Bill Dappio
New York City, d.9.June.2020
Thank you everyone for the kind words and pictures of my brother.
Bill had a enlarged heart. And on June 9th he fainted in his hallway
and had heart failure. Which caused sudden death. Please keep the
Family in your prayers. - Jim Dappio
Hey guys this is Bill's brother Jim. I just want to say thank you to
all of you who are showing love and support in in this difficult
time. Last night my brother Bill died. I'm still waiting for the
report to see exactly what happened. From what I understand he got
home from a ride was exhausted and might have fell and hit his head
on the concrete and he died. I'm still waiting to find out what the
examination says. Please keep the post's letters kind words email is
coming. Thank you to all. Let us all remember him . I would like to
organize a ghost bike and a ride later after everything is safe to
do so. but for right now that's just keep it virtual please keep the
love coming in. Thank you guys keep our family in your thoughts and
prayers. - Jim Dappio
Thank you to everyone for the kind words and posts. Words. Can not
describe what I am going through. shock and emotion that is beond
words. I got the phone call this morning that no one wants. A call
from you loved one cell phone not you loved ones voice but the voice
of some one telling you your loved one is gone. Gone to soon. I will
always love you bro . Rest in Paradise. - Jim Dappio
Wild Bill... I'm gonna miss that crazy man..all the conversations we
had together, the Bob Marley and the Wailers music, metal, rock etc
we played together at union square.. One of coolest guys on bike I
ever met..
My heart broke when I heard he passed away.. I was thinking about
him the week before.😢 - Donovan McMillan
In pure Bill fashion, all he wanted to do was get back on his feet
and ride. This is a photo he sent me back in February. "Look where I
decided to ride to". He said they were spring training. Die hard
Mets fan.
We texted/called each other over the years since I moved to NC 14
years ago. Honestly, he was one of the few people that really went
out of their way to keep in touch with me. I can't say that about
many people. He kept me in the loop of what was going on in the
messenger world. He also was the one that let me know who passed
away of people I knew from back in the day I lived in NYC. He would
call and let me know about Bronx Jon, Fast Eddie, Bilthy... Never
did I ever think that it would be Bill to be gone too soon. He had
huge empathy and always had my back whenever I told him of the
challenges I was going through. He always had a way to make me
laugh. The last few years even though he was so far away, he was
part of my support system. A person I could talk to and trust.
Even through that, I also listened to him and his struggles. All I
could really do was lend an ear, but sometimes that's all you need.
But I also felt helpless that I couldn't do more.
Now he's gone...I'm still processing this loss in my mind. As he
would always sign off, love you. - Mandi Krasowski
Rest In Peace Bill, It was an honor to work with you all these years
at Breakaway. Your love for cycling and the courier business was not
just a passion...it was your life, your first love. You will be
deeply missed my brother. May God accept you in his paradise and
allow your soul to rest in peace. - Cheick Kenema
There are just too many stories to tell from my friendship with
Bill, but maybe like Pit I should just start at the beginning. In
1997 Squid organized the Apocolips (sic) Race in NYC. I came out
from Chicago with a great crew, including Smitty, Mike Huneke and
Jeff Alterio, who each moved to NY soon after themselves.
Bill befriended us because above all else, Bill enjoyed people.
Humans. Bill loved being around characters and then relaying back to
those characters who they were and what they were like to him, by
telling them about the things they had done recently - whether they
knew it or not. He had a good memory, and it could be both
flattering and irritating.
So once I moved to NYC the following year, he immediately remembered
me. By name. "BLACKFELT!" Yelling it across Park Ave South once I
started working. And then again as soon as I rolled in to Thompkins
around 5pm later that day. He thought it was funny that I called
fellow messengers 'brotherman' and 'sisterwoman' back then. He made
fun of both my Californian roots and my Chicago sensibilities, in a
way that made me amusedly aware of the fact that I would never be a
true New Yorker like him and lots of other people. But he made it ok
because he welcomed me, like so many others, regardless.
A few months later Bill helped me get hired at Mother's, working for
Steve & Dee. I connected with him and Ham & Bronx Jon (the
Triboro Bros we coined them) and Jared, Damien, Bilthy, Rob Tell,
Jen, Squid & Amy and countless others. Even living way up in E
Harlem, I went to Coney Island and Ft Tilden with them on lost
weekends. A LOT. Ho, Mike Dee, MSG Tone, Longmore, Ted and Harq came
into my awareness and became friends soon thereafter...and again
along with so many other amazing souls. Please forgive me if I
haven't included your name.
During the 10 New York years of my four-city 23-year messenger
career Bill cast himself as a primary character in our perpetually
evolving scene.
When I stopped drinking, Bill was an important friend, not because
he didn't drink - he drank his fair share. It was because Bill was
one of a precious few messenger folk who made me feel like I was
still interesting, at a time when I was worried that being sober was
going to make me into a horribly boring person. I will always love
and appreciate him for that.
