Showing posts with label Alcoholism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alcoholism. Show all posts

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Repost: Holliday Letters Between a Father and his Son

Holliday Letters Between a Father and His Only Son

Letter #1 From Son to Father:

"Hi Dad,

Merry ChanuKwanzMas and Happy New Year! Your Dentist keeps sending me these Dental Reminders. I've emailed back telling him that you make all my appointments with him and they should be emailing you, but he keeps emailing me, so I thought I'd just forward it along so you can either schedule one for me or remind him to stop emailing me. Wishing you all the very best!

Love,

John jr."

Letter #1 From Father to Son:

"Just remove yourself from the e mails. You would not like a father who beat you your whole life to pay for your dental work, because then you could not play your academy award winning role of 'THE VICTUM'.

John Q. Doe"

Letter #2 from Son to Father:

"I wasn't asking for a father (and even if I was, it's a little late now; I'm all grown up), I was asking for an email removal or action regarding a Dentist that you were recently sending me to and paying for; Nothing more, nothing less. I apologize if you misunderstood.

I'm 31 now, Dad. Technically you only beat me for about 1/4 of my life, but that's in the distant past for me. I'm truly sorry that it is still very present for you. I love you very much despite your sadly ongoing mental war with me, despite our past, I can't help it (though sometimes I wish I could), blood is thicker than water.

But anyways, this was just about a simple email request, not your resentment towards me or what I view as ancient history. I hope one day you can view it as the same. I have asked to be removed, but I'll try again. Thanks for responding so fast and again Have a happy New Year!

John jr

P.S. Did it ever occur to you that YOU may be acting out 'THE VICTIM' (misspelled by you)? You are acting out the role of the poor father who did everything he could for his messed up lying kid who says that the poor victim father abused him, when really the father was wonderful. Poor, poor, father, to be stuck with such a bad child. Bad from birth. Nothing the son did was the Father's fault! The Father did everything he could, but the Boy was just born bad and always was mean to the Father?

You have given me some good advice over the years (and some bad advice), maybe you should turn your eye towards yourself one day?

P.P.S. Whether you believe it or not I FORGIVE YOU for the way you treated me as a child. You did the best that you knew how to do at the time and you provided for the family very well financially. Even if you never forgive me for whatever it is that is still sticking in your craw about me; I STILL FORGIVE YOU.

Letter #3 from Father to Son

"YOU are as crazy as your mother, your both idiots.

John Q. Doe"

Letter #3 from Son to Father

"Again, your grammar is a bit mistaken Dad. Your letter should read 'You're both idiots,' as in the contraction 'You are,' rather than 'your' which refers to possession.

My mother is a teacher and a published author who has won awards for her work. She definitely has her mental faults and she is definitely a little crazy, but she is no idiot. I love her, I'm very proud of her, and the fact that you, my father, think it's appropriate to speak to me about my mother that way shows the truth of your character and ability as a father; Ugly.

As for me I've been scoring as a Genius on every Academic test I have ever taken and though I may be a bit crazy (everyone is), I'm certainly not an idiot. If you were able to understand my published works you would see that. My readers are some of the smartest people in the world and their compliments mean a lot more than the resentful insults of my senior citizen father. Your opinion of me ceased to matter a long time ago, you might as well keep it to yourself.

I feel sorry for you that you can only communicate by means of insults, but I guess that's one of the reason's we don't communicate much. Despite your venom, I'm also proud of you and the work that you've done; Building yourself up from nothing and the legacy of buildings you will leave on the earth and the pages of Architectural Digest after you go (Until they are inevitably torn down). Goodbye for now Dad. I hope next time I hear from you, you are a little nicer.

On a side note: It's a very odd and ironic feeling for me to suddenly find that our situation is now reversed; For once I am the adult and you are the angry child. You once told me that people age like wine and from what I read, you sound like Sour Grapes. That's too bad. You can say all the mean things you want, it only reflects on your character, not mine, and certainly not my mother's. Those words are wasted on me; I don't even hear them any more.

But before you die, in the distant future, (since I don't anticipate your attitude changing before then, though I pray) I just wanted to make sure I set the record straight. That I forgive you. That I love you.
Goodbye.

