There are just some people who can’t be replaced

Trent Knuckles is publisher of The News Journal.

About a week and a half before his tragic, untimely death, I sat right next to Bill Hoover. We were both visiting a friend who has had some health struggles of late.

He was there before I arrived. When I walked in, I wasn’t really sure he’d remember who I was. I felt that way every time I met him.

I immediately offered to come back another time. I didn’t want to interrupt his meeting. He’s one of those people in our community I just felt like should be treated with a bit of reverence. I’m not originally from Corbin, but I’m keenly aware of his well-deserved status in our community.

Anyway, true to form, he was having none of it. His reputation for being humble was factual.

He welcomed me to sit down and chat just like we were family. Turns out, he DID know me. I never got many opportunities to speak to Bill Hoover, so I wasn’t going to waste this one.

When I was doing interviews about him after his death, one common theme about his demeanor was the he never wanted anyone to think HE THOUGHT he was better or more important than the next guy. It wasn’t just what we often call “sainthood of death” talk — the kind of things people say when someone passes away, but are typically overly generous praise.

No, this part of his character was definitely true.

Another part is that his generosity was just about unparalleled. You can count on one hand the number of folks in our community who have given as much back to his hometown as Bill Hoover.

The ultimate sadness here is that those kinds of people — the Bill Hoover kind — are a finite resource. My own observation is that they really aren’t being replaced by succeeding generations.

That’s the greatest sadness here. When people like Bill Hoover move on to their great reward, it leaves a hole that can never truly be filled. I suppose, in that sense, the greatest testament to a life well lived is just how much people miss you when you are gone.

Bill Hoover will be missed. Greatly, sorely, and desperately missed.

SOME OTHER STUFF
• I’ve gained a growing appreciation for soccer over the years. It’s a watchable game. I enjoy it.

The US Women’s National Team victory in the most recent FIFA World Cup tournament solidified an opinion for me others have espoused for quite some time — watching women play soccer is better than watching men play.

Why? Because they actually play. It’s soccer absent nearly all of the injury faking, poor sportsmanship and bull that seems to be too common in the men’s game.
And I agree, the women should be paid equal to the men. Maybe more. They actually win.

• I’m considering trying out one of these services/apps that allow you to save money by automatically rounding up purchases. So, say you spend $5.65 on a McDonald’s value meal. That then gets rounded up to $6 with the extra 45 cents going into an investment account of some sort.

I like the concept. Anyone got suggestions on the best ones out there? Seems like a fun way to automate some extra savings relatively painlessly.

• Is the movie “Hereditary” really as scary as folks say? Is “Midsomer” really that much worse?