Tribute to Bill Kaysing
To Family and Friends of Bill Kaysing,
I had known for some time that Wild Bill had passed away but it was only
recently that I tripped over the Bill Kaysing Tribute Website (and of
course, I set aside proper time to explore it)
I have been a freedom lover for all of my 53 years and had known of and read
Bill Kaysing since the 1980's when I happily discovered Loompanics.
Prolific writers are often described in varying terms but the term "romantic
writer" always seemed to most accurately describe Bill's output. When you
open a book like "Great Hotsprings of the West" or "Great Hideouts of
the
West" you become swept up in the theme the author is presenting and that is
the essence of romantic writing. There were other writers who took account
of the nuts and bolts aspects of owning and living in a travel trailer (and
these are important things to be sure) but Bill Kaysing carried the
contagion of living free directly to the reader through his output. You
simply could not help but love the spirit of adventure presented by someone
who obviously had been there and done that!
I remember my wife and I taking our first trip to Las Vegas many years ago,
a (by then) dog-eared copy of "Great Hideouts" along with us in the
suitcase. Bill loved Nevada and that suited our temperament perfectly
because we loved it as well. On a five day trip we may have spent 5 hours
in a casino. The rest was given to the sheer delight of touring some of the
out of the way places covered by Bill in his book.
Bill Kaysing was indeed a romantic writer and I always hoped to someday meet
and shake the hand of the man who so profoundly influenced me. To any of
his family or friends who see this email I extend my belated condolences and
my personal assurance that in New Jersey there are at least two readers who
admired and benefitted by his work.
I think that may have brought a smile to Wild Bill's face.
Regards,
Anson Macdonald
