Philip L. Willman

Past President, DRI-Voice of the Defense Bar, Midwest trial lawyer, father, husband, Priory and Duke alumnus.

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

She heard her own love story on the radio while driving to work — and never told a soul until the man who wrote it was gone.
Every December, a song plays on radio stations across America that most people assume is fiction. It tells the story of two former lovers who run into each other at a grocery store on Christmas Eve. They can't find a bar open, so they buy a six-pack, sit in a car, and talk about the lives they've lived since they last saw each other. When it's over, she drives away, and the snow turns to rain.
It sounds like a perfect piece of songwriting — too bittersweet, too precise to be real.
But it was real. Almost every word of it.
On Christmas Eve, 1975, Dan Fogelberg was home in Peoria, Illinois, visiting his family. His parents wanted to make Irish coffees, so he went out to buy whipping cream. A few blocks away, Jill Anderson — his high school sweetheart from Woodruff High, class of 1969 — was sent out by her mother to pick up eggnog. The only store open that late on Christmas Eve was a small convenience store at the top of Abington Hill.
They hadn't seen each other in years. Fogelberg had moved to Colorado to chase a music career. Jill had married, moved to Chicago, and was working as a flight attendant. Their lives had gone in completely different directions. And then, on the coldest night of the year, they ended up in the same store.
She didn't recognize him at first.
When she did, they hugged — and she spilled her purse. They laughed until they cried. Then they tried to find a bar, but nothing was open. So they bought a six-pack of beer and sat in her car for two hours, parked in the cold, talking about everything and nothing.
They talked about their lives. Her marriage. His music. The distance between who they used to be and who they had become. And when the beer was gone and the words ran out, she gave him a kiss as he got out of the car, and he watched her drive away into the snow.
Five years later, Fogelberg sat down and wrote it all into a song called "Same Old Lang Syne." He changed two details — he made her eyes blue instead of green because it rhymed better, and he made her husband an architect instead of what he actually was. Everything else was the truth.
The song was released in 1980 and peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. It became a holiday staple almost immediately, played every December alongside the traditional Christmas songs — not because it was about Christmas, really, but because it was about the feeling of going home and discovering that home has changed, and so have you.
The first time Jill heard the song, she was driving to her job at TWA before dawn. The radio was on, and a familiar voice came through the speakers. She listened to the words and something clicked. She later recalled the moment clearly — the realization washing over her that Dan had turned their two hours in a parking lot into something the whole world would hear.
She never told anyone.
For years, Jill kept quiet. Fogelberg never publicly named her either. She later said her silence was partly out of respect for his marriage — she didn't want to cause trouble. They did reconnect eventually, backstage after one of his concerts. He apologized for changing her eye color. They laughed about it. They stayed friends.
Dan Fogelberg died of prostate cancer on December 16, 2007. He was 56 years old.
Six days later — just before Christmas — Jill finally told her story to the Peoria Journal Star. She confirmed what fans had long suspected: it was all true. The convenience store was real. The six-pack was real. The snow was real. The ache of it was real.
"Same Old Lang Syne" was not Fogelberg's only gift to the world. "Leader of the Band" was a tribute to his father, Lawrence, a musician and bandleader whose life poured directly into the lyrics. "Longer" became a wedding standard. His albums became the soundtrack of long drives and quiet winter nights.

[Augie Nash @AugieNash]

Single bird on the bat (1933)

#STLCards

[Jonah Goldberg @JonahDispatch]

"Look like"?

Are

[St. Louis Blues @StLouisBlues]

We're saddened to learn of the passing of Helen Plager, the widow of former Blues great Barclay Plager.

After Barclay's passing in 1988, Helen made St. Louis her home and was described as both the life of the party and the glue of the family.

Our condolences go out to the Plagers during this time.

[Brenden Schaeffer🎳 @bschaeffer12]

no matt you don't understand, players don't want to play for him because a whole 5 anonymous players in other cities who may or may not have even known his name said idk put the st louis guy i guess

[James Lucas @JamesLucasIT]

Like this post to see more beauty on your feed

[Gateway Arch @GatewayArchSTL]

😲 HEY LOOK, it’s…

A meteor saying hi to the Gateway Arch on New Year’s Eve! 💫🥳

[James Lucas @JamesLucasIT]

This is the most beautiful corridor in the world

Gallery of Maps, Vatican Museums

[Parisian Aesthetics @Parisianaes1]

One of the most beautiful bridges in the world, Alexandre III bridge, Paris

[Humble Flow @HumbleFlow]

The most beautiful things were made by people trying to please God, not clients.

[James Lucas @JamesLucasIT]

Places on Earth that don't look real - thread 🧵

1. Basilica Cistern, Istanbul

[Augie Nash @AugieNash]

Stunning portrait of Stan Musial.

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore.

This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.

Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.

[James Lucas @JamesLucasIT]

Places on Earth that don't look real - thread 🧵

1. The hills of Tuscany, Italy

[Jon Favreau @jonfavs]

“I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.”

This guy got two Bronze stars in Iraq and clerked for Roberts before landing at SDNY

[Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis @Citizens4STL]

The proposal to spend the funds from the Rams settlement that includes significant funds for downtown St. Louis has been characterized by some elected leaders as the “big business proposal”. However, this proposal originated as a cooperative effort of volunteers with the Downtown Economic Council, the Downtown Neighborhood Association and Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis. With some modifications, the proposal ultimately became Board Bill 131. We are grateful that Greater St. Louis, Inc. has taken the lead role in shepherding this proposal through the political process, but it has the full support of residents, small businesses, and big businesses alike. It is a misleading political ploy for some, including the President of the Board of Aldermen, to describe the bill as a big business proposal. Rather, it is a bill that benefits Downtown, other distressed neighborhoods, and infrastructure throughout the City. It is a bill specifically targeted to shore up the tax base of the City and provide badly needed support to long-neglected neighborhoods. Don’t be fooled by the dishonest and misleading rhetoric coming from some elected leaders and their supporters.

#Citizens4STL

@MikeLKehoe @saintlouismayor @SLMPD @saintlouispres @NealRichardson_ @CaraSpencerSTL @AlderSheenBean @LishaLiberty @shanecohn @VDanielaV @Schweitzer88 @OldenburgSTL @STL4Ward @schubbard10 @boydstuff @GreaterSTLinc @CommerceBank @enterprisecares @Cardinals @horseshoestl @Advantes @UnionStationSTL @HiltonBallpark @AquariumSTL @Stifel @DowntownStLouis @stlcid @carolinehecker @charliekmox @andybankertv @rlippmann

[Frank Cusumano @Frank_Cusumano]

Wonder if he celebrates the anniversary dates of when he first started to lie to the city of St. Louis.

[Kevin Wheeler @KevinWheeler94]

So what’s that make it, 11-12 years since you started lying to all our faces when we asked about the future of the team?

Based on your own public statements you knew the goal was to leave while you were telling us “we want to be in St. Louis.”

I guess lying for Stan pays well.

[Jim Hayes @RegionalTVCat]

From Goldy in today’s Post Dispatch.
#STLCards