Letter #4 from Father to Son

"
The fact that you would respond to me proves that you are an idiot.

John Q. Doe"

Letter #4 from Son to Father

"Touche! And the fact that you write me back proves...?"

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Poem\Story: The Crazy Woman Miracle

The craziest woman,
at the craziest AA meeting,
in the craziest part of the Tenderloin,
in the crazy city of San Francisco,
prayed for me.

Or, at least, she told me she did.
I've never heard her say this to
or about anyone else
in the four weeks she's been
hanging around this particular meeting.
At first she didn't seem capable of
making logical sentences at all.
Just grunts, nods, words, eye-rolling,
door-slamming, and spitting.

Then gradually sentences would appear,
in the middle of a stream of nonsense.
Sentences like:
"He just wouldn't stop hitting me,"
and
"I know what rape is and that was rape,"
and
"The dead woman told me there is no god."

Sentences that rang of Truth, even through her
deeply ingrained inability to express it.
With each passing day she slowly became saner
before my very own eyes.
Began sitting still for entire meetings,
began listening to people,
instead of talking to air.
Began talking less,
but making more sense when she did.

We learned her name was Lorna.
I always tried to be extra nice to her,
simply because she was so crazy.
Most people didn't have the patience for her.
She never acknowledged me particularly,
or even seemed to notice my efforts at all,
until one meeting she pulled me aside,
looked in my eyes
and said seriously and softly:
"You. I thought of you the other day."

I blinked several times in surprise, blurting out,
"Me? When did you think of me?"
Not realizing that she knew I was alive outside of meetings.

"It was praying, actually. I prayed for you."
With that she walked away, her message delivered.
Leaving me with a wonderful warm feeling
radiating from my soul outward through my heart.
That someone in such dire personal need
would still pray for me, a virtual stranger,
is a sentiment truly touching.

That Lorna could retain some information
behind her solid veneer of Insanity is remarkable.
That she is now becoming a functional human being again
thanks to the Universal Intelligence behind
Alcoholics Anonymous,
that is a Miracle.

Thanks, Lorna.
I'll pray for you to.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Theory: Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) as Magickal Initiatory Organization

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the well-known "12 Step Program," used by Millions around the world for the past seventy years seems to function along the same lines as many Magickal Initiatory Organizations which have existed throughout history and still exist today. Organizations like: The Freemasons, The Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), The Temple of Set, The Church of Satan, The Knights of Columbus, The Knights of Saint John, The Jesuits, The Muslim Hashishim (Better known as the Assassins) of the 13th century middle east, The Knights Templar of the Middle Ages, The Mystery Schools of Ancient Egypt and Greece, The Ancient Mystical Order of the Rosicrucian (AMORC), and so on.

AA, like most of the organizations I mentioned, is a spiritual one. It has it's own sayings, books, and rituals, which are unique to itself. Like most other Initiatory Orders it has a progression of "Steps" or "Degrees" which distinguish where a member of AA is in the process of gaining in "spiritual progress," and the larger the degree (what step the member is working on) as well as the amount of time in AA, the more "experienced" a member is often considered by the group and the more accepted.

Again we find AA's custom of recommending that each new member gets a "Sponsor," or more experienced member who has already worked the steps, identical to that of Initiatory Organizations. This "Sponsor" teaches the new member how to progress through the steps and often decides when the new member should move to the next. A similarity we also find with many forms of Indian Yoga where the new or young seeker must commit themselves to a single Yogi or Guru and follow their directions in order to accomplish their spiritual aims. In all of these the new member, upon reaching their goal, is expected to become a "Sponsor" themselves for others.

AA's liturature emphasizes that the success of their organization in creating spiritual experiences and holding alcoholism in remission for the majority its members comes largely due to the power of the "Group" or "AA Meeting." They assert, just as Wiccans, Pagans, Initiatory Organisations, Jesus in the Bible ("Wherever two or more of you gather in my name I shall be...") etc, that when you put people together the sum is greater than the parts. Thus by holding a meeting each member gets to leave with a part of the spiritual energy which has been generated during that meeting. That spiritual energy is raised using group prayer, chanting, repetition, meditation, and the speaking of heartfelt truths. Finally, at the end of an AA meeting, the members form a circle while holding hands and pray together. This is a magickal ritual humans have been performing since the dawn of time and the tremendous success of AA as an organization (While The Freemasons, OTO, AMORC, and others report record low numbers of new members) is a testement, however small, to the power of such actions.

