The obit said he was 80 and
survived by a sister and numerous
nephews and nieces.
Preceded in death by his parents,
he died in a hospital,
surroundedby his loving family.
He attended church regularly
at Our Lady Of Guadalupe Catholic Church.
There were some of us who remembered him
as Crazy Charlie and now he was dead.
The years have passed all too fast but
critical moments with Charlie
will lastwith me forever.
Etched in my brain are the thousands times
that we teased Crazy Charlie
and then dodged the awkwardly thrown stones
of his feeble retaliation.
He was a school recess sport for all of us.
We never thought of him as having parents,
sisters and brothers and people who loved him.
Charlie was different - he was simple and
Charlie was simple and
with the cruelness of children
we called him crazy.
If asked if Charlie was human
we would have laughed a "no!"
we were not aware that Charlie was one of us.
There was in Charlie a great deal
of his tormentors.
And in his tormentors there was much of Charlie.
Without hostile thought we treated Charlie
worse than a stray dog.
We were Children too kind to step on an insect
yet taunted Charlie.
So Charlie became our teacher
and his obit a final lecture.
The memory so etched grows more clear with time
and his obit.
Guilt comes with understanding.
I wish I could go back
and simply smile at Crazy Charlie.
For he taught me what it means to be human.