Love is a burning thing
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire
- Johnny Cash
It was a hot summer night in 1986 and the Astros game had just ended in a victory for the home team. I was working as a ticket taker on the south gate that night, and as a custom, I would say goodnight to all of the fans as they either walked out or rode the escalator down to the exit.
As I stayed close to the escalator watching an elderly woman in her late 80's approach the edge of the landing, I heard my name called out from the top in a very unflattering way.
"Muthafucka! If it ain't Cal Tucka!" I looked up in shock to see a man horribly burned over ninety five percent of his body gliding closer to me with every passing second. His eyelids were partially missing, lips melted so much that it showed his within, a look that reminded me of Batman's enemy Two Face, and digits missing from both hands.
I admittingly took a step back.
As he glided closer, the visual index cards of people I had met and known moved to the alphabet W. He stepped of the elevator and extended his had that was missing all but two digits.
"You don't recognize me do you?" he said with a smile with no lips.
I looked him straight in the eyes and nodded an affirmative yes.
"Who am I muthafucka?!" he said with a sneer borrowed from the bowels of hell.
"You are my lifelong childhood friend Wendell"... My eyes focused on his expression of surprise and disappointment that I was actually able tho recognized him through all of the burnt flesh.
His perfect row of Tom Cruise teeth open to say something, and then he paused, looked down and said softly, "How did you...?"
I explained to him that I recognized his voice and as he approached me closer, his eyes.
"No one has ever done that except you, I didn't freak you out with what's before you?"
"You did" I said, "But you are and have been my friend, we've shared good times and laughs for over twelve years, therefore your image does not scare me as it would most others."
He looked at me with eyes that weren't so gentle. People passed us by and looked at him as if he were a zombie come to life. Children pointed and some held their parents hands a bit closer than they normally would.
I grabbed his arm and we walked about ten feet over to the side, away from the leaving crowds.
"Wendell, what happened?" I asked.
"Why? It fucked me up and all you can ask is what happened?
" Yes," I said without missing a breath, "What the hell happened?"
" I was trapped in a crack house fire. There were burglar bars on the windows and when I tried to jump out, and well, I couldn't for obvious reasons!", he laugh a hesitant laugh and continued.
When the firemen came in, my clothes, hair and body was ablaze. I don't remember feeling any of it p because I was all "cracked" up!" We both laughed at the irony of the sentence, and for a brief moment it was like we were young boys of eight laughing at recess.
"Im sorry to hear about that", I said. " How are you adjusting?"
"Adjusting? Adjusting?! Goddammit Muthafucka! Look at me and tell me what YOU think?" his voice was not a low and curious people gave us that Dr Frankenstein and his morbid creation look.
"Wendell, I just asked out of concern, I didn't mean to upset you.."
"What did you think you were doing by asking me that shit? Did you think you could solve my woes, make what happened go away, you've always been that way!"
"Been that way?" I asked somewhat defiantly. Here I was, truly concerned about a dear friend and now he was bashing me.
"What the hell do you mean by that?" I said, "All I asked was how you were adjusting. I know it must be hard and life is not the same but I'm not the one who chose to crawl up into a rat infested shithole and smoke my neurons to a crisp, that was you!
"You've always been that fool that has always wanted to help the less fortunate, help that kid that got beat up on the playground, or that boy or girl who couldn't freaking spell 'cat'. You can't ever help me the way I need help!"
I backed away and in a way I knew he was right. As much as you want to help people and raise them up and put them on the right path through Sherwood Forrest, it was initially up to them to take the initiative to move on or welter.
The crowd had almost left the gate at this point. An police officer wandered up the ramp from the lower level and commanded that everyone exit. I looked at Wendell, and he looked back at me with his hollow eyes.
'Well, I guess that means closing time..."
"No shit Sherlock", he said and extended his two digit hand to shake goodbye.
I grabbed his hand and shook it and told him it was good to see him again, but I didn't quite appreciate him rhyming my name with "muthafucka". We both laughed and said our farewells.
As I watched him disappear into the night, I knew I would never see him again.
There are times when I pass the Astrodome, I think about him. I think of the times that we laughed and played as young boys. I think about how I had someone to show me the way out of Sherwood Forrest and unfortunately, he had no one to guide him away from demon that trapped him in the Dark Forest he wandered into so many years ago.
