A Tenant Named Bill
Recently I again watched the 1939 movie, "Of Mice and Men." * For those unfamiliar with any of the movie versions or with the book, one of the characters is a big man named "Lennie Small," who is often termed as "feeble-minded." Lennie wants to be happy and be nice and he loves to pet little animals, but he doesn't realize his own strength. His friend is named "George," and George has great difficulty keeping Lennie out of trouble. Well, my thoughts went back to the 1980s and to a tenant in one building who only vaguely reminded me of the Lennie character, but the connection was strong enough to me, that this tenant, named "Bill," came to my mind while I watched the movie.
Bill was a military veteran in his 30s back then, but at some point he had some mental problem. I believe the Veteran's Administration** had determined that Bill was unable to manage his own financial affairs, and they had commissioned an attorney to take care of Bill's money and necessities, which is how Bill came to live in the building I managed; it was only a few blocks from his attorney's office, as I recall. Bill wasn't a totally huge guy, but he was bigger than I was, which wasn't any miraculous event, as I'm not all that tall. One of his problems was, he couldn't remember things, including his apartment key, which was a constant problem, as we had to continuously unlock the door for him (the doors automatically locked upon closing). I must admit, it was aggravating, as at just about any time, Bill could come looking for one of us to unlock his door, and myself and two other employees lived on the premises, so after regular office hours didn't spare us from Bill's knocking. I would "give him hell," but not in a nasty way, and he knew it, because he'd sometimes smile a little when I lectured him. We put the key on a chain to go around his neck, but it didn't help, he would forget to put the chain on. One of the things about him was, when he would talk with me, or if I lectured him, he would stand and sort of march in place. He was clean, but he wouldn't have won a clothing award. He was always respectful to us, and it was a great shock when his lawyer called me and told me he had signed papers to have Bill picked up by the police or sheriff's deputies, I forget which, and that he would be taken to the mental ward of the VA, if I remember correctly, because he had gone to visit his father and his sister and then "beaten the hell out of them" (the words used by the attorney).
I had never met any of Bill's family, but Bill was in his 30s, so his father wasn't 41. I certainly don't condone Bill's violence toward his family members, who lived about 10 miles from the apartment building, but it was kind of funny when the police came that night. It's been so long, I don't remember the time, but Bill was in bed. The police wanted me with them, so I went and I knocked on Bill's door, in sort of a reverse of him knocking on my door at any hour to let him into his apartment, but this wasn't like midnight or anything like that. So he came and opened the door and the police took over and showed him the legal papers. I'll never forget it, because Bill said to them, "Can this wait until morning, I was sleeping?" We all chuckled, but it was sad for the violence Bill had committed and for Bill's mind, as he seemed like a little child, unaware of how serious matters were. His lawyer, whose name I can no longer remember, told me that Bill had been a top notch radio operator in the military (I can't remember what branch of the military he had been in either), and there was some special commendation or some such thing he had received. As the lawyer said, however, somewhere thereafter Bill's mind "blew a fuse" (I believe that was how the lawyer termed it). Well, if I remember right, the doctor(s) at the VA recommended to the attorney that he move Bill to a facility about 50 to 60 miles away, in the Youngstown, Ohio area, and I never saw Bill as a tenant again after that night.
I would guess that about 8 years went by, and I saw this guy one day. I knew him, but I couldn't place why I knew him. He disappeared, and then it came to me.... BILL! He looked well, but whether the VA had been able to help his mind, I don't know. Just a few years ago, I was looking through the local obituaries, and there was Bill's name. I know Bill did wrong about his father and sister, but I've got to admit, seeing his obituary hurt. I've been unlucky to know a few really bad people, but I've been lucky to know lots and lots of other people in my life, all with various flaws, just as I have, and when I see or hear that one of them has passed on, a part of me dies too.
* For my article on this movie, here is the link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2013/02/steinbecks-of-mice-and-men-great-book.html
** Commonly called the Veteran's Administration, but more commonly simply referred to as the "VA."
WORD HISTORY:
Tenant-This word is distantly related to "tendon," a word English borrowed from Latin, which had gotten it from Greek, and to "tense" (the verb and the adjective^), a Latin-derived word borrowed by English. It goes back to Indo European "ten," which had the idea of "to stretch, to stretch or reach out." This gave Latin "tenere," meaning, "to grasp, to hold," which passed to Latin-based Old French as "tenir," which meant, "to hold, to possess," and the participle form of which was "tenant." This was used as a noun for, "a holder of land," and, "a holder of land by agreement in feudal society." This was carried by the Normans to England, but became "tenaunt" by the second half of the 1200s. This was borrowed into English in the first quarter of the 1300s as "tenaunt," but the spelling later was altered to "tenant" (perhaps by influence of the original French spelling?). Its modern meaning has settled on "some agreement, written or spoken, where occupancy to some property is granted to a person, to people, or to an entity, usually in exchange for some regular payment; that is, rent."
