IT’S A MADHOUSE HERE

Posted on March 28, 2022 by oneta hayes
mental health

Ralph sighed and gazed at pebbles between his slippered feet.  He was unusually lucid today.   The sign says, “Mental health facility” but “It’s a madhouse here” is what the residents say.  The words sting. His life, a madhouse.

Three:  Four siblings, five cousins in grandma’s house.  Madhouse!

Eight: Moody stepfather, temper control set on mad.  Madhouse!

Nineteen: Off campus house with four college buddies. Madhouse!

Thirty-six:  Brief tenure as cut-throat attorney – Madhouse!

Forty-eight:  Stock broker.  –  Madhouse!

Fifty-two:  Bankrupt, wife left, ulcer surgery, auto repossessed, phone ringing.  Madhouse!

Sixty:  Echoing in his ears,  “It’s a madhouse here.”

Too lucid today; he regressed into silence.

About oneta hayes

ABOUT ME Hello. To various folks I am Neat’nee, Mom, Grandma Neta, Gramma, Aunt Neta, Aunt Noni, Aunt Neno, and Aunt Neto (lots of varieties from little nieces and nephews). To some I’m more like “Didn’t you used to be my teacher?” or “Don’t I know you from someplace?” To you, perhaps, I am a Fellow Blogger. Not “fellow” like a male or a guy, but “fellow” like a companion or an adventurer. I would choose to be Grandma Blogger, and have you pull up a chair, my website before you, while I tell you of some days of yore. I have experienced life much differently than most of you. It was and is a good life. I hope to share nuggets of appreciation for those who have gone before me and those who come after me. By necessity you are among those who come after me and I will tell you of those who came before. Once upon a time in a little house on a prairie - oops, change that lest I commit plagiarism - and change that “house on the prairie” to “dugout on the prairie.” So my story begins...
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4 Responses to IT’S A MADHOUSE HERE

  1. Frank Hubeny says:
    March 28, 2022 at 8:07 am

    It has been a madhouse all of Ralph’s life. May he find his way in the silence.

    Reply
  2. capost2k says:
    March 28, 2022 at 4:44 pm

    Not sure how you got the title for this blog? Sweet Aroma?
    And not sure to what the numbers are referring: three, eight, etc.? Ralph’s ages, maybe?
    ❤️&🙏 in any case, c.a.

    Reply
    • oneta hayes says:
      March 28, 2022 at 10:28 pm

      Rallph is in an institution filled with chaos. He is lucid and remembering the chaos at all these stages of his life. He is remembering (too lucid) so he regresses into silence where he finds a kind of peace. His life has been filled with trouble and confusion.
      madhouse definition:
      măd′hous″
      noun
      An institution for the mentally ill.
      A place of great disorder and confusion.
      A house where insane persons are confined for cure or for restraint; a lunatic asylum; a bedlam.
      Hey, thanks for the comment. It is always good to know when I am not clear. Smiles sent your way.

      Reply

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