Archive for January, 2008
Jim Leyritz, Baseball Hero, Alcoholism Enabled "
and an Innocent Person Dies
Jim Leyritz, best known for hitting a key three-run homer in the 1996 World Series, drove off in his 2006 Ford Expedition at 3 a.m. after celebrating his 44th birthday in a Fort Lauderdale bar. Fredia Ann Veitch, who had just left her late-night shift at a steak house, didn't stand a chance when Leyritz ran a red light and broadsided her 2000 Mitsubishi Montero, causing it to flip. The 30-year-old single mother of two was ejected and died shortly after. Leyritz reportedly had "red, watery eyes, a flushed face and an odor of an alcoholic beverage" and refused a Breathalyzer at the crash scene after failing several field-sobriety tests. ...
A mass murderer, some accidental (alleged) arsonists and several actors
Runners-up for top story of the month:
Robert Hawkins, 19, who shot and killed eight people including himself at Westroads Mall in Nebraska on December 5. As usual, everything except his obvious drug addiction was blamed--which serves as an excuse to authorities for not having appropriately intervened. Diagnoses from various mental health professionals included schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. Yet Hawkins had a history of alcohol and other-drug violations, including being a minor in possession of or dispensing alcohol and being a minor in possession of an open alcoholic container. He was charged with intent to deliver a controlled substance and found guilty of disorderly conduct (which almost always involves heavy use of ...
A top CEO shows indications of alcoholism: Sallie Mae’s Albert Lord
Under watch:
Sallie Mae's Chief Executive Albert L. Lord, cagily declining to properly respond to a number of questions in a conference call from investors about the student-loan company's finances and strategies. Reacting to investors' anger, he pledged to answer many of the dodged questions at a meeting in January and promised, "I can assure you, you will be going through a metal detector," an implicit acknowledgement that their wrath could turn lethal. He ended the call saying, "Let's go. There's [sic] no questions. Let's get the [expletive] out of here." Lord recently sold 97% (over 1.265 million shares) of his company stock, against which he had borrowed and apparently faced a margin call as the value of his holdings declined. ...
The U.S. government acts as codependency to Kim Jong Il–again
Co-Dependent of the Month:
The U.S. Government, for allowing North Korea's alcoholic despot Kim Jong Il to blow another "important" deadline--this time, to report details of the dismantling of its nuclear program. We need to remember that when dealing with alcoholics, lines must be drawn--and promises must be kept. (Note to readers: until I understood that alcoholics are, when using, capable of "anything," I was a died-in-the-wool isolationist libertarian. An understanding of alcoholism makes one question that idea in an age of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.)
Enabling kills Bowman; let’s hope Dolly learns a lesson.
Enablers of the Month:
Country-western goddess Dolly Parton, 61, for defending her drunk brother, and Roanoke Rapids, N.C. , for allowing a drunk to help destroy the financial fortunes of a theatre. Dolly said Randy Parton, 54, who lost his job after allegedly showing up drunk before a scheduled performance at the $21.5 million city-owned Randy Parton Theatre, was a scapegoat for its failure. Yet, he was reportedly intoxicated at a number of recent performances and had been using profanity on-stage ("regularly uses foul language" is clue # 2 in the chapter, "A 'Supreme Being' Complex" in How to Spot Hidden Alcoholics). He is also accused of using theatre money to buy booze and, we might surmise, lots of perks. The ...
Now this is disenabling!
Disenabler of the month:
Jane Hambleton had two rules for her 18-year-old son and his car: "Keep it locked, and no alcohol at all." When she discovered alcohol under the seat of his car, she took out an ad that read: "OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet." And she kept her promise: the car sold.
