&cid=1&stc=1

[Becky]

How wonderful! What a lovely story, thank you for sharing - this does sound very much like Bill showing his understanding and kindness :flower::sun:

[araucaria]

This story of Bill’s kindness to a little boy is a fascinating example of group dynamics working smoothly and it tells something about each person involved. The foreign lady was right in principle, but would have perhaps been acting inappropriately if she had not been part of a positive-oriented good cop/bad cop double act. The hard lesson would not have been learnt without Bill to soften the sharp edges, or if Bill had asked her to stop – he was kind, but he allowed the creature to be taken from you. It says something about you too, Verdilac: you were receptive and didn’t go crying to your Dad to get him to sort out these interfering strangers. And neither did it occur to your Dad to do any such thing, although others would probably act over-protectively.

What it says about Bill is that he hasn’t changed: he is still in many ways being nice to little boys (and girls), and some not so little ones as well. This is an extremely important thing to be doing, because we hear plenty about how the agenda of the people perpetrating evil involves being incredibly nasty to little boys (and girls). But just imagine if some of the children he now deals with were unreceptive adults objecting either to the hard lessons or to the kind accompaniment, or both; and what if one or two of them played the “My Dad’s a policeman” routine with a policeman dad to back them up. I am sure some of his work involves situations like this that are messier than the above textbook story. The thing is that for all anyone knows, Bill might not be putting a foot wrong, but it may not seem that way to everyone all the time. We can only trust him; trust means transposing what we know about someone to a situation that we don’t know about. Although the occasional lapse or the occasional cockup would be perfectly excusable, we can trust Bill in a general way to be acting kindly, because he is that kind of person. For those reading this who are in any doubt: some of the things we read are clearly inaccurate because they are totally out of character. Think about it.

[angelfire]

Bill's kindness and measured thoughtfulness always shone brightly whenever I watched his interviews and as a consequence, I dived in and joined the best forum on the planet!
Thanks for this lovely story, Verdilac

[CD7]

Do you remember this Bill?

[Flash]

My daughter has been the youngest member here for a while. I was afraid she would get blasted by some (rare) members with acidic comments, but told myself I would watch somehow.

But I did not need to do this. Bill acknowledged her on the forum upon arrival, thanked her post, and he must have tagged her because when she writes, he shows up, sometimes only thanking, sometimes commenting. Always nice, protective and helpful with her self confidence.

Really, this is not easy to manage, she was a kid, with a difficult background and very sensitive.

With the help of Bill and the moderator team and the forum members, she went through her forum initiation with flying colors.

Many thanks Bill.

[Verdilac]

This story of Bill’s kindness to a little boy is a fascinating example of group dynamics working smoothly and it tells something about each person involved. The foreign lady was right in principle, but would have perhaps been acting inappropriately if she had not been part of a positive-oriented good cop/bad cop double act. The hard lesson would not have been learnt without Bill to soften the sharp edges, or if Bill had asked her to stop – he was kind, but he allowed the creature to be taken from you. It says something about you too, Verdilac: you were receptive and didn’t go crying to your Dad to get him to sort out these interfering strangers. And neither did it occur to your Dad to do any such thing, although others would probably act over-protectively.

What it says about Bill is that he hasn’t changed: he is still in many ways being nice to little boys (and girls), and some not so little ones as well. This is an extremely important thing to be doing, because we hear plenty about how the agenda of the people perpetrating evil involves being incredibly nasty to little boys (and girls). But just imagine if some of the children he now deals with were unreceptive adults objecting either to the hard lessons or to the kind accompaniment, or both; and what if one or two of them played the “My Dad’s a policeman” routine with a policeman dad to back them up. I am sure some of his work involves situations like this that are messier than the above textbook story. The thing is that for all anyone knows, Bill might not be putting a foot wrong, but it may not seem that way to everyone all the time. We can only trust him; trust means transposing what we know about someone to a situation that we don’t know about. Although the occasional lapse or the occasional cockup would be perfectly excusable, we can trust Bill in a general way to be acting kindly, because he is that kind of person. For those reading this who are in any doubt: some of the things we read are clearly inaccurate because they are totally out of character. Think about it.

Well that's a very good analogy and thank you very much. What happened could have been interpreted as good cop bad cop but I don't think it was planned that way, and not to take anything away, I do understand you and liked all of what you said very much.

I have to say the lady was pretty much a force of nature, quite wild and a little scary to me but she didn't feel dangerous . She wasn't giving up, the situation was going to have the outcome she wanted and that was that , as it was the correct thing to do looking back at it now. I felt a little bit like I was kind of in the middle with who I now know to be Bill and didn't want to make things more that what they were, even though I was deflated as I didn't get to show my dad what managed to find in the sea. My Dad was a pretty cool guy and what you said above has made me understand this a little bit more, he may well have said something to Bill & the lady when I went back to the sea but it wouldn't have been a heated exchange as it wasn't his way,but I can only speak of what I remember, he would have actually loved a forum like this had he still been with us I have to say.

[Rhah]

Thank you for sharing, Verdilac :)

By the way, was the lady Kerry Cassidy by any chance? That's the first person I thought of when reading about her in your story.

