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THE STORY OF AN UNUSUAL MAN

© Bea Sheftel

Like most homeless people, Danny's story is unique to his situation. He wasn't a bum panhandling for money. He worked at a very good job for the State as a laborer. At one time Danny had a wife and two children, and a home of his own. His wife had an affair with his best friend and divorced Danny. Instead of retribution, Danny turned the house over to her so she could raise the children.[heart pulsating]

He went to live in a series of apartments, sometimes bunking on a friend's couch. The more depressed he got the more he drank. Liquor is bad enough but on top of a heart condition and diabetes it was lethal. Even though he continued to work, Danny wound up on the street after drunken parties. Money was a problem because he was still paying child support. He took on a side business selling items at flea markets.

For a while things looked good. He was a popular dealer because he was honest. One summer he shared a space with us at the Brimfield Flea market. He drove up with his truck loaded with furniture and other items. There wasn't a lot to do at night in Brimfield, but Danny and his friends found a bar. After the show closed for the evening he headed for the bar and came back at 1 a.m. when the bar closed. He was too drunk to find his keys to sleep in his truck so he slept on the cold ground. You can imagine how his muscles ached when he woke up the next morning.

The flea market business went downhill as it does periodically. Danny lost his latest apartment when he came home roaring drunk and singing opera. Needing a place to stay, he hid his pillows and blankets in a locker where he worked. He slept in a the storage room until he was discovered there one morning and lost his job.

Too proud to go to a shelter, he drove to a campground to sleep in his truck. He stayed there for the season until the campground closed. After that he went from one friend to another, sometimes sleeping in the park or the cemetery until chased out by the police.

Danny started to straighten out his life again after he took a space in an antique mall and was selling his furniture and goods. He made new friends and seemed happy. He even warned everyone not to buy him any drinks or offer him a beer. The last time I saw him he stopped at the house and had a pasta dinner with us. The next time I heard about Danny was a week later. He collapsed on Main Street and the EMTs were unable to revive him.