Pink Willie

Pink William or ‘Pink Willie’ as his friends called him, did not have a bad bone in his body, but that didn’t stop people bringing misery to his little life. 

You see the small town he lived in was run and controlled by the Mafia of The Mediocre. They couldn’t see stars or blue skies or breath-taking wonderment – for they were born only to see what was just two feet in front of their sad little faces.

Now some might say that they brought order where there was none, but others might argue that all they did was reduce life to the mundane and in that truth - the mediocre found that they would no longer be afraid.

If they couldn’t see the wonder in it all, then no one else was going to either.

“We are only doing it for the good of all,” was their usual war cry.

Now Pink Willie had always considered himself not the best of men, in his mind, he had too many flaws, too many wild ideas, and therefore bowed to the graces of those Mafia people who probably knew better than him.

But sometimes with age comes a sort of wisdom and in those grown-up thoughts he realised that perhaps all that this Mediocrity was about – was control

Control is all that the weak and stupid have in their arsenal.  They make you feel ashamed to think differently, look differently, behave differently, love and care differently.

So one dark, grey night, when all the folks of the town had gone to their bed at the proscribed time of 10 of the clock – Pink Willie went to his garage and found the old paint that he had used as a kid, until his parents told him that such bright colours were probably the work of the devil and should be locked away.

That night Pink Willie got up on his roof (and with a little giggle) painted it all the colours of the rainbow. Then he did the walls and the door – and by the time sunrise came, he was absolutely giddy with the joy of it all.

Of course, they came. Someone across the street had made a call.

“He’s gone crazy,” said the neighbour. “And I don’t use that word lightly.”

Needless to say, he was lying. The neighbour described everything as ‘crazy’ that he didn’t agree with.

“That snowflake over the road is ruining this town,” he continued.

And so the henchmen of the Mafia of the Mediocre came and took Willie away.

Pink Willie was ordered to repaint his house in the regulation grey, and also complete some community service and promise on his life not to be so stupid again.

The next night Pink Willie did it all again, and once again they took him away, except this time the judge said he was to be confined in the Mediocre prison for 5 days – after he had repainted the house.

On his release, you can second-guess what Pink Willie did? This time the judge banished him forever from the town.

Pink Willie was gone. Never to be seen again.

In another house across the street, a kind father noticed that his small girl didn’t smile any more. When he asked her why she said the nice house was all grey. So the kind man decided to paint the inside of his daughter's bedroom in sparkling colours. That way, the neighbours would never know  - but they did because if there is one thing the unhappy are always on the lookout for, is to destroy other peoples’ pleasure.

It is what drives them.

The man was only issued with a warning as he was known to be kind. However he repainted his daughter’s room, then every other room in the house when he got home.

Then he painted the outside of his house. A friend who lived beside him knew that his pal might possibly be banished and so decided to help him. He too painted his house with many colours.

And a couple of other friends down the street did the same. For soon the street realised that they couldn’t arrest everyone and why should everyone suffer because a few hearts couldn’t see the wonderment in being alive?

The town doesn’t have any grey houses anymore, but if someone feels they would like a grey house, well, that is their business, and they should do what they think is right.

They renamed the first street to paint their houses to ‘Pink Willie Street’.

I wonder if he knows?

bobby stevenson 2019