RIP Bill Bender-AKA Merlin 1958
It is with a heavy heart that I notify everyone of the passing of William Bender II
Known here as Merlin1958.
Bill passed away this morning.
His family is being very tight-lipped about things.
There will be no services.
I have temporarily turned the site color to black.
If I become aware of more information, I will share it.
Thank you...Bill...legendary
Dragline : Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me - with nothin'.
Luke : Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
RIP Bill. It was an honour to have known and met you.
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
That is extremely sad news, I really, really liked Bill!
He did me some some wonderful favors!
I'm sure if there is intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe, they are wise enough to stay away from us.
And the people bowed and prayed, to the cell phone god they made...
Very sad news. RIP Bill and condolences to the family.
RIP Bill
Was always good to me, RIP Bill
Sad news - always enjoyed chatting with Bill and reading his opinions. I had the opportunity to get a few books from him and also send him a few. I am pretty sure the GRRM AGOT I sent him went to his son. We will miss you Bill
Wanted:
Gunslinger s/l #344
Drawing of The Three s/l #344
“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” Wayne Gretzky
Very sorry to hear this. Didn’t know him but always enjoyed his posts. RIP
WANTED:
Any DT S/L’s #181
You haven't heard from me in quite a while but I just received this news.
It is devastating.
Bill was one that seemed to always have a smile in his heart and his mind. Even when he was going through his hard times, he could find the where-withal to cheer up others. He never failed to have a positive attitude towards life in general and others in particular. You rarely heard him bitch about anything.
He was quite the promoter and salesman. I won't forget his trademark 'LOL"! It fit his personality to at T!
If anyone is so inclined, He used to request donations be made to Shriners Children's Hospital. It seems like a nephew (or some young relative) was taken care of there.
Best Wishes -
Dick
www.bookslipcase.com
Selling my collection of books and some cases
By the way - someone sent me a PM that I'm unable to open. I think it's been 3 years since I've posted here - I lost all the Passwords and the knowledge to navigate this site.Originally Posted by Dolso
I'll be donating to Shriners in his name and sending condolences to his home and family.
LOL to Bill
www.bookslipcase.com
Selling my collection of books and some cases
How interesting/odd/ironic/mildly comforting that my 40,000th post is about Bill.
I have a lot to say, but for now let's just recognize that Bill was a polarizing figure. He and I fought like brothers (not physically). We had many a disagreement, but always came back to the fact that we loved each other.
Bill could (and often did) piss a person off. Not long after, Bill would apologize and make great efforts to mend fences. Some described his personality as approaching bipolar. Not being a clinical psychologist, I could not make the diagnosis.
Nonetheless, Bill, despite his faults was a very good person. He helped me on numerous Fundraisers for The Haven Foundation, and also wanted to give to The Shriners Hospital (they treat very sick children at little to no cost to the parents).
Bill has several children (William Bender III, and at least one grandchild (William Bender IV) that I know of. He doted on his grandchild the last few years of his life (and the first few years of the grandchild's life).
There will never be another Merlin1958
Are you sure we're talking about the same guy? In my trips to see Bill, I never saw an indication of being Bi-polar and never saw the problems others seemed to have.
Opinionated? --- yes.
New York sense of humor? -- yes.
Willing to 'bust your balls'? -- yes.
Did he piss people off? -- sure, everyone does at some point but never to the point of alienating a person.
Bend over backwards to help and encourage anyone that deserved it? -- ALWAYS!
www.bookslipcase.com
Selling my collection of books and some cases
So sorry to hear about Bill (Merlin).
The end of an era!
www.bookslipcase.com
Selling my collection of books and some cases
Very very sad. RIP buddy.
Really sorry to read this. Great guy. Really admired his generosity.
Such sad news. Bill was always wonderful to me and he will be missed. Rest In Peace Merlin1958. 💔
Wanted: Human skin edition of The Book of the Dead. Will accept PC copy.
My true condolences to the family, if they should read this.
Bill was always an interesting one, he will be missed by many.
I purchased not to long ago a Different Seasons HC from/thru him. (not really sure)
If Jerome is interested in auctioning it, we can use all the funds for DT.org in his memory.
“The battle between good and evil is endlessly fascinating because we are participants every day.” - Stephen King
Great idea. We are going to create a rebound Different Seasons to commemorate Bill's time here. It will be auctioned off with half the proceeds going to The Shriner's Hospital, and half towards our annual fundraiser here. More news to come when I get the art.
Excellent idea. It feels really weird visiting this week. It’ll be good to pay respects to Bill like this. Perfect way.
Great idea. We are going to create a rebound Different Seasons to commemorate Bill's time here. It will be auctioned off with half the proceeds going to The Shriner's Hospital, and half towards our annual fundraiser here. More news to come when I get the art.
Nobody likes a clown at midnight
I don't have many pictures of Bill, but here is one from a Los Angeles event with the Rock Bottom Remainders. Bill of course is the tallest person in the pics. I'll leave it to others to figure out who else is pictured.
Just thinking about Bill. This pic represents a great night.I don't have many pictures of Bill, but here is one from a Los Angeles event with the Rock Bottom Remainders. Bill of course is the tallest person in the pics. I'll leave it to others to figure out who else is pictured.
Sigh.
"...that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little." ~ Ray Bradbury
Name them L-RJust thinking about Bill. This pic represents a great night.I don't have many pictures of Bill, but here is one from a Los Angeles event with the Rock Bottom Remainders. Bill of course is the tallest person in the pics. I'll leave it to others to figure out who else is pictured.
Sigh.
[QUOTE=Randall Flagg;1271051]I think the lady in the middle might not want to be named.Name them L-R
It was an honor to be there with you all and to be at the last Rock Bottom Remainders event. Bill was a sweet man. He was always very nice to me. He had a strong personality, but i believe he always meant well. He will be missed. He meant something to me though I barely knew him.I don't have many pictures of Bill, but here is one from a Los Angeles event with the Rock Bottom Remainders. Bill of course is the tallest person in the pics. I'll leave it to others to figure out who else is pictured.
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