Yeah, I often see Wilt as an older brother (not MY older brother. God, no. Those two are poles apart. My older brother is like a cross Terrence/Mac, if you can imagine), especially in eps like Squeakerboxx, where he comforts and reassures Eduardo. But, yeah. Talking about Wilt and his past kinda makes me sad, which is one of the reasons I love the guy. I mean, if he was all happy and bubbly just because he'd never faced hardship or literally couldn't have his feelings hurt, he'd mean a lot less to me. The fact that he can go through all that, and STILL be really happy as a default emotion (I seriously don't think it's forced happiness most of the time), that shows real character, and resilience. So, yeah. That's one of the reasons that Wilt is just my favourite character on this here show.

A cross between Terrence and Mac? Man, that's sorta scary when I stop and think about it!

Wilt's resilience is probably one of the main reasons I like him so much; he is the very embodiment of that old cliche', "Whatever doesn't kill you, just makes you tougher", along with the "Still waters run deep" saying. He's come through so much, yet you never hear him complain about his past, or of not being able to do something because of his apparent handicaps. He could easily use that as a "crutch", so to speak, but doesn't. A lot of people have Wilt pegged as "weak" and "spineless", but Wilt is one of the toughest characters on tv, or anywhere, for that matter, to be able to hold up under the sort of emotional and physical anguish he's been through for so long, and still manage to have a positive outlook. His detractors would have certainly crumble under a fraction of what he's been through.

pitbulllady

I wonder if Wilt might've made a few poor choices in life in his "8 years on his own" days. He probably didn't know that such things (smoking, drinking, drugs, etc) were bad until later on in his life.

It depends on how MUCH "etc." he did, as to whether they were poor choices or not. People CAN drink and still be responsible, or they can make total idiots of themselves. With Wilt being on his own, while learning to cope with now only having one arm and one eye, mind you-for eight years, he probably did as any living thing would have done: whatever it took to survive. That might have included having to do things that were against his better judgement and character, but if doing those things meant the difference between starving and having something to eat, so be it. Those things would only add to the already-massive burden of guilt he was carrying, of course. Being from that particular neighborhood(West Ashley can scare the living daylights out of the toughest, believe me-I got lost down there back in March while seeking out a car show at the Charleston Holiday Inn Convention Center, and the only person who gave me correct directions was an obvious member of the Crips, but hey, he didn't do me wrong, so I'm greatful for that), you can be certain that Wilt was no stranger to things like illegal drugs, alchoholism and violent crime, so it's not like he would have been totally naive to what it took to survive on the streets, or that he would not have known that such things were bad, otherwise he would most likely have gotten involved with them long before that fateful game against Foul Larry. He certainly would have had access to such things and would have seen more than most of you will ever see in your entire lives. If he'd given in to drugs or alchohol(on more than a casual, social occasion), before parting company with Jordan, I seriously doubt that Jordan would still hold him in such esteem today, but again, during those eight "lost" years, Wilt probably did whatever he had to do to stay alive.

pitbulllady

I've recently started reading a Novel in my English Classes called 'Stone Cold' about homeless people living on the streets of London. One of the main characters, Link, met another young man about his age, called Ginger, about six chapters from where I am at the moment, and he told Link that smoking eases the pain from hunger, so for all we know, Wilt MAY have taken a drag at least once to see if that actually worked, who knows. I doubt he'd have been a heavy smoker though, I HIGHLY doubt that, other wise he wouldn't have been able to play basketball as well as he did with Larry in 'Good Wilt Hunting'

Yeah, that's pretty common knowledge; you'd be surprised at how many people start smoking to lose weight or keep it off, since people usually eat a lot less if they smoke. Smoking is HIGHLY addictive, though, moreso than heroin or cocaine, so if Wilt ever had done that, it would have been really difficult for him to stop. With Wilt being an asthmatic especially, even moderate smoking would have resulting in some pretty bad damage to his lungs, and smoking damage does not ever heal or go away, even if you quit, so as you said, he would not have that stamina that he still does now and would have run out of breath quickly in his game against Larry.

Since it's now been established, via the DVD commentary, that Wilt is not subject to some sort of "magical" healing processes and has to be treated by a physician for serious injuries just as we do, we can be positive that his cruched arm was amputated by a surgeon and he would have had to spend some time recovering in a hospital. It's quite likely that he was given narcotic pain medication, unless he flat-out refused any, and developed some degree of dependency on those that he had to overcome.

pitbulllady

Okay, suddenly and completely changing the subject BUT, I thought about this about a month or so ago, and only just remembered. Perhaps the reason Wilt has issues with taking off his shoes and/or socks is because has Athlete's Foot. My Dad has it, and he doesn't tend to take off his shoes and socks either.

That's about the WORST thing you can do if you suffer from Athlete's foot-not take off your shoes and socks, since it's caused by keeping the feet hot and sweaty. Most diabetics have to battle this fungus, and going barefooted will clear it right away, but unfortunately, that predisposes you to foot injuries from stepping on sharp objects. The stuff itches like crazy, and I've never seen Wilt scratch his feet or act uncomfortable. He could be embarrassed that he has feet sorta like a monkey's!

While we're on the topic of Wilt's various medical conditions, it brings up something that's been argued on another forum, that of his genetic composition. Since we can be sure that his left arm was amputated in a hospital ER, and that he is in pretty much every respect as vulnerable to injuries as we are, it's also a pretty safe bet that during and immediately after said surgury he would have needed at least one blood transfusion, since amputating a limb, even under carefully controlled surgical conditions(and you have to remember, this was 30 years ago, when surgeons did not have lasers and such to operate with), results in major blood loss, and if Wilt had gone for some time between receiving the injury and seeking/getting medical help, he would have quite likely been really sick and debilitated by that point, making donor blood even more vital. Now, if each Imaginary Friend more or less represents a unique species, it would be impossible for any of them to receive donor blood, even from other Imaginary Friends. The only source of donor blood that Wilt would have received would therefore had to have been HUMAN blood, and unless he himself had a human blood type(which is only found in humans, by the way; even chimps have different blood types from us), it would have killed him.


pitbulllady

WILL is weird:D

Ok... First of, his name IS Wilt, as in Wilton, as in Wilton Chamberlain and second... Wha'? Just HOW is he weird, may I ask?