Broken Mr. Bendo

A few weeks ago there was a report that our local beloved Mr. Bendo, a larger than life fiberglass cast of man, had been run into by a drunk driver. Lewis and I had a small conversation about it in passing, but it wasn't made into much.







Well, On Sunday our neighbor had an extra paper and offered it to us. I was reading through and Will found a picture of them piecing Mr. Bendo back together.(see image below) He kept asking me all kinds of questions regarding it. "What happened? Did the other guys car get broken? Can I go help them fix him? Can daddy go help them fix him? When I get big I'm going to help him."

The page from the paper was becoming a bit cumbersome for a three year old to carry around so I asked him if he wanted me to just cut out the picture. He agreed it would be a good idea, when the picture started to rip I covered it in packing tape so it would last forever. He carried it around all day and a few times I found him laying on the floor just staring at it.

But the best part was when I returned home from my walk last night and found him sleeping with the picture of Mr. Bendo. The picture was gently placed on his pillow and his hand lightly resting on top. I asked "you're sleeping with it?" With a smile he replied a simple "yes".

As I walked out into the living room with tears filling my eyes from laughter my husband told me Will wanted a Mr. Bendo puzzle if he stayed dry. What a kid. So compassionate and caring, even for a Mr. Bendo.