A few years back the actor William H. Macy starred in a movie about a chap with cerebral palsy who made his living as a door-to-door salesman. The real life man on whose life the movie was based, Bill Porter, has died:
Bill Porter has died.
If you’ve lived around Portland long enough, the name means something. If not, then let me get the details of his death out of the way before I tell you about the man.
The end came Tuesday night when Porter was rushed to a hospital with severe stomach pain. By night’s end, he was gone. An infection had spread through his body. A memorial of some kind will be scheduled in the next week or so. I’ll let you know when and where.
Newspaper style requires me to use the man’s last name. But it doesn’t seem right here.
He was always Bill.
Forget the rules.
Bill was 81 and had lived in an assisted living center in Gresham. He moved there in September, finally giving up the fiercely independent life he fought so hard to maintain.
He’d lived alone in a small one-level Gresham home. But he continued to fall.
One night, his friend told me, Bill had to spend the entire night on the floor because he couldn’t reach the phone. The falls convinced him it was time to get help.
If you want to take any solace in this story, figure that Bill had to spend less than four months that way.
You see, asking for help was never his way.
Read the whole thing. Tom Hallman, Jr.’s original article in The Oregonian which brought Bill story to the attention of the public is here.
Here are a few words to think about:
Bill reminds us of what we were when we set out in life. He fights the war we call life every day, without complaining. Whatever the internal truth of Bill Porter, we perceive him, in his perseverance, as pure, untouched by the ills of society. He isn’t greedy. He doesn’t take handouts. He — of all of us — could produce a hundred excuses. But he never makes excuses.
His determination challenges us. When we see past Bill’s disabilities, we see the disabilities in ourselves.
As someone whose spouse has cp, I can say that even expressions of admiration can be a double-edged sword. It can easily come off as quite patronizing, because the fact is most people really have no understanding of what it’s like. As Americans, we also have a tendency to valorize the people who live independently & don’t ask for help, like Bill, ignoring the fact that for many that is not an option.
I’m currently reading this book which provides some helpful perspective.
Beautiful. Lifetime Warranty.
I sold brushes door-to-door myself, in Chicago and DC. I’ll never forget the breakfasts and lunches with the other salesman. What a club!