After I moved to DC in 2008, he always texted or called me on my
birthday, insistently bringing up old situations and running jokes
we'd had over the years...and always signing off with "Love ya,
Bruthaman..."
He pissed me off a lot. I found him histrionic at times, and even
wondered at his sincerety in moments, likely only because my own
doubts about people were ramping up for whatever reason. But Bill
was consistent. I always knew who he was and who he was going to be.
I know we all change over time, but if you were a good friend of
his, Bill worked hard at keeping the rapport the same no matter
what.
His kid sister's passing hurt him a lot, and I watched him seem to
romanticize the later deaths of people close to him in a kind of
unhealthy way... messenger characters whom so many of us loved and
missed. But I understand better now that we all process grief
uniquely, and we all experience each other's lives differently. I'll
say it again: Bill enjoyed characters. And in loving them so much,
he made himself an utterly unforgettable one.
Quick funny memory:
After a night of bar hopping all over Manhattan, he came back to my
E Harlem pad to keep drinking and eventually crash out. We got
really hungry & weren't up for the random things still available
that late. I told him I would make spaghetti with a Louisiana twist
like my mom had always made. Bill did love food, so it was on...I
drunkenly added Tabasco and what I thought was just a touch of
molasses to the sauce. The end result was a very deep brown
marinara. After we gobbled it all up, Bill good naturedly said,
"Bruthaman, that was the first bah-be-cue spaghetti sauce I've had
in my life...(then in a softer higher voice)... and it wasn't too
bad!" That barbecue spaghetti sauce joke became something he would
bring up year after year. And like the character Wild Bill himself,
it's a story I have told tons of new friends about ever since.
He will always live fondly in my memories for the rest of my life.
Love ya Bruthaman. I'll miss you. - Jack Blackfelt
Bill loved it when I would tell this story:
I was in New York for apokolips race in 97(?). I had moved back to
Chicago from Austin after having lived in NYC 85 to 90. I made up my
mind to move back to during this race. At one point there was a big
crew heading to Williamsburg for a party. The bridge was trashed
back then. A much shittier version of the photo below. Metal plates
were exposed where the other material had broken away. There are
cracks where your wheel could potentially get lodged in if you had a
road bike. I hit my rear wheel hard on a plate which slammed my
padlock securing my rear quick release into my spokes and it broke 3
spokes. (used a hose clamp after that!)
This punk rock Bill Dappio guy shows up and pulls out the broken
spokes and trues up the wheel. I spent the rest of the weekend in
New York with the same wheel and went back to Chicago and rode for
two weeks at Cannonball Courier before the wheel just collapsed.
We had an ongoing friendship from that moment on. Of course he
remembered me the day I got back to New York and was hanging out in
Tompkins Square a few months later. That day we both witnessed this
guy getting his ass kicked by another dude. The dude on the
receiving end of the ass kickin kept saying "but man your dog keeps
hitting on me!"
Bill was a fucking smartass who would push your buttons a thousand
times if he found them. Which he always did. What a fucking guy!
I was texting with Bill three or four days before he died. The
morning before I found out about his death I was thinking of
proposing to him that he could come and chill in Chicago cuz he was
afraid of losing his place in Queens. I immediately said NAH! Bill
will never leave Queens!
find some rest my brother. I love you!
I would like more than anything else to be there with the people who
also loved Bill but I remain in Chicago and send love to all.
-Steven Smith
Wild Bill, I met you on my first day working as a messenger in New
York. April 1998. You wore a bag from the Berlin messenger company
“Messenger”. Where I had just arrived from. Berlin that is. So I was
very excited. VERY. Or how you would describe it “there was that
crazy chick screaming and hunting me down.” I loved to hear you tell
that story. And we had matching hair. And became friends. And I’m so
so sad that life was so much harder on you than it ever was for me.
I hoped you would finally catch a break and find some serenity and
happiness. Maybe you did at times and I just wasn’t there to see it.
But I think you knew that we all loved you. Ride in Peace. - Petra
Kirsten
I would never suggest Bill and I were close friends, but for a brief
special period in my life I knew him through the messenger family.
