I used to write feature articles about people and their struggles. Some stories were rejected by the editor because they were unbelievable even though they were true. Yesterday I got an email from a friend. He mentioned in passing someone we both know who is now in a mental institution. She’s been there for at least a decade. My friend did not know her story, and her story had been rejected by the editor as unbelievable. I told my friend that there was a lot he didn’t know. I couldn’t leave him wondering about her, so I told him a bit of her story. I told him in part it was a story of trying to be a hippie. It seems that lifestyle included too many drugs, and I was sure some had long-lasting effects. That satisfied his curiosity.
There was more to her story. The editor felt to fully tell her story would be an unnecessary intrusion into her life. I’ll call her Sue. I spent several hours interviewing Sue over three weeks. Sue had grown up in a rather conventional family. There were two girls and one boy. The two girls were the oldest. The boy had been born a year after Sue. The parents felt they had a complete family with both a boy and girls.
Sue and her brother began what seemingly was harmless fun. It started out of pure curiosity. They began by playing, “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” When they reached their teens, it became more. Sue didn’t know how to handle it. She was shy and somewhat introverted. She looked around while still in her last year of high school and found a commune several states away. Sue fled to the commune right after graduation. Her parents found that action unreasonable. They wouldn’t speak to her unless she came home leaving the commune.
Sue found her husband in the commune. She also found drugs. Sue said that she liked some of them and didn’t care for others. However, the drugs did help her through when the commune practiced “open loving.” As I said, Sue found her husband. They didn’t marry while still in the commune. Sue said that her husband found it difficult to see her with another man during “open loving.” Sue said that she took drugs until she didn’t care what was happening to her during those times.
That’s Sue’s story. She has to be in her 60s. I occasionally see her husband around town. He is still skinny, but his dark hair is turning gray. I haven’t seen Sue. I tried to see her, but when the institution found out I was a “reporter,” they refused my request to visit. They felt I might upset her. That’s Sue’s story, and that brings us back to yesterday’s email. I can’t speculate on the reason for her being institutionalized. I might be right, or I might be wrong. I’m not a mental health professional.
