蜜柚直播

鈥淭hey killed Linda?!鈥�

For decades, Linda Mendibles struck a recognizable figure in the neighborhoods around the freeway just southwest of downtown 蜜柚直播. She pushed a cart, she slept on the street, but she was someone people knew or at least recognized, even if they didn鈥檛 know her name. She was a friend, a customer, a mother.

She was 70 years old and known by nicknames like Mama Linda and Mother Mary. For most of her life, the streets were home for Mendibles, even though some people offered her help through the years.

On the morning of Oct. 20, somebody called 911 to ask authorities to check the welfare of a person down at the corner of West 18th Street and South Frontage Road.

That鈥檚 the corner, marked by a concrete bench, where Mendibles often sat and slept. She had been shot to death. By chance, she was the record-high 79th victim of a homicide in 蜜柚直播 this year.

Police have not arrested a suspect and ask that anyone with information call 911 or 88-CRIME.

Her killing was shocking to the many people who knew her, for various reasons. For one, it鈥檚 not that common for street people to carry a gun, so it feels unlikely to the people I talked with that this resulted from some sort of personal beef.

It鈥檚 especially puzzling because this was Mama Linda, Mother Mary, a woman who had rough edges, who drank, but who most of all treated the people she met with notable kindness and respect.

鈥淪he had, like, a motherly persona,鈥� said Crystal Welz, who works at the Waffle House on the corner of West 22nd Street and South Frontage Road, a site Mendibles frequented for many years. 鈥淪he would ask me how I鈥檓 doing, call me 鈥榤ija.鈥� 鈥�

Her colleague, Waffle House manager Jose Duran, recalled, 鈥淪he鈥檚 been around here since I was little. She always had her radio going on her little cart, playing music on the jukebox (in Waffle House). This was her stomping grounds.鈥�

For decades, you could find her here, from 鈥淎鈥� Mountain across Barrio Kroeger Lane and the freeway, over to Casa Maria in South 蜜柚直播. Brian Flagg, who runs the soup kitchen, said he referred to her as 鈥淟inda Chaparrita,鈥� after the song by the same name.

鈥淪he鈥檚 like a fixture among street people, beloved even,鈥� Flagg said. 鈥淪he drank and was fiery and rude at times. But you know, she lives on the street.鈥�

鈥淪he would sing and dance and provide humor and soulfulness to situations,鈥� he added. 鈥淥ne of the last times I dealt with her, someone was being a real jerk, and she jumped in and told the woman to get the hell out.鈥�

Of course living on the streets is hard. And it usually stems from hard problems.

Her son, who is now named Benijeh Navati Anasazi, told me his mother鈥檚 childhood was marked by abuse, rape and trauma.

鈥淪he was traumatized by a great evil,鈥� he said Friday at his house in the heart of the area his mother called home. 鈥淪he only survived. That isn鈥檛 called living.鈥�

He believes she is a descendant of the Cocopah Tribe, along the Colorado River near Yuma, and suffered in part because of that, too.

鈥淪he was disadvantaged as a child,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey beat out of her her native tongue.鈥�

Dealing with racism was also part of her being on the streets, he said. She not only was Native American herself but also had African American/Native children. Every group had a reason to reject them, he said.

Still, as her life on the streets played out, Mendibles didn鈥檛 like to trouble other people with her troubles.

Josefina Cardenas, a Barrio Kroeger Lane resident, worried about Mendibles staying in the dark area near 鈥淎鈥� Mountain years ago, she told me. But when Cardenas offered to let Mendibles stay on her property, she declined. Cardenas recalled she said: 鈥淥h no, mija, I鈥檓 OK. Estoy loca.鈥�

So that鈥檚 how she ended up many nights and mornings at the corner of West 18th Street and South Frontage Road, often sleeping on top of the concrete bench there, neighbors said. At night, bright pinkish street lights shed a constant glow as the traffic roars by on the interstate across the street.

It鈥檚 not what most people would call comfortable, but the light at least offers the possibility of reducing the risk.

After the sun rose, she would sit on that bench, neighbors recalled. Now it鈥檚 adorned with a memorial cross, flowers, and messages written on the cardboard that she used as a sleeping pad.

鈥淚鈥檝e known you since I was a kid,鈥� one message says. 鈥淚 would see you every day with your cart around Menlo Park. You were always kind and had a very kind soul. Never bother anyone. I鈥檓 going to miss seeing you around now. 蜜柚直播 Westside isn鈥檛 going to be the same. Thank you. You will forever be in my heart.鈥�

It鈥檚 signed, 鈥淲estside kid.鈥�

In a way, the death of a 70-year-old street person is no surprise, but, as her son said, 鈥渨e don鈥檛 accept what happened to her.鈥� No, even in a year when the killings won鈥檛 stop, we can鈥檛.