PLEASE MEET WOLF:
I was looking for someone, inquiring around the woods above Georgetown. A robust bald man with suspenders and a large beard sat scraping mud from his boots with a butcher knife. He hollered and pointed with the knife, “He’s over there. At Wolf’s place.”
Nearby was a sprawling camp, a patchwork of worn tarps and a wooden substructure. The site was clean. The framework square. A plank walkway led through the mud to a back entrance. There was a quiet man outside cooking over a fire. I proceeded towards the back. Two cats darted, knocking over a bottle. A man with a stubble beard appeared suddenly. I was startled and fumbled as I explained my presence. He smiled genuinely. “No problem. I’ve seen you around.” I shook his strong hand. He looked at me squarely. “My name is Wolf.”
Wolf’s childhood was a disaster. His parents were chronic alcoholics. They were both killed in suspicious incidents when he was very young. Wolf believes they were murdered. He was raised by his grandmother. “I grew up as a kid who couldn’t express himself.” At age 18 Wolf committed a crime that cost him nearly 20 years in prison. “I was an angry kid. I didn’t know how to react. I’d handle things differently today.”
Wolf left prison in his late 30’s with few basic living skills. He then met the love of his life. “She fell from the sky. She helped me get my life back. She had a nail business. I didn’t even know how to write a check,” he laughed, “She even did my nails and gave me pedicures, something I never thought I’d appreciate.”
Wolf found employment working construction and driving a wrecking truck. Things improved. But his son’s death from a traffic collision changed everything. And sadly, his angel from heaven would die the following year. Wolf was devastated. He turned to meth. Homelessness followed. Wolf speaks honestly with humility, fully owning the results of his actions. “I’ve learned you can jab a needle in your arm, you can climb inside a bottle. But you cannot hide from what lies within your heart.”
The day we spoke was Wolf’s 51 st birthday. “It’s been a long road. I’m tired. I can’t stand the dirt anymore. It’s like a dog chasing his tail. I know what I need to do but don’t know how.” I asked how he copes anymore. He smiled, “Laughter is the key to happiness. Negativity begets negativity.”
The very next day Wolf’s entire dwelling burned to the ground in a massive fire, destroying everything he owned.
Georgetown Neighborhood | Damian
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