^ It is NOT related to the grammatical noun "tense," used in "present tense," "past tense," etc, as this word is from a totally different source.
Bill was a military veteran in his 30s back then, but at some point he had some mental problem. I believe the Veteran's Administration** had determined that Bill was unable to manage his own financial affairs, and they had commissioned an attorney to take care of Bill's money and necessities, which is how Bill came to live in the building I managed; it was only a few blocks from his attorney's office, as I recall. Bill wasn't a totally huge guy, but he was bigger than I was, which wasn't any miraculous event, as I'm not all that tall. One of his problems was, he couldn't remember things, including his apartment key, which was a constant problem, as we had to continuously unlock the door for him (the doors automatically locked upon closing). I must admit, it was aggravating, as at just about any time, Bill could come looking for one of us to unlock his door, and myself and two other employees lived on the premises, so after regular office hours didn't spare us from Bill's knocking. I would "give him hell," but not in a nasty way, and he knew it, because he'd sometimes smile a little when I lectured him. We put the key on a chain to go around his neck, but it didn't help, he would forget to put the chain on. One of the things about him was, when he would talk with me, or if I lectured him, he would stand and sort of march in place. He was clean, but he wouldn't have won a clothing award. He was always respectful to us, and it was a great shock when his lawyer called me and told me he had signed papers to have Bill picked up by the police or sheriff's deputies, I forget which, and that he would be taken to the mental ward of the VA, if I remember correctly, because he had gone to visit his father and his sister and then "beaten the hell out of them" (the words used by the attorney).
I had never met any of Bill's family, but Bill was in his 30s, so his father wasn't 41. I certainly don't condone Bill's violence toward his family members, who lived about 10 miles from the apartment building, but it was kind of funny when the police came that night. It's been so long, I don't remember the time, but Bill was in bed. The police wanted me with them, so I went and I knocked on Bill's door, in sort of a reverse of him knocking on my door at any hour to let him into his apartment, but this wasn't like midnight or anything like that. So he came and opened the door and the police took over and showed him the legal papers. I'll never forget it, because Bill said to them, "Can this wait until morning, I was sleeping?" We all chuckled, but it was sad for the violence Bill had committed and for Bill's mind, as he seemed like a little child, unaware of how serious matters were. His lawyer, whose name I can no longer remember, told me that Bill had been a top notch radio operator in the military (I can't remember what branch of the military he had been in either), and there was some special commendation or some such thing he had received. As the lawyer said, however, somewhere thereafter Bill's mind "blew a fuse" (I believe that was how the lawyer termed it). Well, if I remember right, the doctor(s) at the VA recommended to the attorney that he move Bill to a facility about 50 to 60 miles away, in the Youngstown, Ohio area, and I never saw Bill as a tenant again after that night.
I would guess that about 8 years went by, and I saw this guy one day. I knew him, but I couldn't place why I knew him. He disappeared, and then it came to me.... BILL! He looked well, but whether the VA had been able to help his mind, I don't know. Just a few years ago, I was looking through the local obituaries, and there was Bill's name. I know Bill did wrong about his father and sister, but I've got to admit, seeing his obituary hurt. I've been unlucky to know a few really bad people, but I've been lucky to know lots and lots of other people in my life, all with various flaws, just as I have, and when I see or hear that one of them has passed on, a part of me dies too.
* For my article on this movie, here is the link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2013/02/steinbecks-of-mice-and-men-great-book.html
** Commonly called the Veteran's Administration, but more commonly simply referred to as the "VA."
WORD HISTORY:
Tenant-This word is distantly related to "tendon," a word English borrowed from Latin, which had gotten it from Greek, and to "tense" (the verb and the adjective^), a Latin-derived word borrowed by English. It goes back to Indo European "ten," which had the idea of "to stretch, to stretch or reach out." This gave Latin "tenere," meaning, "to grasp, to hold," which passed to Latin-based Old French as "tenir," which meant, "to hold, to possess," and the participle form of which was "tenant." This was used as a noun for, "a holder of land," and, "a holder of land by agreement in feudal society." This was carried by the Normans to England, but became "tenaunt" by the second half of the 1200s. This was borrowed into English in the first quarter of the 1300s as "tenaunt," but the spelling later was altered to "tenant" (perhaps by influence of the original French spelling?). Its modern meaning has settled on "some agreement, written or spoken, where occupancy to some property is granted to a person, to people, or to an entity, usually in exchange for some regular payment; that is, rent."
^ It is NOT related to the grammatical noun "tense," used in "present tense," "past tense," etc, as this word is from a totally different source.
Labels: English, etymology, French, Latin, Lennie Small, life acquaintances, mental illness, Of Mice and Men, personal story, Veterans Administration
posted by Randy at 11:20 AM
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