Hi, everybody!  Today is my birthday. I got a good riddle for you. Guess how old I am. Here is a clue: I am an old, old, man.

Okay, guess how old I am?

Now, my brother Tom made me a video for my birthday, and I like it. I think you like it, too. Click on it!

Billy Drives 55

Okay, that’s it for now!

Love,

Billy

Billy Schulz Shovels Snow for His Mother

The bad weather we have had recently requires determination and courage and extra hard work for many of us. Billy’s service to me inspired his sister, Mary de Wit, to compose this poem for us.

My Brother’s Courage

My brother’s courage grips my heart these ways:
He concentrates on lacing tight his boots,
Assembles hat and gloves and arctic suit,
And with resolve, he steps into the haze.
His mission is to fetch the frozen news,
(This, after warming Mother’s shoulder pad,
Insuring she her phone and coffee had.)
He, cautiously, his icy way pursues.
His life is full of fear. Afraid to fall
On snow — or tumbling from a vista deck—
Offending, being dumb, bouncing a check…
Still every day he faces: smiling, tall.
From his perspective he might call us this:
Retarded, learning slowly who he is.

© 2011 Mary de Wit

My friend, Jonathan, came to visit. We had snow that day!

Jonathan brought Christmas presents for me and my mom. And I had a present for Jonathan and Danielle, too.

I had a good Christmas! My nephews Daniel and Warren were here. My brother Tom and sister in law Sheila were here for a week and we all had a good time. My mom got huge stockings for everybody. Mary put a picture on every one. They were pictures of when we were little. It was so funny!

Mom made my favorite breakfast. Ham biscuits and cheese grits and other stuff. It was so good. Then we all opened our stockings and laughed a lot. I love my family and I love Christmas.

The day after Christmas I had a great surprise. My friend Jonathan came to see me. You member him. We worked together at Food City. Now he lives in Alabama. He stayed all afternoon. We went down to my partment and talked and laughed a lot. Jonathan is my best friend. I miss him a lot. I was so glad to see him. I think he will come back for Easter. I hope so.

My nephew Paul and his wife Edna came for New Year’s. We had a good time with them too. When they left my mom and I went to church. When we came out we had a flat tire. Now the holiday is over.

I hope you had a good Christmas too. And Happy New Year!

Love, Billy

P.S. Now that Christmas is gone, it’s okay for me to talk about my birthday.

Last Sunday Mary took me and my mom to a concert. Gordon Lightfoot. I like Gordon Lightfoot for a long, long time and I love concerts. Gordon Lightfoot is good looking and he is a good singer. He sang Fitzgerald, Sundown, If You Could Read My Mind, and lotsa things. My favorite is Sundown. I sang along with him. I clapped and I stood up.

Gordon Lightfoot and 2 of his band members at his concert in Bristol, TN

My favorite concert was Tom Jones. My mom and my dad took me to Charlotte  a long time ago. Tom Jones sang She’s a Lady, Green Green Grass of Home, Daughter of Darkness and Delilah. My favorite is What’s New Pussey Cat. The girls screamed and threw their padded bras at Tom Jones. He wiped his face with those padded bras and threw them back. That was gross. But it’s funny.

I saw the Eagles, Seals and Crofts, and Linda Ronstadt a long time ago, when I live in North Carolina, at WCU. But I never saw Gordon Lightfoot until Sunday. My sister is good to me. I love concerts.

Jane and Billy Schulz, featured on the cover of Western Carolina, The Magazine of Western Carolina University

Dear Followers of my blog,

We have moved this blog from blogspot to our website for easier access and ability to interact. We’re glad to have you join us here!

We do have some exciting news! We are featured in the Western Carolina Magazine, which you can see on the website. The author of the article, Teresa Killian Tate, came to see Billy and me give a presentation at Western Carolina University in April. She was interested in our story and wrote a beautiful article, commenting on our book Grown Man Now and adding other observations. We are very grateful to her and hope you will enjoy her point of view.

One of the most exciting results of the article is the response I am receiving from some of my former students at Western. They bring back memories of my interactions and friendships with them and of their involvements with Billy. I am so grateful for those years, for those dedicated students and their evolving careers.

I hope you will join us in our journey. We cherish your friendship and your interest.

We hope to hear from you here on our blog!

Jane and Billy

PS:
We recommend that you read another of Ms. Tate’s articles in the same magazine. It’s about Special Education at WCU and it features Dr. David Westling of Western—we have enjoyed giving presentations to his classes for many years.