Death By Drinking

I read Cyn's blog about a person she knows that has a serious problem with drinking and I was starting to comment and then decided that maybe a blog on the subject would be better.

When I was 17 years old 5 of my best friends were driving home from a New Years Eve party. They were all extremely drunk. They died that night taking the lives of a mother and young daughter in another car. These guys were my best friends and being from a very small town, my only friends. Their deaths erased all the guys from my town my age except for myself. I could have been in that car but I had been working that night. I was a cook in a resturant and it being New Years Eve it was a very busy night. One of my friends was actually the owner of the places son.

The whole town grieved over the deaths of the boys but I have to say that I was so angry. I also knew the mother and daughter that had been killed. They were family friends and innocently driving home from a reletives home.

2 years ago my kid brother died at the age of 40. He was a severe drinker. His whole life revolved around his next drink. He never had a family of his own. He never, thank God, drove a car or had a license. He also never had a full time job. The only thing different with him and the fellow Cyn blogged about is that my brother was the sort that would do anything for anyone. After his death the people that showed up to pay their respects were the people that he had always reached out and helped in some manner. He would fix their cars, help build something, do odd jobs for, help them when they were down or whatever a sociable drunk would do. Of course these people mainly contributed to the problems that he had because usually payment for a good deed that he would do was to usually give him a 6 pack or bottle. Nice deal for payment to someone that just did a brake job on your car or roofed your home huh? Don't get me wrong, My brother didn't do the job of a drunk when it came to fixing someones brakes. He was an excellent mechanic. Once the sun went down though he was a professional drunk though.

My kid brother spent his entire adult life being crucified by me for his drinking problem. He never hurt anyone with his addiction. He didn't commit crimes or hurt people to pay for his addiction. The only hurt he caused was to need hauling out of some deep woods party after passing out by a bond fire or calling for the need of a ride home because the bar was closing and it was to cold outdoors to walk the 10 miles or so to get home or the bartender was worried because he might pass out on the walk home and freeze to death.

I miss my brother. His death was caused by cancer. It went from his throat to his lungs to his stomach and to his organs. His insides were eaten away. He didn't have medical insurance so he didn't get much medical help. He did very little drinking his last few months of life. He did his best to put up a good show though as he would carry around a quart bottle of beer in a brown paper bag and sipped it everyonce in awhile. He carried that same quart bottle for 2 months.