Alcohol
In 2012, not long after I put this site up on the net, a friend at work asked me if I had posted anything relating to substance abuse. At that time, I had not, but it seemed to fit in well under 'self-help'. Much of the material under 'substance abuse' came readily to hand- through the generosity of Dr. Tamas Peredy, for example, I was able to incorporate the material concerning 'bath salts'.
But my friend's particular issue at that time had been her deep concern about the trouble a relative of hers was having with alcohol. I put the heading up in 2012, but had a lot of trouble writing the section- not for lack of material, but perhaps because, as an ER nurse, I see so much of the damaging effects of alcohol.
The topic resurfaced recently, and I was mortified to realize in May of 2013 (the time of this writing)- that I still hadn't added started this section. I have a lot of turmoil about it, but want to make a start.
Part 1
There is no better place to begin than 1999. I was then working evenings in the ER, and had gone through several pivotal experiences which made it clear I had to join rescue- get gear and training to deal with some of the occurrences on the roadside. I wrote the following savage piece about what one can encounter on the drive home after work.
I have to apologize for the graphic nature of this piece. These ripping images evoke a deeply angry reaction in me and this is what can come of that.
I have variously titled this 'Drunk Driving' or 'Road Kill' but have never shared it before.
******************************************************************************************************
The trees drip strange fruit here.
To harvest this fruit you need a platform truck
To disentangle the bodies from the branches.
The blood runs down.
This one snuffles, his breathing noisy,
head in a pool of his own blood.
Fragments of bone drip off the guardrail.
These are our husbands, our sons,
our daughters, our friends.
The innocent and the guilty bleed the same red.
Car vs pole,
car vs. tree
T-bone, wishbone,
thighbone, neck bone
severed arteries,
strange harvest.
Wear a dashboard
or a floorboard-
new fashion in trauma gear.
And the drink and the drugs
dance on the bones,
dance on the graves.
Cuz there's always a party somewhere.
There's always some dumb fuck
ready to drink and drive,
live it up, party hearty.
Jam it into a tollbooth
or a bridge or a wall.
City or country,
the party never stops.
Run from the cops.
Party your brains out.
*****************************************************************************************************
I'd had a patient who did indeed leave brains on the guardrail- and later on the floor- and died- because this person was on a motorcycle without a helmet- and alcohol was involved. Being the person that I am, the next time I saw someone riding a motorcycle without a helmet I wanted to stop, pull them off the bike, and beat them with a stick. (that would have been a serious mistake..)
I later spoke to another rescue worker about my emotional reaction to the whole thing. The other person said- 'just think of them as organ donors'. That is indeed, a Darwinian approach, to the matter, akin to the statement of 'too stupid to live'.
But no one wants that for their children.
And, of course, it doesn't stop. Now, 14 years later, I am no longer on rescue- yet only a week ago, an oncoming motorcycle driver laid down his bike in front of me, parted company with it. The bike went forward. The rider went rolling over and over, ending up in my lane just ahead of me, as I braked and swerved to avoid him. I stopped and gave assistance til rescue came. No helmet. Face full of blood.
Why?
*******************************************************************************************************
So that's 'part 1'. Hopefully 'part 2' will have more comfort and less fury.
But my friend's particular issue at that time had been her deep concern about the trouble a relative of hers was having with alcohol. I put the heading up in 2012, but had a lot of trouble writing the section- not for lack of material, but perhaps because, as an ER nurse, I see so much of the damaging effects of alcohol.
The topic resurfaced recently, and I was mortified to realize in May of 2013 (the time of this writing)- that I still hadn't added started this section. I have a lot of turmoil about it, but want to make a start.
Part 1
There is no better place to begin than 1999. I was then working evenings in the ER, and had gone through several pivotal experiences which made it clear I had to join rescue- get gear and training to deal with some of the occurrences on the roadside. I wrote the following savage piece about what one can encounter on the drive home after work.
I have to apologize for the graphic nature of this piece. These ripping images evoke a deeply angry reaction in me and this is what can come of that.
I have variously titled this 'Drunk Driving' or 'Road Kill' but have never shared it before.
******************************************************************************************************
The trees drip strange fruit here.
To harvest this fruit you need a platform truck
To disentangle the bodies from the branches.
The blood runs down.
This one snuffles, his breathing noisy,
head in a pool of his own blood.
Fragments of bone drip off the guardrail.
These are our husbands, our sons,
our daughters, our friends.
The innocent and the guilty bleed the same red.
Car vs pole,
car vs. tree
T-bone, wishbone,
thighbone, neck bone
severed arteries,
strange harvest.
Wear a dashboard
or a floorboard-
new fashion in trauma gear.
And the drink and the drugs
dance on the bones,
dance on the graves.
Cuz there's always a party somewhere.
There's always some dumb fuck
ready to drink and drive,
live it up, party hearty.
Jam it into a tollbooth
or a bridge or a wall.
City or country,
the party never stops.
Run from the cops.
Party your brains out.
*****************************************************************************************************
I'd had a patient who did indeed leave brains on the guardrail- and later on the floor- and died- because this person was on a motorcycle without a helmet- and alcohol was involved. Being the person that I am, the next time I saw someone riding a motorcycle without a helmet I wanted to stop, pull them off the bike, and beat them with a stick. (that would have been a serious mistake..)
I later spoke to another rescue worker about my emotional reaction to the whole thing. The other person said- 'just think of them as organ donors'. That is indeed, a Darwinian approach, to the matter, akin to the statement of 'too stupid to live'.
But no one wants that for their children.
And, of course, it doesn't stop. Now, 14 years later, I am no longer on rescue- yet only a week ago, an oncoming motorcycle driver laid down his bike in front of me, parted company with it. The bike went forward. The rider went rolling over and over, ending up in my lane just ahead of me, as I braked and swerved to avoid him. I stopped and gave assistance til rescue came. No helmet. Face full of blood.
Why?
*******************************************************************************************************
So that's 'part 1'. Hopefully 'part 2' will have more comfort and less fury.