Wynn and the world
First and foremost, my condolences to Wynn's family, as well as my
deep gratitude for this website. Reading through the stories and
names here brings back quite a few memories. I am now looking through
all my old email and wish I had saved more of the ones from Wynn.
Make that all of them.
Some of the more hilarious ones have been shared by others here. Nor
can I add much more about Wynn beyond what has already been said --
especially, in places, by Wynn himself. All those who knew him, know
how completely crazy he could be. As insane as the only sane man in a
world full of utter lunacy. We are all better people for having known
him.
Wynn thought about things. Everything. Continuously. And so
conversations with him could go anywhere, everywhere. An email from
him was a tricky thing: it could be so funny that my innards would
ache as I tried in vain not to laugh, with coworkers nearby giving me
odd looks. Or it could be so deep as to challenge me to think more
about the world around me, and my attitudes towards it. Such an email
could take an hour to read and hours more to reply.
More importantly than just thinking about it, Wynn deeply felt for
the world around him, and strived to do things to help. And so
empathy and tolerance are two things I hope to remember him by.
Kevin Hoke
Will Rice '93
1 Comments:
This was the story I had in mind when I submitted my post:
http://www.thubtenchodron.org/DailyLifeDharma/a_new_friendship.html
Basically, Wynn befriends the filthy homeless drunk that has just effed up Wynn's already effed up life by stealing his effing clothes out of Wynn's car. Right when he needs them for job interviews. Wynn's email on the matter is much funnier, of course. Here is an excerpt, joining Wynn as he discovers the drunk breaking into his car. Again.
"I'd dreamed of this moment for a month, and I was going to KICK HIS ASS. And while kicking his ass, I was going to blow my horn and call ALL the neighbors out to kick his ass, while Viet called the police, who would come and kick his ass. His fat, stinking, thieving, drunken, moronic ass.
Instead, I stood stunned for just a second, and then walked directly to him and asked, almost tearfully, "Do you still have my clothes?"
[Wynn goes on to explain in some detail how he reaches out to the guy and makes a connection with the human being before him. OK, he ends up hugging the smelly guy. It is all very Buddhist, but with some big kharmic help from Ed Doughtie]
So, now I have a new friend, of sorts. I really, really shitty friend, but that's still better than a shitty guy who hates you, or even one who just doesn't care. Given the option of having all the world's people like me, or have the bad ones hate me and leave me with just "good" people for friends, I'll take the everybody-likes-me plan. If I could honestly be friends with Saddam Hussein, I would. We'd have tea, and I'd tell him, "Hey, if we're being honest, I have to say I think you do some pretty bad things, and I wish you would change." Your friends are more likely to listen.
I also bought a very nice light for our parking area."
End quote. I like mixture of idealism and pragmatism given in the ending and I think the story shows how strong Wynn was then compared to earlier.
Wynn sent me that, in reply to my own email expressing outrage at his stolen clothes. I am guessing he sent the story to a lot of people. However, he sent it to me on my 32nd birthday, which he got right that year. No, Wynn, I was not born on the day Dr. Seuss was going to die. Sigh. ;^)
Kevin Hoke
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