I have watched someone die...
...sigh, not literally, though I'm wondering if that might have made this night easier.
They say everyone knows someone who.... whatever, has cancer, has a glass eye, had a brush with greatness, met a celebrity.
Well, I knew an alcoholic. And he basically drank himself to death. Three weeks ago, my cousin Billy came over for dinner.
Although he lived one town over from me and my family, you know how families can be, some branches you dont see each other often, or maybe one of your siblings run into so and so's sister and both dutifully report back to the rest of their slice of the extended family... "hey, I saw cousin X and they're all doing good".
Well [long story impossibly shortened] Billy came over for dinner, and gone was the adult I knew, here was this ravaged, anguished, rudderless soul. He had A.D.D like you wouldnt believe, could NOT sit still or stay on topic for more than a minute! It was both amazing, and scary/creepy to watch. He was fresh out of rehab and still experiencing DTs like a week later.
Words dont do it justice what his immediately family must have gone thru over the last several years. I only experienced it for about 3 hours and was left kind of numb and scared for him. I expressed those concerns to my parents. They too were concerned. Like the adage - I watched it happen in slow motion but was powerless to do something - we feared an end we felt powerless to derail, delay, or stop.
May you never have to ask your dad if he knows if his nephew has a will or one of those pre-paid funerals. I asked my dad that night after dinner, if he knew any of Billy's financial/personal stuff. He didn't.
Well Billy's siblings will be planning that funeral now. Because Billy's DTs got the better of him, and he went back into that bottle for... solace?
Billy died Thursday afternoon, at home, alone. He was 46.
God Bless you Billy!
Rest in peace.
They say everyone knows someone who.... whatever, has cancer, has a glass eye, had a brush with greatness, met a celebrity.
Well, I knew an alcoholic. And he basically drank himself to death. Three weeks ago, my cousin Billy came over for dinner.
Although he lived one town over from me and my family, you know how families can be, some branches you dont see each other often, or maybe one of your siblings run into so and so's sister and both dutifully report back to the rest of their slice of the extended family... "hey, I saw cousin X and they're all doing good".
Well [long story impossibly shortened] Billy came over for dinner, and gone was the adult I knew, here was this ravaged, anguished, rudderless soul. He had A.D.D like you wouldnt believe, could NOT sit still or stay on topic for more than a minute! It was both amazing, and scary/creepy to watch. He was fresh out of rehab and still experiencing DTs like a week later.
Words dont do it justice what his immediately family must have gone thru over the last several years. I only experienced it for about 3 hours and was left kind of numb and scared for him. I expressed those concerns to my parents. They too were concerned. Like the adage - I watched it happen in slow motion but was powerless to do something - we feared an end we felt powerless to derail, delay, or stop.
May you never have to ask your dad if he knows if his nephew has a will or one of those pre-paid funerals. I asked my dad that night after dinner, if he knew any of Billy's financial/personal stuff. He didn't.
Well Billy's siblings will be planning that funeral now. Because Billy's DTs got the better of him, and he went back into that bottle for... solace?
Billy died Thursday afternoon, at home, alone. He was 46.
God Bless you Billy!
Rest in peace.
posted by FINN @ 12:23 AM
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