Ronald woke with an incredible hangover. The liquor from the night before had turned sour and a vinegary odor consumed him. A massive pulsating pounding in his head proved near unbearable. It was a bad start for such an important day for him. He was sitting on a goldmine- a long awaited chance which could bring about a golden ticket for his future. It was a massive catering function commissioned to him by his employer. He was in charge of it in it’s entirety and there was no limit on how much he could spend. Tents, tables, plates and flatware- a live band, bartenders and waitresses. Soup to nuts. It was his. He was anxious to prove himself. He knew, done well, it could open many doors of success for the future.
Sitting at the kitchen table he tried to sip his hot coffee- waiting for some inspiration to begin his important day. His soul felt numb. He felt nothing but pain and a heightened sense of discomfort. He had never been a morning or a day drinker. He had that discipline. He would muscle and choke through the work day, awaiting the ‘ahhh’ moment he always got with the first few evening drinks. Nothing was sweeter than the instantaneous disappearance of the pain of existing.
A sense of deep emptiness, a blinding fear of the day that waited ahead for him and the feeling of shards of glass in his head convinced him to lay down his discipline- that a mild vodka and cranberry would rid the fear and the pain. A slight buzz would make him right and he could gradually descend into a hangover. The drink was magical. Not only did it cure his headache, but it began to put color into his black and white existence. The next drink was less cranberry and more vodka. This one proved exceptional. The third drink was very little cranberry at all.
The next several days were vague, blurry in recollection and dreamlike. Waking from alcoholic oblivion and drinking desperately to return to such drunken darkness.
A few days later a call was placed to 911 with nearly indecipherable threat of suicide. Ronald was escorted, in handcuffs, by a state police to the psych ward in Clifton Springs
Rabid Squirrel Refuge 