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Publisher’s Note: The names and places have been changed to protect those involved. While the story is based on true events, parts of the story have been fictionalized.

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Publisher’s Note: The names and places have been changed to protect those involved. While the story is based on true events, parts of the story have been fictionalized.

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Publisher’s Note: The names and places have been changed to protect those involved. While the story is based on true events, parts of the story have been fictionalized.

“Joey, I want an awpul. An awpul from the tree.  Please, Joey, pleeeease?”

Interesting Fact

In light of the Minnesota Vikings getting crushed by the Chicago Bears last night 10 to 39, did you know that Joe played football at Soldier Field?  Just one of the many interesting things that I discovered as I began my search into Joe’s life and who he was.  His football team was just as bad, actually probably worse, as the Vikings are this year.  What team and when did he play?  More to come….

The Accident

Nestled in the rolling hills of the midwest United States is the tiny town of Elmore.  Elmore is surrounded by over 450,000 acres of farm land.

The Gold Standard

While I am not an expert in the field, I took the liberty of mentioning the fact that Joe had undergone shock treatments to friends and coworkers.  Unsurprisingly, they had the same reactions as I did–

“I thought shock treatments were a thing of the past.”

“Who still does shock treatments?”

“It’s so inhumane!”

“Aren’t shock treatments illegal?”

“The Mayo Clinic, really?”

Quite the opposite of what I and everyone else I shared the story with thought, the Mayo Clinic refers to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as the “gold standard therapy for severe depression.”  Its website says that it is “a safe and effective treatment for severe and prolonged depression.” Check out the video on their website which seems to promise a solution to a lovely, peaceful life without reoccurring bouts of depression.

Modern Day Treatment for Depression

Joe had suffered from severe depression and in 1994 had undergone electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)–  approximately 10 treatments in a period of 2 weeks–through the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

It was unfathomable to me that shock treatments were still a form of treatment for depression.  Who hasn’t seen or read One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and thought that it was a cruel and barbaric form of treatment? And, especially the Mayo Clinic–isn’t that the world leader in health care?  Cutting edge?  How could one of the world’s best medical centers still be doing shock treatments?

Who is this Joe?

After my initial introduction to Joe, he started becoming a permanent fixture at most family gatherings–Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, weddings, baptisms, reunions.  Every time I went to a family function, there he was.  I remember the first Thanksgiving I hosted for my family.  My brother asked me if it was OK if Joe came.  “Sure,” I said, secretly wanting to ask, “Why?” I just couldn’t understand the relationship.  I knew he was a friend of my niece (the bride’s sister), but it appeared that was all…just a friend, not a boyfriend or romantic interest of any kind.  And, in my family (as in most), if people don’t talk about it, you just don’t ask.

It was that first Thanksgiving that I realized preparing the normal amount of food was not going to be enough if Joe was there.  At least five helpings of food–here’s helping #1, and all subsequent helpings were just as large!

And, of course, Joe had his straw–never left home without it!

Meet Joe

I’m not sure of the exact date that I first met Joe.  I think it was at my niece’s wedding, which would have been in September of 1995.  All I know is that when I first saw him, I was struck by how big he was–at least 6′ 7″ and probably about 260 pounds.  He had a striking resemblance to Kris Kristofferson.  I asked him if people told him he looked like Kris Kristofferson, and he said, “Who?”  Never mind, I thought, a lot of people don’t know who Kris Kristofferson is–I only adored him from his big movie with Barbra Streisand, A Star is Born.

Regardless, this man put away food like I’ve never seen.  At least probably 3 huge plates full of food.  And, he carried a straw in the inside pocket of his suit coat.  He used it whenever he drank his water, his pop, and not so sure if I saw him have a beer or not, but if he did, he would have been drinking it with a straw.  He told me that if he didn’t use a straw, the liquid would drool down the side of his mouth.  He said he never left home without one.  Why did liquids drool down the side of his mouth, I wondered.  He seemed to eat just fine.  I felt I didn’t know him well enough to ask, so I just left it at that.

Nice to meet you, Joe….