I have come to Pittsburgh this Friday morning along with two of my sons, Timothy and Mark, and a number of friends from New York and Washington, solely because all of us, and each of us, loved Bill Mullins. Yes, we loved Bill Mullins. Regardless of differences in age, background, experience, we loved this unusual man.
The interesting question is why?
Each of us has his or her reason or reasons. That is surely true. But all of us, I believe, probably would agree that Bill touched us because of his sense of humor, his self-deprecation, his sensitive interest in our individual lives and problems, his interest in all things human, -- from sports to international relations, -- his unfailing helpfulness.
I’m more than twenty years older than Bill, yet he impressed me the very first time I saw him. He was working for Mayor Joe Barr as Special Assistant to the Mayor. He was about 25 or 26 years old. I noticed how well he managed everything for the Mayor; how well he fitted me into the daily routine and into the special agenda I had visiting Pittsburgh for various Peace Corps functions.
He knew everybody, every place; and everybody knew him. Even though he was riding in the front seat of the Mayor’s limousine, he was in charge of everything the Mayor and I were discussing or doing from the rear seat. When I got back to Washington my only thought was..."How can I entice this bright, personable, dedicated young man back here to help with the Peace Corps?” I was nervous about asking Mayor Barr to surrender his able young assistant. I couldn’t afford to alienate a political powerhouse like the Mayor of Pittsburgh. But, finally, I did telephone the Mayor; and he said immediately, “Of course, I won’t stand in Bill’s way. He’d love a chance to work in Washington in the Kennedy Administration. He’ll be excellent. Sure, Go ahead! Ask him!” So, I did. And he came. And he joined Bill Moyers, George McCarthy, Frank Mankiewicz, Frank Williams and all the other luminaries of those early days of the Kennedy years.
He stayed with us for 15 or 16 years. He worked in every project, visited every city and state, joined in every campaign, fought for every program from “Headstart”, to the Job Corps, to VISTA, helped bring up my children as well as his own, and kept his sense of humor. Most important he wrote all the entertaining things I ever said! Even for my own Class Reunion at Yale...my 35th Reunion (!) when he was barely 35 himself, he gave me these marvelous “openers”...the first words I addressed to my old friends... “I don’t really know why I was asked to give this speech. Maybe it’s a consolation prize. The rest of you in the class have been successful. I ran for Vice-President! In fact, I’m the only guy in the class who ran for Vice-President.
I’m also the only Vice-Presidential nominee who ever lost 49 States! In fact I checked, and the results were not as bad as they look. I got as many popular votes as Grover Cleveland did. But in 1884 he won. Actually, Yale did a lot for me! I think I’ve done all right because of what I learned here, and how hard I have worked. It just goes to show how much a young man with a Yale education can accomplish, if he marries Eunice Kennedy.
All of us have noticed how much things have changed since we first came to New Haven in the 1930s. For example, this afternoon, I was talking to one of our classmates who told me, “Of course, I’m confused. I have a daughter at Yale and a son at Vassar.”
On and on went Bill Mullins’ words. Up and up went my reputation. And, truthfully, on and on we went, together, the two of us, and our families, experiencing the closest friendship, the lowest points in our lives as well as the peaks, growing ever more profoundly together. So much so, that Bill’s final fight against cancer, just topped a lifetime of friendship for us all.
These last few years I’ve been most impressed by his faith. I’ve never known anyone who has exhibited, and expressed, a deeper trust in the saving power of God. God’s mercy and benevolence became more and more a central reality in Bill’s life and thought. His love for his children and his joy in his fabulous Grandchild, young Bill Mullins the second, who is with us this morning. All of these blessings in his life, he related more and more to the goodness of God...He spoke often of his gratitude to Suzie, and his appreciation for all that Nonie did for him...He never complained...I never heard him utter a word or a thought or a regret that his life was coming to an end when he was still so young. I never heard him complain about pain, or his fate.
He truly accepted his destiny and praised God for all the good things in his life.
For me, Bill Mullins was a man who was able “to live calmly in the middle of chaos, lovingly in a maelstrom of individualism, and gently in a world of violence”...
He fought for peace. He fought for the poor. He was loyal to his friends and compassionate to his enemies (if he ever had any. I’m not aware that he did.)
After visiting us members of the Shriver family one happy weekend in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, he sent me a “thank you” message. I loved it so much I got it framed so I could hang it in my office. I brought it here today.
Just listen to the simplicity of it, the tenderness in it, the specific references to the people and places and events we shared, and, of course, the dedication of all of it to our Blessed Lord...Here are the words Bill wrote...all of this, just for a weekend, just a “thank you” note for a weekend: --
Billy Boy! That was the name he used with us, and we with him. He will always be Billy Boy to us -- the rarest of all treasures – a friend for all seasons -- a true man of valor, a servant of mankind, and of his God and our God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
