Memories of Wynn's amazing story-telling abilities

What can I say? Chris McKenzie, Wynn's old off-campus roommate, emailed me to tell me about Wynn's passing. Hard to believe that so much vitality and spontaneity and humor and wit is gone. But I guess since Wynn is unforgettable, he will live on in everyone who ever had the pleasure of meeting him.

I've been trying to sort through my memories, since it all seems to long ago and far away. I was just thinking about Wynn last week, and wondering how he was. Figured he was still driving that huge rust-colored Cadillac pimpmobile (with the 8-track stereo) around town, and winking at (and waving a leg at) all the cute young men.

See, back in the Rice U. days, I had a major crush on Wynn, and used to spend a lot of time hanging out with him. I think he was sorting out his feelings on the subject of his sexual preference at the time, or at least getting used to being more open about it. I wish I had access to all the great emails on ruf and owlnet from back then... Later I dated his roommate for a bit. Saw a lot of Wynn, and constant examples of his amazing double-jointed prowess. Together, we tried to run Beavis and Butthead as homecoming queen and king, respectively... I drew posters of Beavis in his tiara and Butthead in his Elvis outfit... and painted huge closeups of their faces to hang... must have been over 6-feet tall! Painted crouching on the floor of their house. We would discuss who would get to play Beavis and Butthead if we got to go to the Rose Bowl (or whatever it was called, we hated football). But a secretary and a cat won, instead.

One of the stories I remember, was one he told about performing Shakespeare, with one of the former Hanszen masters (and a prof), to be unnamed. During rehearsal, one of the female actors was not "being aggressive enough" in her attraction to another character - the prof took on the role of the character that she was playing against, and when she wasn't being flirty enough, this prof yelled, "Grab My Ass!!!" Maybe more than once. Anyway, Wynn did an amazing impression, it sounded exactly like him. I later found a hysterical photo of this prof from the 70s, and put it in a card I painted for Wynn, with the interior message reading "Grab My Ass," right above this prof's photo. I wish I could tell the story like Wynn did, with the uncanny mimicry and the physical acting out of all the characters. It's just not the same. We were crying with laughter. (I've enclosed a picture of the front of the card, with Calvin playing the part of Wynn, a fitting comparison.)

I kept up with Wynn later after I graduated, since I was working in the medical center... Last time I saw him, I remember playfully nudging him and reminding him (perhaps admonishing him) to make sure these cute boys he got interested in were at least 18!!! He always had the heart of a kid, and people his age rarely had his playful nature. I wish I had kept up with him after I moved back to California in '97... He's one of people I will always remember. Too big for this one small planet to handle.
Paula K. Wirth
www.inkvision.com
paulawirth@gmail.com