THE LAWYER AND HIS DEMON

Charles R. Baily was born June 21, 1925, in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Charles was an average student who always seemed to have trouble find him. In junior high and high school, he was in many fights, not by his choice, but in self-defense in all cases. Once while attending junior high school, he was picked on by five kids from the school that waited for him on the corner of West 46th and Clark Ave. Knowing he was outnumbered after the smallest kid in the group flicked a cigarette at him and pushed him from behind, Charles avoiding the fight, took off running to the school and escaped the attack. High school was better due to Charles keeping to himself and minding his business. He did have some fights but always seemed to get out of them before they got physical.

After Pearl Harbor's attack in Hawaii by the Japanese in December of 1941, World War II was in full force by the United States when Charles decided to enlist as an infantryman in the army. During his four years, he spent much time wondering what he would do when out of the army or if he would ever make it out alive. Charles saw combat in France, Germany, and Italy. Charles was wounded during a battle in Italy, shot in the left leg but recovered with a slight limp.

When Charles was done with the army, he decided to become a lawyer and decided to go to law school. It was not easy for Charles, and he almost quit law school for lack of confidence. After four years of law school, Charles took the bar exam and barely passed. Feeling relieved but still not confident, he decided to become a public defender.

Charles's problems continued; he lost more cases than he won. That's when he started drinking. Feeling like a failure, Charles found an upstairs apartment on Cleveland's west side on west 58th st. and Lorain Avenue. This apartment would be a good location for him since the bus route on Lorain Avenue would take him downtown, and he then would walk to the courthouse from the public square. On his way home, when getting off of the bus, there was a bar called Rudy's Tavern on the other corner from the bus stop. Charles started going into Rudy's every night to have a whiskey and a beer to relax. Going to court, losing cases, and stopping at Rudy's became his daily routine.

After being a lawyer for twenty years, the courts' stress and the drinking took their toll on Charles. Now, after three or four hours at Rudy's, he would stagger out the front door drunk most days. He would cross Lorain Avenue, walk over the bridge that went over the railroad tracks, never walking in a straight line, almost falling at times. The kids playing on the street would watch a drunk man trying to make it home, called him the old drunk, and laughed at him. He drank so much now that he was disbarred from being a lawyer for appearing in court drunk. Now with no job, he spent his money on whiskey and beer and very little on food.

Finally, the last straw for Charles came when the landlord visited him. Mr. Tomack told Charles; you haven't paid rent in months. If you don't pay for all three months this month, you will be evicted. Charles said, "no problem, you will have your money," and closed the door. Charles knew he wouldn't have it. He had no friends or family to help him, no one to go to for help. The apartment was filthy full of empty food cans, whisky, and beer bottles, all his trash and unwashed dishes and dirty clothes. Even feces on the floor from being so drunk he couldn't make it to the toilet.

Poor Charles couldn't take it anymore. One day Charles went down the side of the bridge to the railroad tracks and hopped on a slow-moving train to who knows where. Charles had disappeared, a 68-year-old drunk with no life and still searching for one. The landlord, Mr. Tomack, had placed all his belongings by the curb, furniture, clothes, old family pictures, and medals from the war. The whole neighborhood came to see like it was a sideshow, but it was a sad day for that old man the demon had taken him.

About eight years later, after Charles disappeared, the gossip being told around the neighborhood was that Charles found rail lines going to South Carolina and Florida and lived as a hobo. He was working odd jobs to buy whiskey and a little food from one hobo camp to another. Charles would tell his court stories around a campfire at night and decided to board another train in the morning. He boarded a train heading further south into Florida but never made it. His dead body was found in a boxcar with his demon (whisky) by his side.