In summary, Alcoholic Anonymous, rather than being an anomoly, a cult, or group of lunatics, could easily be considered a Magickal Initiatory Organization which fallows the same lines and principles which humans have been practicing for thousands of years. Judging by the last seventy years; AA will only continue to grow ("The only requirement for membership in AA is a desire to stop drinking") and succeed as a more egalitarian method of distributing spiritual practices to the masses than it's forefather Organizations, Religions, and Traditions. Meanwhile the more discriminatory Initiatory Organizations (Knights of Saint John, Bohemian Grove, Pacific Union Club, etc...) will only continue to lose membership, prestige, and power, as the age of information freedom continues to dawn.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Short Script: Oh The Alchi's!

Man: "I want to have a drink."

Woman: "Why?"

Man: "Because I'm an alcoholic. That's what we do; we drink."

Woman: "I thought alcoholics died if they drank... It's non-alcoholics who can drink."

Man: "Oh, yeah."

Woman: "I love you."

Man: "I love you, too. Thanks for reminding me."

Woman: "Any time."

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

List: MY Bum/Lunatic/Drug Addict Movies!

[My Movie Picks for Good Movies about the Bum/Lunatic/Addict Life! Not in Order.]

1) Down and Out in Beverly Hills (Oh yessss!)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090966/

2) Trading Places
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086465/

3) Basketball Diaries (Good book, too. Based on a true story.)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112461/

4) Drugstore Cowboy
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097240/

5) Barfly
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092618/

6) The Big Lubowski (Of Course)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118715/

7) Naked Lunch
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102511/

8) Oliver Twist (Still valid today on the streets...)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040662/

9) Le Miserable (Ditto)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119683/

10) Easy Rider (OF COURSE)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064276/

11) The Fisher King (Quite Accurate Portrayal by Williams...)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101889/

12) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (The Bible)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073486/

13) Basquiat (Not all Bums are so Lucky, most go to jail for vandalism)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115632/

14) I Shot Andy Warhol (Valerie knows what it's like)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116594/

15) Crazy People (Okay, it's fun)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099316/

16) The Lost Weekend (Sometimes it happens...)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037884/

17) Wise Blood (Not a bum, but a searcher all the same)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080140/

18) The Dream Team (More crazy fun!)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097235/

19) The Devil's Rejects (Oh yeah)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395584/

20) Strange Brew (They are Bums, right?)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086373/

21) Shakes the Clown (Kinda a bum, at least an Alchi. Get it, "Shakes?")
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102898/

22) Sante Sangre (My family life in metaphor)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098253/

23) Holy Mountain (My spiritual path in metaphor)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071615/

24) Wall-E (The picture of Fat, Lazy, society is very accurate)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910970/

25) Life Stinks (I wish!)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102303/

26) Sid and Nancy (Too glamoris, needs more vomit, still pretty good)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091954/

27) Down By Law (Fuck, yeah!)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090967/

28) Man Facing Southeast (It's True!)
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm451252992/tt0091214

29) State Property 2 (Realistic-ish)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403537/


Honorable Mention
1) Traffic (Drugs, yo, for real)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181865/

2) Clerks (boredom culture)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109445/

3) Party Monster (yes, this happens)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0320244/

4) Bad Santa (not all criminals are all bad, truly)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307987/

5) Breakfast Club (That slacker guy you know is going to be a Bum)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088847/

6) 12 Monkeys (I feel it)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114746/

7) Repo Man (Lots of poor people)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087995/

8) Real Genius (that one guy who lives on campus at 40 is a great bum idol)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089886/

9) Broken Flowers (that's life, really)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412019/

10) Dumb and Dumber (they're bums, come on)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109686/

11) American Splendor (He's very poor, and realistic)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0305206/

12) The Craft (Hokey, but hey, it happens)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115963/

Dishonorable Mention

1) Annie (You Wish!)