There was one connection however that brought Bill and I a bit
closer than many of my best friends...I grew up with epilepsy and
suffered many seizures as a child and as an adult, unfortunately the
vast majority of those seizures took place on my bicycle ... usually
in traffic, often while cycling and sometimes just after an
exhausting ride. Bill was one of the few people I ever met who
understood what it was like to grow up with a condition like this
and the only person who uniquely understood why I continued to ride
in the face of an uncertain and often dangerous environment. Bill
knew when he’d see me after a ride or at a party that there was a
risk and he’d often come over and ask how I was feeling , I am
pretty sure Bill was there once when Í had a seizure, but to be
honest Í dont remember because í often would loose 24 hrs on either
side of the event .... just a black hole in my memory, í would also
usually piss myself and the seizures aren’t pretty so talking about
it... isnt easy. Bill always asked how things were going and I’d ask
him as well.... we once talked about meds and the pros and cons of
being dependent on a chemical for your own health and safety. I
haven’t been living in nyc now for about 4 years, I’ve been off my
meds and seizure free for this time, í suppose I’ve learned how to
control it ... or rather how to avoid the triggers but that isnt
always possible when the environment your in can deal out some
pretty difficult hands. Reading the initial post by Bill’s brother
it sounds like Bill could have had a seizure ....your often most
vulnerable after an intense ride , without proper sleep, and
especially when dealing with other stressful life circumstances... I
went through a pretty rough patch myself just before moving out of
the city and I often wonder how I made it out in one piece, I wish I
could have been there to talk to Bill and ask him how he was and
discuss the problems that many of us face...all too often we feel
we’re alone in the big city with insurmountable hurdles to
overcome... Bill’s empathy was a gift , a super power , I’d like to
think this power helped me and others make it safely to the other
side of the Street ... That one small gesture of asking a fellow
human if they are alright can often be the difference between life
and death...Thank you Bill, Í will be thinking of you and doing my
best to bring this small gesture forward...tomorrow I’ll be riding
north in a place where the sun never sleeps and i’ll have your smile
spinning through my spokes 2wheelz1luv -Bonzai - Daniel Leeb
It's difficult if not impossible for me to think of Wild Bill
without thinking of Bronx Jon. I remember them both with a great
sense of fondness as much as they exasperated me at times. Even when
they both did "The Hustle" theme whenever I walked into Sophies.
Do do do do do do do...LOL... - John Harris
While riding the NYC streets all day I always loved it when I saw
Bill. Actually he would usually see me first and he would call out
my name really loudly and I would call out his. I would laugh every
time. I will fondly remember all our times in Tompkins. Such a truly
awesome guy and hard core messenger. He is messenger family and I
will miss him. - David Flail
Goodbyes are never easy...
I remember how you played good music in the yard at the East River
lounge. We always greeted eachother with a hug and a kiss. You were
such a sweetheart. I won't say goodbye, we'll see eachother at the
crossroads someday. Sleep in sweet peace my friend.
You will be missed. 💔🙏🏽 - Emily Ortiz
I had just moved from MPLS to NYC and walked into Sophies wearing a
Yankees hat. He got up ripped it off my head and I've been a Mets
fan ever since. #RIP - Chad Selberg
I'm going to miss calling him "BEELY!" in my best Schwarzenegger and
making him laugh. Dappio was only one of a few other people who knew
about my ridiculous idea for an alleycat called "the Danny Jarquio
Classic", based on all the locations where I've crashed at, reveled,
and couchsurfed... and, of course, on Arnold's eponymous
bodybuilding competition.
I'm not even into racing, but making this real would be a fun way to
honour Bill. "The Bill Dappio Classic" would consist of such
checkpoints of all our mutual friends' former or current places,
bars, venues still around and gone... every park bench we've chilled
out on, the Corner Deli (La Esquina, on Kenmare and Lafayette.) I'll
be happy to hear any suggestions.
I'd better get to organizing this fun ride before I kick it. You
still inspire me, brotherman. HOORAH. - Danny Jarquio
You were always one of the grumpiest, acerbic, and most supportive
people I ever had the pleasure of knowing. Miss you buddy. - Jon
Birdseye
Photo by Amy Gibbs
ALWAYS RUNNING HIS MOUTH. Here he is talking to Ben at Cranksgiving
about God knows what. RIP ...never forgotten. - Amy Gibbs
I shared with Jenessa last night when I learned the terrible news
and wanted to share here as well... Bill was always so kind to me,
so thoughtful and included me in conversations whenever I was
sitting on the fringe of messengers talking shop. I'm so sad I won't
ever be able to tell him how this small bit of warmth and friendship
made me feel welcomed every time. - Beth Watchtel
Rip Bill. Shit man.. we hadn't talked in a long time after Bill
unfriended me on Facebook after losing a 20$ bet on a Yankees Mets
game. Everyone I told that story to today immediately said "yeh that
sounds like Bill". We spent a lot of time together at checkpoints
and hanging at bars even though I don't drink. The last time I saw
him was I think his 40th birthday party. It had been a while.
However today after not leaving my house but 3x since the pandemic
started I rode my bike to the city, took photos all day, went to the
sunset and got take out from Katz's. All because Bill inspired me so
much to just say fuck it and live life again. Thank you Bill for
reminding me.. Rest easy brother. - John Rogers
This photo is one of my favorite mess life images. You see years of
grind on the streets, respect for one another and mutual camaraderie
that happens when you run into other couriers in New York City. Wild
Bill Dappio(RIP) is on the left with Pedro Negro and me on the
right. Wild Bill love the courier industry. So I am showing some
love back with this photo Rest In Peace Bill - Kurt Boone
