THE KOOL-AID WINO
An Essay by Logo

   This story is about a kid, who loved Kool-Aid and was called the Kool-Aid wino. The boy was a part of a large but poor German family. I find the Kool-Aid wino to be a negative character.

   The boy had a rupture and the family could not afford to have it fixed, because they did not have a lot of money. They could not even buy him a truss to help him get along better with his everyday tasks. It seems that he was using his rupture as a crutch to get out of helping others with everyday tasks around the house. It does not say in this story just how bad his rupture really is. As far as we know, it could be very mild, or it may be a very serious rupture.

   The older children in this story had to work very hard in the summer time picking beans from the bean fields for just pennies a day to help out the family with the necessities it took to survive. The boy didn't seem to be very helpful at all, and as I see it the boy seemed to be lazy and only cared about himself and his Kool-Aid. The boy seemed to be capable in making his own breakfast, not caring if the others had eaten or not. He slept with his clothes on when he went to bed, so this way he did not have to get dressed when he awoke from his sleep. Now does this really make him lazy, or does it seem that he just doesn't care? Now this also makes one think, did he ever bathe himself or did he just walk around with wrinkled clothes looking dirty? The story doesn't really say, but one can only think so.

   The next thing that makes me think that the boy only thought of himself, was because one morning the younger siblings of the family who were still in diapers needed a changing. The boy didn't even stop to help change the young children's diapers, and only cared about making himself breakfast and getting to the store so he could get some Kool-Aid.

   Once the boy got home from the store, the ceremony began. Ceremony you ask? According to the story, when the boy made his Kool-Aid, it was a romance and a ceremony to him. All he could think about at that time was carefully filling up a gallon jar with water, while making sure that he did not overflow the jar with water, spilling out any of the grape Kool-Aid. After making his Kool-Aid, the boy's mother asked him when he was going to do the dishes. "Soon," the boy replied. He then told his friend that the dishes could wait, and off to the chicken house he went with his Kool-Aid. Once he got to the old chicken house, the second part of the ceremony began. He took his gallon jar of Kool-Aid and poured it carefully into four one-quart jars making sure that he did not spill a drop. Then he screwed on the lids onto the jars, where he now could enjoy his Kool-Aid. One bag a Kool-Aid is supposed to make only two quarts, but he made a gallon of it instead. This was he own way of making Kool-Aid. The boy didn't even add any sugar to his Kool-Aid, because there was no sugar in the house. This goes to show you that the one and only thing this kid cared about was himself and his Kool-Aid.

   So what's one really to think of this story? Some people may think the boy to be a more positive character, because of the way the boy does certain things. I feel that the boy could have been more helpful in helping his family. I also feel if the boy can be so careful and concerned about how he makes his Kool-Aid, why doesn't he show any concern about what goes on around the house?

  So after reading this story, I have come to the conclusion that the Kool-Aid wino is by far a negative character.

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Last revision: March 29, 1999
Send comments or additional sites to Frank Edler fedler@mccneb.edu