[Ewan]

<-snip->

I have to say the lady was pretty much a force of nature, quite wild and a little scary to me but she didn't feel dangerous . She wasn't giving up, the situation was going to have the outcome she wanted and that was that , as it was the correct thing to do looking back at it now. I felt a little bit like I was kind of in the middle with who I now know to be Bill and didn't want to make things more that what they were, even though I was deflated as I didn't get to show my dad what managed to find in the sea. My Dad was a pretty cool guy and what you said above has made me understand this a little bit more, he may well have said something to Bill & the lady when I went back to the sea but it wouldn't have been a heated exchange as it wasn't his way,but I can only speak of what I remember, he would have actually loved a forum like this had he still been with us I have to say.

If I may add my observation from reading your story. You say "this upset me greatly as she didn't know which rock pool it lived, ah disaster!", which implies to me it was always your intention to return it and you were just going to show your Dad what you'd caught.

This 'force of nature' was interfering without the knowledge required to act in such a way. A good intention signposted on the road to hell if you like. :)

Bill's calm and diplomatic suggestion was overlooked by this woman and she acted on her impulse of 'knowing' what was right when in fact she did not.

I have only ever seen Bill in 3 videos but am taken with his always calm and patient manner, his respnses are thoughtful, reasoned. Not rehearsed, this is obvious. About as far removed from a slick snake-oil salesman as you can get. In one of those videos I watched as Steven Greer and Kerry had a 'restrained' battle of ego's and all the while Bill bided his time and when his opportunity came he spoke as calmly and pertinently as ever, going some way to help defuse the tension that had arisen.

I can almost hear him on that beach, '..he won't kill it he is learning about it.'

But then what do I know, he's probably a complete a-hole in RL. :ROFL:

[Verdilac]

Thank you for sharing, Verdilac :)

By the way, was the lady Kerry Cassidy by any chance? That's the first person I thought of when reading about her in your story.

Hello Rhah, I've no idea to be honest, can't remember any mention of her name, Ladies input was very strong and quite quick, I've stayed true to what I remember when telling what was my experience. I've chosen to leave some details out for privacy and being unsure about the accuracy of other things. :-)

[araucaria]

Thank you for sharing, Verdilac :)

By the way, was the lady Kerry Cassidy by any chance? That's the first person I thought of when reading about her in your story.

Hello Rhah, I've no idea to be honest, can't remember any mention of her name, Ladies input was very strong and quite quick, I've stayed true to what I remember when telling what was my experience. I've chosen to leave some details out for privacy and being unsure about the accuracy of other things. :-)
Thank you Verdilac, you've handled this thread very well, and we know all we need to know. I doubt if it was Kerry back in the eighties, but it doesn't matter at all, and Bill is obviously happy to say nothing.

[Bill Ryan]

I doubt if it was Kerry back in the eighties, but it doesn't matter at all, and Bill is obviously happy to say nothing.

Hi, All:

Many thanks for this thread. I've been reading it with great interest, and also a bit of nostalgia!

No, that wasn't Kerry Cassidy... I only met her much later, in 2006.

As best I recall, that was a good friend, Nancy Hildebrand, a young woman from Boston who was working in the UK for a year, in the same place I was — over in the English Lake District, 100 miles to the west. I would often spend free time showing her around Northern England, as this was her first visit here.

Nancy was energetic and spirited, and I liked her a lot. I have no photos of her. She died a year later in a freak car accident, back in the US. My friends and I received the news by letter from her mother, and it was surreal and shocking. But now, of course, she will be back again, and I am sure all is very well. :sun:

Re Verdillac's kind and interesting account, I'm unable to kill any living creature, no matter how small — or witness its suffering. I just can't help it. So his story does indeed capture a few home truths about me. :)

My personal dictum is that unless there's no choice, we should never destroy anything we can't create. All life is miraculous and sacred... way too easily taken for granted. You don't know what you've got till it's gone.

:sun::flower::sun:

[Adi]

In a way, it seems to verify that our paths will cross again at some point in the future, very intriguing story.

Adi

[Mutchie]

Nancy Hildebrand energetic & spirited killed in a freak car accident ...what a shame we just never know what lies ahead do we

Thanks for posting Verdillac this was different .

[Verdilac]

That's a real shame Bill, I read what you wrote the other night and just felt like closing the computer and not saying anything.

I felt very flat to hear that Nancy the Lady I briefly met that day had something like this happen to her as I know what it is to lose such a light from a life when it seems good connections are hard to make

The both of you had a positive effect on myself that day for different reasons and I'm thankful for the experience, I'm not sure why I have found my way onto Avalon but I have and it feels comfortable.

I'm also thankful for all the work that has been put into Camelot & Avalon over the years make the forum what it is today, as I have to say that it has helped me find something I couldn't find anywhere else.

[araucaria]

There is a circularity to this story whereby Nancy, who identified with the sea creature at risk from an innocent little boy, herself became the victim of what we normally describe as a tragic accident. Maybe it could be seen as some kind of unwitting carelessness on the part of the universe. Stephen King’s novel Under the Dome describes the chaos that is produced on a whole city by some unknown force that turns out to be a couple of kids in another dimension clapping an invisible dome on the place, rather like the way you put your crab or whatever in a plastic bucket.

I think this is what Bill is so sensitive about, if I may say so, somewhat beyond the means of this dualistic planet. You cannot walk anywhere without treading on some small beast; a gardener cannot grow a vegetable without removing a weed or killing a slug.