Brother & Sister by Diane Keaton

Author:Diane Keaton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2020-02-03T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

BIRDMAN

By the mid-1980s, when Randy I were both in our thirties, we’d stopped sharing experiences. My success was an uncomfortable reality I didn’t know how to navigate. Instead of retreating back to the familiar terrain of my family, once again I pulled away. I sensed that my absence, coupled with such good fortune, may have caused regret for Mom, maybe even for Dad. Still, I once more convinced myself I didn’t have time to engage with their ongoing plight to save Randy.

In 1986, while shooting the film Crimes of the Heart in North Carolina, I had a day off and decided to visit the Tregembo Animal Park in Wilmington. I remember coming across a cassowary stuck in a small cage. His massive body seemed too big for such short legs. Bright-blue feathers peppered with chunks of orange stuck out from his dark-gray plumage. Unkempt and uncomfortable, he looked like he was about to topple over. As I read the brief description outside his tiny enclosure, I learned that in the humid rain forest the strange bird was quite adept at disappearing. I had to smile. The cassowary, I thought, isn’t so different from Randy—or me, for that matter.

Randy was still living on Tangerine Street, still unemployed, and still hoping for more publications. The screaming jets flying above continued to drive him crazy. From Randy’s point of view, Dad had bought the Tangerine Street town house to make sure he would suffer. Mom privately met with his psychiatrist, Dr. Markson. After a while, she felt comfortable enough to open up her thoughts and feelings. She told him that Jack was convinced Randy was the source of all their misery. She claimed that if he had any feelings for his son he would be more empathetic. Nothing had changed. It was as if they were stuck in an endless Sandy Meisner Repetition Game.

In her journal from June 1989, Mom described an unexpected call from Randy. Dad answered, began arguing with him, and slammed the phone down. Mom drove to Randy’s town house in an effort to patch things up. Randy, well into his drinks, confessed that he was beginning every day with a six-pack of beer, followed by tequila at night. Yes, he knew it was bad, but he couldn’t quit. Mom called Dr. Markson, who told her point-blank that Randy needed to be hospitalized and also told her where to take him.

As soon as Dad got wind of the costs at the Capistrano by the Sea Hospital rehab, there was the expected blowup. “That’s 10 thousand dollars and 80 cents a month thrown down a rat hole,” Mom quoted him. “He’s shined me on for years and I’ve had it. I’m through. He can go to work just like everyone else has to.”

Mom reiterated how much Randy needed help. Dad started yelling. She ran outside, gave it some thought, came back, and pleaded with him to stick by Randy through thick and thin. Dad, still furious, ended the conversation with “He trashed a house we own.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.