"True love is no game for the faint-hearted and the weak; it is born of strength and understanding."

(Meher Baba)

I’d seen “Mr. Bill” in action many times over the years while he served on health boards, panels and task forces; but I’d never seen him in action one-on-one until one beautiful spring day over twenty five years ago.

He’d invited me to ride to Athens with him because he had a client he needed to see. Afterward we could go to a popular fish camp over there that had become one of our favorite eating places. We’d make it a day.

We found ourselves in front of a large stately house in one of Athens old beautiful tree-lined neighborhoods. I guessed it belonged to a UGA professor or administrator. The man and his wife were in their mid to late 70’s and retired. Their daughter, Bill’s “client”, lived with them. She looked to be in her mid to late 40’s. In fact she’d never lived anywhere else. After all these many years it would now be Bill’s job to find her another place to live the rest of her days.

Bill had asked the parents to have her present to help him better assess her needs. Her mother had dressed her nicely although the clothes were extremely dated. They may have been the mother’s hand-me-downs when she was growing up. The daughter wore old styled lace up boots which went well up her shins.

The daughter although well mannered, either could not or was not able to speak. She was profoundly mentally disabled. Long ago, time had stopped not only for her but for Mom and Dad who’d devoted their all to her upkeep, comfort and protection  Bill’s unenviable task was to deftly move this elderly couple approaching the ends of their lives into the uncompromising realities of the present. Because of their age and declining health Mom and Dad would now have to make tough choices about where their precious only child would spend the rest of her life…without them.

Ever so gently Bill began to lay out some possibilities, admittedly none of them spectacular given our state’s miserable track record regarding the disabled and long term care issues. The agony of trying to choose played out visibly, painfully on Mom and Dad’s faces as Bill quietly, respectfully coaxed, cajoled and reasoned as best he could. His preliminary thinking was to move them in the direction of some kind of group or community setting where their daughter would be around  social contemporaries. Through it all I kept thinking how I would deal with such a highly charged issue of finally having to let go if this had been my daughter sitting there beside me.

Although Bill kept his cool as he was accustomed, I wasn’t doing as well. As my emotions welled up I excused myself on the pretext that I had forgotten some paperwork and retreated to Bill’s car to ponder what I’d just seen and what it all meant.

A half hour later Bill returned. As I helped him load his chair into the back seat, he chirped in his usual unflappable way as if nothing of consequence had happened that after some more research and another personal visit he should be able to seal the deal. NO PROBLEM!
That was the day that I grasped the full measure of the man.

On Wednesday, October 17^th,  2001 Bill Mitchell died suddenly and unexpectedly at home doing one of the things he enjoyed most…taking in major league baseball on the tube. I’m told that his wife Tammy had just gone to the kitchen for a couple of minutes and when she returned, Mr. Bill was gone. He was only 47 years old but he lived a life more full and rewarding than many far older and far less wiser.

Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Mr. Bill. Actually, it’s hard not to given the impressive legacy he helped leave behind. Every time I see a curb cut in the sidewalk, an elevator at a MARTA station, an oversized rest room in a mall or public building, a man or woman finally able to board an Amtrak train or a Greyhound bus I’m reminded of the unique role George William Mitchell of Brookhaven played in empowering people with disabilities. Every time I see my young friend Robert dropped off by the MARTA Mobility Bus at the Emory Village Panera so he can perform gainful, dignified employment inside, I think of Mr. Bill and feel that same emotional tug from Athens nearly three decades ago.

Frankly, I miss Mr. Bill most keenly when I recall those evenings hanging out at his place drinking in vintage Miles Davis which he turned me on to along with a bottle (or two) of cheap, tasty Romanian cabernet.

Bill Edge was one of the Newsmonster's best and brightest reporters. He really shined when doing street reporting and especially so when it was breaking news and he was working under a lot of pressure.
 
Bill reported on and produced this piece about the Atlanta School System's truancy problem sometime in the mid '80's.
 
Today if you happen to catch a story from the all important Georgia Public Service Commission and the PSC spokesman sounds a lot like the guy doing this story, it's one and the same Bill Edge.   

Larry was a "fair haired boy", and what I call "a pretty boy".  He was very friendly and glib, and got in with the right people in the Decatur/DeKalb area at the beginning of his career.  They were impressed and helped him get elected to the General Assembly if I remember my facts correctly.  

As time went on, everyone began to realize that he liked the flashy life----nice cloths, jewelry, sporty cars, etc.  You know the type.  He apparently couldn't keep his life style under control and needed money to keep things going.

He lost a lot of support of some very influential people and did not stay in the legislature too long---I really don't remember if he just didn't run again or if he got defeated.  But wiser heads begin to turn away from him.

By the time this case happened he was no longer on the inside circle of power because as it turned out all he had to offer was "being a pretty boy".  He needed money and hurt some very senior citizens with his thefts.  He took a lot of money from quite a few people.

We refused to recommend probation as his attorney wanted us to do.  It was strongly my administration’s belief that if you are an attorney and violate your duty to your client by stealing their money you should go to jail.  We recommended jail time and the Court agreed.

 I also think we disbarred him in Superior Court----we disbarred a fairly large number of attorneys during my twelve years as DA.  We did not like the slow processes of the Bar and did it under the law in Superior Court. 

He did have to take off the nice cloths and jewelry and put on jail attire.  Frankly, Larry was a very likeable guy---but that is about all there was.  No real depth----just liked to look good.  I guess he thought it was better to look good than to be good.

Former Dekalb County District Attorney Bob Wilson remains one of Georgia’s most highly respected members of the court and currently practises law not far from the Dekalb County courthouse at Wilson, Morton and Downs, LLC in Decatur.

Over the years the honorable Dan Coursey, Jr. has earned the reputation for being the so-called "memorable" judge. In 1992 Wade Medlock went to Judge Coursey's court to find out why.
 
Judge Coursey still blends justice with wisdom at the Dekalb County Superior Court. We are blessed that he remains on the bench as one of Dekalb's most exemplary public servants.  

Audio highlights from October 2nd and October 3rd, 1985.
These stories also made headlines the first week in October that year:

Oct 2 - Russian party leader Gorbachev visits Paris   Oct 2 - Tigers Darrell Evans is 1st to hit 40 HR seasons in both leagues   Oct 3 - Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) adopts constitution   Oct 3 - Pope John Paul II declares Titus Brandsma divine   Oct 3 - 21st Shuttle Mission (51J)-Atlantis 1-all-military flight launched   Oct 4 - Shite Moslems claim to have killed hostage William Buckley-   Oct 4 - Henry G Perry completes 157 day, 14,021 mile bicycle tour of Australia   Oct 5 - Grambling's Eddie Robinson wins record 324th football game. 

                                            (courtesy dMarie Time Capsule)