Each trip to Arkansas Bill has been, well, a trip.
I grew up in the countryside myself, but Bill has introduced me to even wilder sides of this lifestyle — trapping raccoons, having a pet donkey named Gus, and our plan for this past weekend: hunting some wild hogs.
It’s this lifestyle combined with Bill's own style—his opening up to reveal his personality and insights—that has gotten the attention of viewers around the world. Russia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Germany, you name it—over 4 million in the U.S. and abroad have watched. It's become the story about the story, with our previous episode Bill #3 having me read to Bill and Jo (his lady friend) some of the many comments he's gotten from all over.
Bill receives all the attention matter-of-factly, but in subtle ways you can tell he’s as blown away by this sudden, drastic connection to the world as anyone who hears about it—including the people of Mansfield, the small town Bill lives near. On past trips Bill has shared about locals giving him a hard time about his videos on YouTube. This time—this past Thursday—I had the chance to go into town myself and hear it directly from residents.
The two female cashiers at “71 Express” gas station immediately knew about the videos following my introduction to them.
“Oh, yeah! We’ve all seen those videos!” the 40-ish-year-old brunette said.
The sentiment was echoed by two heavyset, gruff gentlemen who approached the counter.
Behind a thick mustache, one stated with a smile, “Oh Bill. Yeah, we seen those videos, alright.”
Nearing lunchtime, more folks entered the store. So I took the opportunity to get know a few others in this quiet corner of this quiet state.
By the way, “71 Express” mimics the “71 Mart” near my stomping grounds in northern Minnesota, which lies along the very same national highway 71 running from Minnesota, down through Arkansas, and ending in Louisiana. In fact, Bill lives right on highway 71, which runs through my hometown of Blackduck, MN, an hour south of the Canadian border.
Same highway as me, opposites regions of the country. Look for this video of Mansfield locals down the road.
All this is surprising, because never in history has it been this easy for a person plucked from the middle of nowhere to become famous overnight (at least internet famous). It's all the more noteworthy in this case, because Bill lives what many would consider a non-eventful life, each day similar to the previous. Yet the element of surprise has greeted each of my first three visits—the initial popularity, willingness of viewers to donate to Bill, surprising him with the money, etc.
This past weekend, visit #4 raised the stakes in terms of Arkansas Bill's openness and in surprise.
But not all surprises are pleasant.
Thunderstorms loomed in the forecast days before we left, threatening the hunt. More worrisome, three weeks before our departure communication from Bill stopped. Until then, he'd been enthusiastic for our arrival. But Bill and Jo not being tech-savvy, plus with these sorts of projects—even when having definitive plans—being exercises in leaning into fate, we did just that and set off for Arkansas, myself and co-creators Paul and Casey. A last-minute, brief, “We’ll see ya!” text from Jo calmed the uncertainties on the 10+ hour drive from Minneapolis to Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Rain indeed greeted our nighttime arrival and continued into dawn the next day. We pulled into Bill’s muddy driveway under dreary skies and drizzle. His cluttered front yard looked familiar, as did the barking beagles fenced in nearby.
No Bill or Jo, though.
I did that which I hadn’t done over the course of the first three videos: walk into their fenced-in patio. A hard knock on the loose, worn screen door didn’t resonate too well into the dilapidated trailer. Yet more dogs inside erupted in barking. Jo’s cries followed, telling the dogs to quiet. Her arrival to the door didn’t follow, however, and my concerns of something being wrong here sunk deeper.
Knocking again, this time to no response, I left our gift of donuts on an old lawn chair on the patio. Then we went into town, killed some time, waited out the rain—and met some of Mansfield’s finest, as seen above. By early afternoon under sunny skies, we returned to Bill’s with a sunnier outlook on what we might find.
We found a white sedan parked in Bill’s driveway. Stopping alongside, a clean-shaven, shaved head, middle-aged man had expected us, and after exiting our cars, look at me intently and said, “Bill’s sick.”
“He hasn’t eaten in days," the man continued. "He can hardly breathe.”
The man introduced himself as Billy, a neighbor and friend of over 15 years. He then described Bill’s reluctance to get help. Twelve days into this, Bill had endured them one at a time, hoping for symptoms to alleviate on their own.
Billy on the phone to get help while standing inside the gated area leading up to Bill and Jo's trailer
Turns out Jo didn’t hear my knock earlier that morning due to her hard of hearing.
“You gotta just walk right in,” said Billy, which is what he did, announcing our arrival.
He soon returned with another announcement: Bill was coming out, something he hadn’t tried in days.
On the wet, stone path Bill took intentional steps from his house. Gaunt, buggy-eyed, discolored, he offered a hello followed by an apology for the hunting trip falling through. I did much of the talking, though, trying to massage a compelling case to get his butt to the hospital.
I came to find it was Bill’s fear of hospitals that kept him home. His cousin had recently been admitted before dying in a hospital. Plus, I think Bill feared what a diagnosis might find—similar to one’s fear facing a cancer screening.
Given his reasons, Bill had resisted up until that point and resisted that day, too.
But things changed the following day, which brings us to the present, where I can report Bill is now under the care of physicians at Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith.
They diagnosed Bill with advanced cases of COPD and, yes, COVID-19.
Details of this story will follow in the upcoming video—this fourth episode of Arkansas Bill. Each episode has taken a snapshot of his life whenever we happened to capture it. On this occasion, the snapshot captures a challenge in (and to) his life, yet is also an extraordinary chance to help. It is an extension not just of the money chipped in thus far, but of the encouragement this YouTube adventure has offered Bill, as demonstrated by our arrival's influence on his decision to finally seek medical treatment.
“They told me I was down to 5% lung capacity,” Bill said to me from his hospital bed yesterday. “They said I could’ve died in a day or two, had I stayed home. I’m glad I came in.”
I write this now riding home under sunny, Missouri skies. I’ll remain in touch with Bill from the Twin Cities, keeping tabs on his health, how we might help, and with words of encouragement from all those who care to extend any his way.
If you do, please comment below, and I’ll share them with him.
And then, in the coming weeks, I’ll share with you this new video episode, this curveball in the story of Arkansas Bill, this further demonstration of how this YouTube series isn't just sharing Bill's story, but is helping to shape it.
stay tuned,
-Brandon
p.s. If you'd like to chip in to help Bill and Jo with living expenses in light of this new challenge, donate to his GoFundMe, here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/tipping-arkansas-bill-to-help-and-say-thanks#