Taunters and meth-heads
Victim of the month:
The San Francisco Zoo, where a 350-pound Siberian tiger jumped over a fence and killed Carlos Sousa, Jr. , and injured his two friends, Paul and Kulbir Dhaliwal. Authorities found an empty bottle of vodka on the front seat of the car the trio had driven to the zoo and suspect the three may have been taunting the tiger. Attorney Mark Geragos, who has represented many others suspected of alcoholism, including Bill Clinton's former business partner Susan McDougal, Wynona Rider, Michael Jackson and Scott Peterson, is representing the survivors in a suit against the zoo.
Question of the Month:
Antonio Llerenas, 24, was arrested after he dangled a baby over a second-floor motel railing in Sylmar, California, because the ...
Alcoholism created figure skater Christopher Bowman and rock-n-roller Ike Turner
Sometimes, it takes an addict:
U.S. figure skating champion Christopher Bowman, found dead at a budget motel in the San Fernando Valley from "unknown" causes. Bowman, a former child actor who had a part in "Little House on the Prairie" for one season, won the U.S. men's figure skating titles in 1989 and 1992 and won spots in the Winter Olympics in 1988 and 1992, where he finished fourth. A fellow Olympic champion said Bowman was one of the three most talented skaters of all time and could turn on a crowd in seconds, describing him as a natural athlete with extraordinary charisma. Yet, training was a challenge because practice didn't interest him, while drugs did. He went to rehab at ...
The common thread between writers, actors and con artists: an ability to connect, often rooted in alcoholism
Alcohol and the Writer
Why are a disproportionate number of writers, actors and con artists alcoholics?
Donald W. Goodwin, M.D. wondered why so many writers, way out of proportion to the overall population, have been alcoholics. In his little 1988 book, Alcohol and the Writer, Goodwin presents brief biographies of seven great alcoholic writers. Piecing their stories together (and, along the way, providing peripheral looks at numerous others), Goodwin concludes that alcohol can provide inspiration and facilitate creative thinking conducive to great writing. He also figures that since writers are "loners" and alcoholics are individualists, alcohol and writing inexorably go hand in hand. He posits that both can produce trancelike states, alcohol promotes fantastic thinking required for creative writing, and alcohol helps ...
Who’s the party girl?
Company Party
Dear Doug:
My wife works for a company that hosts a large Christmas dinner party that turns into a drunk fest. The boss buys repeated shots for everyone. I have become disgusted with the incredibly adolescent behavior and even fights. Worse, while my wife and I have a designated driver, no one else does. It's only a matter of time before someone is killed by one of the partygoers.
Each year my wife has talked about not going but always does and insists we leave last. I suggest that if we go, we enjoy the cocktails and dinner and leave soon after. My wife thinks that would be rude. What do you think?
Signed, Too Old to Party Hardy
. . . .
Dear ...
Of course alcoholics care–when they get sober.
Jim Leyritz "just didn't give a damn."
So said sports journalist Shaun Powell of Newsday.com in commenting on Jim Leyritz's decision to get behind the wheel of his Ford Expedition and drive off while obviously stinking drunk. Sorry, but we cannot know that Leyritz, or any other addict who kills, doesn't really care.
We do know the evidence that Leyritz has the disease of alcoholism is compelling, in which case consequential brain damage makes him think he is god-like and therefore invincible while under the influence. Therefore, Leyritz, like all alcoholics, should be given the benefit of the doubt: he probably cares during periods of clarity and will care deeply if and when he gets sober. As pointed out in myth # ...
A drunk isn’t shy
Alcoholic Antic-of-the-Month
Nathan Ryan Baird, 26, entered a bar in the ski town of Mammoth Lakes, California, took off all of his clothes and went to sleep on the couch in front of the fireplace in the presence of about 150 patrons. Baird was arrested, booked and released. The next day, the Mammoth Lakes Police Department received two reports of stolen vehicles within minutes of each other--a Ford Expedition and a Toyota 4-Runner, both while left idling in driveways. After a pursuit, Baird, fully clothed, was apprehended in the Expedition. Police later figured out that Baird stole the Expedition, but switched to the Toyota. After finding that the Toyota was nearly out of gas, he took it to a Chevron station, ...