Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 2:04 PM
To: Marcos Breton
Subject: RE: A life squandered away, yet celebrated
RE: A life squandered away, yet celebrated
Alcoholism is a specific disease. It is an affliction that severely impairs the ability of an individual to avoid those "bad choices" that plague just about everyone who has lost a job, been uprooted or otherwise had life difficulties due to this illness. It was and is something beyond the control of people like George Best, Darryl Strawberry, Mickey Mantle, Sad Sam Jones and Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson. While there is no excuse for a mismanaged drunken life, people who do succumb to this disease deserve compassion and loving remembrance just as any other individual in memoriam.
Mr.. Bryant - Thanks so much for reading and for taking the time to write. I really appreciate it. I am in complete agreement with you on alcohol being a disease and never suggested otherwise. The quote you cite about bad choices was a quote within my column. But even in quotations, I didn't take it to mean that the man I was quoting - Leroy Chatfield - meant that literally. He was quoting a misperception about alcoholism, one that people often wrongly boil down to choices. His point was the Georgie was just as afflicted as the destitute alcoholics that Chatfield had known in his life. And I wanted to explore that idea in this column. Georgie had a terrible disease, one he couldn't even kick after he had been given a liver transplant. He died at 59, way too young for a man of his means. And really, Mr.. Bryant, your point about alcoholics deserving loving remembrance is well taken because my column was a form of loving remembrance. I spent most of the column waxing poetic about a goal I saw a quarter century ago - a moment I'll never forget. I loved Georgie even though I didn't know him and if they sold his jersey anywhere - I've scoured the internet to no avail - I would wear it proudly. He made an impression on me and I admired him very much. But I do think that you can love someone while also being honest about who they were and what they did. You mention colleagues falling prey to substance abuse? I've been though that, saw a college classmate get fired from his job at the Stockton Record because he couldn't stop drinking. I've also known family members - two dear uncles, to be specific - who died alone and estranged from their families because of the bottle. I still love them today and remember them fondly. But I remember them drunk too - and those scenes in my mind are much darker. Georgie was touched by the angels and had a gift but he also left a neglected son, battered and abused wives, policemen he hit and countless friends he let down, in his wake. His life was horribly mismanaged to the end. Despite squandered millions and a soiled career, he kept drinking. Even when a team of doctors basically volunteered their services to get him a liver transplant, he kept drinking. All of Britain rallied around him - just as we fans in San Jose had done the same 25 years before - and damned if that guy still didn't break our hearts. The doctors said drinking would kill him if he started again after getting his new liver, but there was Georgie - drinking again even as his gorgeous second wife left him. And what did he do the photographer who snapped the photo of him drinking again? He punched him. Georgie punched a lot of people. It's just who he was. Thanks again and I hope you keep reading the column. Happy Holidays.
Marcos Breton
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