Last year I published a couple of posts (the first one was DR. BOB) about an inspirational member of my son Matthew's group of friends, who has become like a member of our family. Dr. Bob's humor and sly wit is often sprinkled with philosophical lessons. Here is a brief piece about his family upbringing that influenced his life. He and his late brother Al had been living with his mother and a wealthy stepfather when he was thrust back into a life with his father and stepmother. The following is his take on that time.
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A Touch of Philosophy
Bob Roberts, DDS, Ret.
"Looking back, after 8 years of living the life of the
idyll rich and almost famous, I had lapsed into quite a snot. I had no sense of
the words Work or Responsibility.
My priorities were to drive cars fast, score
with the girls, drink beer, and maintain an image. I ran with a crowd with like
priorities. Fortunately, fate intervened at age 16 when I left for college and
all that went away permanently.
I lasted one
semester at TCU living with Pop and his wife Lora. He had said we would be pals
and have a blast if I came and lived with him. Wrong! He wanted to rub my nose
in it and get even for all the years that I was living rich and he wasn’t. He
made my life as unpleasant as he could. I did not realize at the time that he
was in a terminal downward spiral from drug addiction, uppers and downers, and
was paranoid as Hell. His practice of Plastic Surgery was falling apart, malpractice suits were filed, and he was in danger of losing his license. When
I left in January for the University of Texas [Editor: See COMING TO AUSTIN], he packed Lora and all his cash in his Lincoln Continental and fled Ft Worth
never to return. They lived on the run for a year or so sleeping in cheap
motels and sometimes the car until the heat was off.
Pop had made a
ton of money, which he kept in cash, and was rich for the first time, and I
believe this was a tipping point to a ruined life. He was a paranoid, broke old
man tied to an oxygen tank at age 60, and died at 70.
Mr. Moroney, Pater,
was seriously rich. Short version; he lost it all, was divorced from Mother,
and committed suicide at age 56 by jumping off the Santa Fe building in Dallas.
Al was interning at the
Parkland Hospital E.R. and was present to identify the body. My conclusions: I
have seen that great wealth does not necessarily lead to happiness or peace of
mind, and is frequently debilitating emotionally. My lifetime goal became to
achieve and maintain a middle-class status. In this I have, at least, been successful."
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The current generation does not have a monopoly on broken marriages, alcoholism, or even drug abuse. It seems these afflictions have been around too many years. If only more products of those families turned out as well as Dr. Bob!
Peace, love, and wisdom,
Marilyn
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