MY FATHER WAS A KITCHEN-TABLE ALCOHOLIC

11/10/2014

I love a nice drink now and again during holidays or at special gatherings. I love an ice cold beer on a scorcher of a summer's day. But I am not a regular drinker. And to be honest, I get quite sleepy if I have just two drinks of any variety. I find that to be a genetic gift. I did not inherit the desire to drink daily or often as my father and his father did.

It is not news that Alcoholism is a disease. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alcoholism/basics/definition/con-20020866

This essay is about my father. It does not reveal all of those moments when alcohol took center stage, and it does not serve to preach change. It is a sharing, as are the poems I have posted about my father at my webpage: Family First; Veterans to Factories: 1946 to name two.

In the end, I never judged my father, but instead reviewed his life, and came to understand the complexities of his life's experiences. I understood why he drank, but not until I was an adult, too. There were few to no tools available for children or families when I was growing up. That is not the case today whether one is dealing with alcohol or other drugs.

Please feel free to LIKE on the FACEBOOK icon after the essay or any of the stories presented at my webpage.

14 Comments

mary

11/10/2014 06:41:34 am

I can see everything you write! Beautiful through the pain.

Frances Drabick link

11/10/2014 06:59:32 am

Thank you, Mary....

Nancy

11/11/2014 12:16:01 pm

Oh, Fran! A beautifully written & poignant piece on such a dear man & my God-father. Thanks for sharing your deepest thoughts & difficult feelings about these bittersweet memories.

Frances Drabick link

11/12/2014 12:03:18 am

I did not know my father was your Godfather! lol Mine were Katie and Alvin...I got a cc of my Baptismal certificate from St. Mary's Church (Diocese). All of the records from Sacred Heart were handed over to them when the Vatican closed it... I had no idea that I was even baptized at SH. Thanks, Nancy.

Debbie Kirker Riffley

11/12/2014 10:53:06 am

nice article Fran, enjoyed it. Your a very good writer. Will look for
more.

Frances Drabick link

11/13/2014 12:25:20 am

Hi Debbie! Thank you for the compliment. I am so glad you've stopped in to my website to have a look around. I have a page that lists my work and those of my GUEST WRITERS, and there is a search engine to access them so you will not need to scroll down each page. Good to see you!

Becky

11/15/2014 03:26:19 am

Hi Frannie - I never tire of reading your thoughts and experiences.You're insighful and senstive with a gift of sharing.God bless all of us and the internal and external challenges we experience(d). Love ya..Becky (Horning) Siegel

Frances Drabick link

11/16/2014 01:28:24 am

Becky... You make me smile. And I love that you call me Frannie. lol I have a stats page and it shows I get around 2000 hits a month. It gives me a good feeling knowing you are there reading my work. I also have the Facebook Like icon... and have been so pleased with that showing as well. I think most people are a bit shy to leave a comment... but I am very happy to hear your 'voice' come through! And how about Debbie K. saying hello, so great... just lovely all 'round. Love to you too, ~~~Frannie

Jean Schild

11/16/2014 11:46:25 am

Sweetly sad

Frances Drabick link

11/21/2014 01:47:42 am

I am left thinking of today's children, and hope they have more of a voice at younger ages..... all it starts early on. Thanks, Jean.

Dodie

11/20/2014 09:21:22 am

Love your writing Fran. Dode

Frances Drabick link

11/21/2014 01:49:39 am

Hey, Dode! Thank you! I hope some day you can offer up something for our Guest Writers Page??? ;) Peace.

Jerry Skrocki link

4/2/2015 03:33:55 pm

Wow, powerful essay about your Dad with some chillingly strange parallels with my life.The Polish ancestry, the fact that I was also an altar boy at the Sacred Heart Church in Hudson, lived just up the street on North 3rd Street. (My Aunt Tillie thought I would become a priest). I was a Medic in the Army (Vietnam Era) and I eventually became an alcoholic. Where I differ is that I am gay and do not believe Alcoholism is a disease that you never cure. I believe it is a choice like any other. I sucessfully quit drinking in 2004.

Frances Drabick link

6/6/2016 06:54:04 am

Dearest Jerry... I just read this and I see I had no reply. This bothers me greatly that I did not reply to your deeply felt sharing. I could hug you. I hope I somehow acknowledge it somewhere. You and my father would have been good friends... much alike...and the most important was you both have profound experiences and thoughts... you two are philosophers at heart. I am glad you stopped drinking and have amazed others with your photography. Hugs to you today 6.6.16 Hudson Friend, Fran

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Hello, and Welcome!

Like you, I have many life experiences, but unlike many, I want to write about mine, and others, in poem and story. I have written non-fiction, creative non-fiction and fiction. Many published. These writings will serve as my legacy, and are my creations except for the postings on my GUEST PAGE. Would you like to be a GUEST WRITER? Contact me.

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