Played a funeral today for a guy I actually knew. Alcoholism finally caught up with him. He left behind 3 sons, I taught them all at some point. The oldest is a Junior in high school and his eulogie was a letter to his dad. He mentioned twice how his dad's alcoholism was tough on his family. I was very proud of him for being open. It wasn't really a secret, but to hear it from his son made me tear up for sure.
Anyway - off to the show. We have a healthy cast! Let's see how much they'll remember!
The sons are young. How old was he?
He was 58
I remember being ashamed of my dad's alcoholism when I was in junior high and high schools.
I didn't want anyone to come over for supper or a sleepover because I never knew what kind of day he might have that would lead to drink. It didn't take that much, either.
A lot of holiday visits, once I was in the Navy, were ruined by his drinking. He would be fine for a few days, and then would disappear one evening and come rolling in stinking drunk in the early hours. There would be scenes of remorse and weeping, and I was absolutely/resolutely unmoved by it. He had been in and out of AA a number of times.
All of that said, when he had his stroke, he was set up for the longest streak of sobriety he had ever known as an adult. In ICU, post-surgery (they drained blood by drilling a hole in the back of his head to relieve the pressure on the brain), he went into DTs.
He lived another 11 years. As defenseless as he was during that time, he also became the sweetest guy...temperate, agreeable, and a guy I wish I could have known in my earlier life.
