By CHIARA CANZI Special to the Daily Press
THIRD STREET PROMENADE Wendell Mew sits comfortably on his chair guarding his belongings while he prepares for his one-man-show. He likes to book a spot overlooking the entire promenade. He likes to get there early and chat with onlookers and business owners that know him by name. He is some sort of celebrity on the promenade between Santa Monica Boulevard and Arizona Avenue. Some may recognize him for his yellow eyeglasses, others by his round, shiny head, but most recognize him by his most cherished possession: The saxophone.
“This is what I live for,” said Mew while polishing the soprano saxophone. “I love playing for the people.”
Playing, in fact, is what he has dedicated the last 10 years of his life to. He grew up in the Bay Area, Alameda to be exact. He graduated from Alameda High School and went to the University of California at Berkeley. Not satisfied with his degree, Mew wanted to challenge himself and gave a career in law a try.
“I like helping people, and that’s why I got into law,” said Mew.“I wanted to see how politics worked and I went directly to Washington D.C.”
There, Mew witnessed what he feared the most.
“Politics is all about money and power,” he said. “Being a lawyer, I wanted to always be on the side of the poor and the side of the good guys, but it’s impossible to avoid temptations.”
Temptations, Mew says, brought him close to losing the very core principles his parents taught him.
“I wanted to work to fight the crooks,” he said. “But the money that goes in and out from law firms is right under your eyes and it’s tempting, man, it’s very tempting to get a taste of it.”
The D.C. life that he so desired wasn’t for him after all. He had to make a decision.
“I had to do something that I would be proud of,” he said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 21, 2008. Read the original PDF.