Mr. Wendall

I am not sure what happened to me today....all day I was thinking about Mr. Wendall. I didn't know the one they sang about in the above song, but this song faded in and out of my head today, and my memories all cam back...

About 20 years ago I remember him walking past us as we were playing near the local elemtary school. He walked passed us carring a small brown paper bag with the top of the bottle visable and drapped over his left shoulder wasa shredded plastic garbage bag whcih held his meger belongings. Although it was mid July, he had on a dark green courdroy coat that would be perfect for the cold sub-zero temperatures we expected to see in January and a pair of tattered slacks over dark brown pants. His big toe stuck out of the front of his hightop athletic schools that didn't even have laces. I thought surely that is why he walked with a wabble....but later discovered it wsa the alcohol he consumed from sun up to sun down that affected his balance. As he walked passed us, his blood shot eyes came into view and he let out a huge grunt. That is what scared us at first! We thought for sure he would try to kidnap or hurt us. We ran home like lunatics yelling and screaming.

We would run into him almost daily....brown paper bag in his right hand, his left clinging to his garabage bag. He would aimless walk around day in and day out collecting bottles and cans to return to the liquor store to buy alcohol. If he collected 60 bottles then he could get a huge bottle of vodka that would last him all day. Just as the sun rises in the morning everyday, this guy would walk toward us as the sun set in the West every evening. Every day. Cluching his brown bag, shuffling his feet forward. He would often just pass out wherever he was and lay on the grass until he woke up to continue on his way.

I am sure we all have come across a Mr. Wendall at one time or another in our lives. I wish we could have helped our Mr. Wendall in some way. I know his life here on Earth was tough and I am sure at the rate he was drinking he has since passed away. I do hope that he is in a better place and he has forgiven me and my friends for all the bad things we said and did to him. I can't hide behind the fact that I was just a naive kid, we knew right from wrong and it's made me feel really bad about myself that I could be that mean. And although he never really said much, he left a lasting impression on me and taught me a lot about life, how tough it can be at times and how quickly it can turn on ya.