Later that night, John watched an old episode of The Twilight Zone called Walking Distance. It was about a man in his 30’s who wandered back into his old hometown to find that he had gone back in time to his childhood, where he observed a younger version of himself. The point of the story was that although we can’t literally go home again, we can find ways to revisit the things we found peaceful and comforting about home in our adult lives. John felt like he was beginning to find this peace.
Later that evening John got a call from a local radio show host named Jeff Phillips who hosted a show called Talk of the Tri-Cities. He wanted John to come on the show to talk about a book he had written about the early deaths of prominent comedians including John Belushi and Chris Farley, and John was flattered as well as intrigued just to be asked. He spent the rest of the evening preparing some of his thoughts for the interview, and went to bed that night thinking of what a pleasant and revealing trip this had turned out to be,
Later that morning he arrived at the studio and met the host, who was a gregarious man in his 40’s who shared John’s love of comedy. They immediately hit it off, and they talked for the next half hour on the air about comedy and laughter and how it all related to John’s work as a therapist. The conversation was interrupted however when someone called in midway through the interview to ask John a question about his father.
“Yea hey John, this is Tom from Richland,” the caller explained. “Was your father Patrick by any chance?”
“He sure was,” was John’s reply.
“Well listen, I want to tell you something. You guys are sitting here talking about comedians that have died young, and I guess what I wanted to say was that a person doesn’t have to be famous to fit this pattern. I knew your dad pretty well John, and he was the same kind of guy, laughing and drinking his way to an early grave. I’m not trying to be a jerk here, I’m just saying that all of this happens to every day people as well.”
“You’re right about that Tom,” was John’s response. “Thank you for reminding me.”
As the interview concluded John thanked Mr. Phillips and began the drive back to his old house. He thought about that call regarding his father and the implications of what the caller had said regarding his own life. Self destruction most certainly happened in everyday lives, and the caller had reminded John that some of this self destruction was a part of his personal template.
He called his mom and asked her if she could meet for a drink, and she was more than happy to oblige. They met at a little place called the The Towne Crier, where once upon a time as a young man John had worked as a bartender. He had his first legal drink as an adult here, and as part of his reunion tour he felt it was only fitting he revisit this place where his drinking career had began.
His mom was already waiting for him when he arrived, and she had a few choice words for him about mentioning her during the interview, which he had specifically promised her he wouldn’t do. They had a couple of beers and talked over the interview, and she and John discussed how strange it was to hear a stranger bring up her deceased ex-husband on a radio show so many years after the fact.
As the evening wore on, his mother suggested that they leave, but John had other ideas. A couple of his old friends had recognized him, and had sent a round of drinks to the table as a way of saying hello. Having distanced himself from his hometown for most of his life, he was pleasantly surprised to find that people still remembered him. John tried to remind himself that hanging around the bar all night could lead to some unwanted consequences, but he was too caught up in the moment to fully consider that at this juncture in the evening.
Bidding adieu to his irritated mother, John made his way over to the bar to say hello. Talking to his old friends, he realized that people did in fact know he was a writer now, and he spent some time catching up with people and regaling them with tales about his life in Chicago. Soon he was shooting pool and buying rounds for the small crowd that had joined he and his friends, and as the hours passed, he felt like a 21-year old kid again.
As the evening progressed, word got around that John was a well known writer, and he had attracted the interest of an attractive girl at the bar who was at least 10 years younger than he was. Somewhere around the 5th shot of the night she began touching and kissing John, and he found himself enjoying the benefits of his newfound popularity. John would have perhaps made a very bad decision had he not gotten a call from Stephanie at 2 O’clock that morning informing him that Dr. Paul had passed away earlier in the night.