TPC
Wrenching Dad
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2007
- Messages
- 30,435
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I started to see a decline in my friend Mullet Jim a couple years back.
He developed a 100 mile stare while I talked to him, became combative all the time, lost weight and drank heavier and was no fun anymore.
At one time Jim was one of those people that was fun to have along. He liked to do anything and was always helpful and supportive. For years he cooked for Club Med and would always handle the cooking on RV trips. A good mechanic and always jumped in cleaning up or setting up camp.
I figured he was having strokes because of his defeated look and headaches.
Jim's downward spiral got him in the habit of leaving the rest room water running and forgetting to flush the toilet. That became a real problem. We couldn't invite him on RV trips. He ran all the water out.
He lost his job for calling in sick all the time and hung out at a bar just steps away from his front door.
The bar was empty one day except for me Jimmy, my wife and her nurse GFs watching sports.
I walked into the restroom as Jimmy walked out and the urinal was filled with blood.
I told the wife and the nurses went in and the confirmed it was blood.
They confronted Jimmy and as usual he got angry, said nothing and stormed out.
About a month later his roommate found him dead, he had been dead for several days. HAZMAT had to remove his body and the bed and carpeting and his roommate got stuck with the bill.
We learned Jim had got his prostate cancer diagnosis years ago, early, treatable stage and chose to ignore it and kept it quiet.
When the free clinic Dr gave him 2 months to live, he spent his last money from his cashed out 401K on 2 months rent and booze and died with $40 in his wallet. Sure enough, he died 2 months after the final diagnosis.
His brothers showed up the day after he died and one was convinced Jimmy had serious money stashed away and all his friends were suspect.
Jimmy made $16 bucks an hour repairing circuit boards, always had a steep bar bill, paid his rent and bills and NFW he had any spare cash.
A sad, pathetic ending that didn't have to happen.
Another friend had colon cancer same time as I did. Bob is the guy leading Huel Howser around in the Lindbergh light episode.
One year Bob was a Jejovas Witness, then the next a Scientologist, then he’d be a Tony and Susan Alamo disciple.
He went snake oil treating it with turmeric, nuts and fruits and spun outta life like Jimmy.
Friend Steve wife Terri was a runway model 10 with a compassionate heart of gold. Her chemo was nearing the halfway mark, markers and tests showed the cancer in remission so she quit chemo and went snake oil. Extract of Licorice root and garlic oil.
Died 11 months later.
I miss them all.
He developed a 100 mile stare while I talked to him, became combative all the time, lost weight and drank heavier and was no fun anymore.
At one time Jim was one of those people that was fun to have along. He liked to do anything and was always helpful and supportive. For years he cooked for Club Med and would always handle the cooking on RV trips. A good mechanic and always jumped in cleaning up or setting up camp.
I figured he was having strokes because of his defeated look and headaches.
Jim's downward spiral got him in the habit of leaving the rest room water running and forgetting to flush the toilet. That became a real problem. We couldn't invite him on RV trips. He ran all the water out.
He lost his job for calling in sick all the time and hung out at a bar just steps away from his front door.
The bar was empty one day except for me Jimmy, my wife and her nurse GFs watching sports.
I walked into the restroom as Jimmy walked out and the urinal was filled with blood.
I told the wife and the nurses went in and the confirmed it was blood.
They confronted Jimmy and as usual he got angry, said nothing and stormed out.
About a month later his roommate found him dead, he had been dead for several days. HAZMAT had to remove his body and the bed and carpeting and his roommate got stuck with the bill.
We learned Jim had got his prostate cancer diagnosis years ago, early, treatable stage and chose to ignore it and kept it quiet.
When the free clinic Dr gave him 2 months to live, he spent his last money from his cashed out 401K on 2 months rent and booze and died with $40 in his wallet. Sure enough, he died 2 months after the final diagnosis.
His brothers showed up the day after he died and one was convinced Jimmy had serious money stashed away and all his friends were suspect.
Jimmy made $16 bucks an hour repairing circuit boards, always had a steep bar bill, paid his rent and bills and NFW he had any spare cash.
A sad, pathetic ending that didn't have to happen.
Another friend had colon cancer same time as I did. Bob is the guy leading Huel Howser around in the Lindbergh light episode.
One year Bob was a Jejovas Witness, then the next a Scientologist, then he’d be a Tony and Susan Alamo disciple.
He went snake oil treating it with turmeric, nuts and fruits and spun outta life like Jimmy.
Friend Steve wife Terri was a runway model 10 with a compassionate heart of gold. Her chemo was nearing the halfway mark, markers and tests showed the cancer in remission so she quit chemo and went snake oil. Extract of Licorice root and garlic oil.
Died 11 months later.
I miss them all.
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