Death Challenged me to a game and I beat him back.,.. For now...

[WCGreen]

This past summer I woar my body down so much that a mild case of pneumonia developed into a full fledged bout of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Now I was in a coma for over twenty days and then took ten days to drift out completely before I could face the world again....

My game of death included Cathy Lee Gifford, Paul Newman and Joann Woodward, a few bad Cleveland Indian pitchers from the 1970's, an old restaurant in Cleveland, a trip to the mountains for Colorado, a cult like figure who almost seduced me into believing his crap and finally, a show down with Zapata, each of us bringing more and more horrible visions to see which of us would back down from the fight first....

I beat back Zapata by denigrating his attempt and played against his macho make up....

That is when I started to realize I was in deep shit here in the real world and not just in the ethereal world....

So I steeled myself, tried to keep my head on straight, grabbed my guitar ans slowly worked my way back to reality.....

[roguevalley]

1. hallucinations are amazing aren't they? Good to have you back

although reality has also been pretty surreal lately.

[WCGreen]

2. When I was coming out of it,,,

RR had died. My primary doc kept asking who was the president, and It always took me a while to answer. They must have left the TV on while I was under, deep in my morphine and adivan stupor, and so the death of Ronnie and the campaign must have confused the hell out of me....

Finally, as the fourth of July was fast approaching, I answered his presidential inquiry with these simple words, "The Ass Hole" and he knew I was back....

This is the first time I have been able to really write about the experience, it was that harrowing, and more so when I came home....

I was encouraged by several people to write up what it was like in the delusion state as an encouragement to the people on the outside that all is not as bad as it seems...

[NJCher]

3. with the exception of Kathie Lee

It might even be better than "reality."


Cher

[WCGreen]

4. I even took on this "Persona" of an aging

Laouisna dandy, complete with a deep souther drawl and a craving for anything relatd to New Orlin's...

Freaked my brother out all right.....