Born With a Rusty Spoon: Episode 65
..."What denomination are you, Mr. Anderson?" He pretended not to understand and she repeated, "What church affiliation?" He looked at her through blurry eyes as he considered his answer.
"None," he responded in a sodden voice, "I'm a heathen."...
Artist Bertie Stroup Marah continues her autobiography.
Around this time, although my own marriage was in growing turmoil, with Larry's angry outbursts more frequent and volatile, I still tried to help intercede in my folks' problems. Gloria said it was like they were a little train that kept running off the tracks. I kept setting them back on and then they would take off again, full steam ahead, chugging out of control.
Their fights escalated along with RG.'s drinking. He finally got completely out of hand and became a monumental pain in the ass. For the first time ever I sensed that Mama feared what he might do in his drunken state. He would not listen to her or Reita and became combative when they tried to reason with him. He had been on a two-week bender and had eaten so little during that time that he was very weak. Mama was drinking very little at the time, probably because of the seriousness of P.G.'s condition.
Mama was at her wits end. Because P.G. was more inclined to listen to me, she enlisted my help to get treatment for his alcoholism. She did not go with us to their house to get him because she figured her presence would only incite him. I took off work and met Reita, who lived in Mesa on her sheep ranch. We hoped to be able to convince P.G. to go to the Veterans' Hospital in Grand Junction. Imagine our surprise when he readily accepted the suggestion. I referred to his "drinking problem" when I approached him, saying he needed some help with it. He made no protests as Reita and I helped him from the couch out the door and into the car. We drove him to the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital the admitting nurse was the first one to use the term "alcoholic" when referring to his "drinking problem."
His sense of humor survived his broken condition and helped us through the heartbreak of checking him into the hospital. The admitting attendant held a clipboard and pen and she asked a series of what are known as "intake" questions.
"What denomination are you, Mr. Anderson?" He pretended not to understand and she repeated, "What church affiliation?" He looked at her through blurry eyes as he considered his answer.
"None," he responded in a sodden voice, "I'm a heathen." He expected a reaction to his lie, but got no response. He gave humor another try when she tried to find out if a doctor was following his case.
"Is anyone following you?" she asked.
He struggled to focus his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "Just the cops!"
Reita, who had been saturated with pity for him, hurried to the hallway to hide her laughter.
The real test came when the lady explained that P.G. would have to sign the statement that he was seeking treatment for alcoholism. He did so without hesitation.
The three-week stay in the hospital to "dry out" was effective and P.G. remained sober for a few months. He did not swear off completely but he never again got completely out of hand with his drinking and Mama never worked in a bar again.
**
To buy a copy of Bertie's wonderful book please visit
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Rusty-Spoon-Artists-Memoir/dp/1935514660/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1282226141&sr=1-1-fkmr0
To see some of her pictures click on
http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=bertie+stroup+marah+pictures&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=5vpkTNykBtKR4gbsgJmWCg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQsAQwAA
