Delirium Tremens

They called him "Ace," he was a fair pool player. He was 35 years of age. When he got to drinking, he forgot about pool. He was an alcoholic. He was a part-time cook in North Park. He had a studio apartment in North Park: he paid $60 a month rent for it. The year was 1970. Ace got fired from his job for going to work under the influence of liquor. He decided to get drunk and stay drunk for a few days. He stayed drunk for a week. He drank beer and wine. He got sick. He stopped drinking for two days. The night of the second day is when the "strangers" came. Ace was in a fetal position when he started shaking uncontrolably. Then he saw them. Animals one will never see in a zoo.(or anywhere else) They were animals. They were monsters. Some looked like men; but these men had horns and sharp, long fangs. Some had bodies. Some were only heads. They flew all over the room. They laughed at Ace. They mocked him. They opened up their mouths and flew right at him. He swung at them and they flew directly through him. They had penetrating eyes. They had a look of hatred and violence. He saw many of them. It was like an army of them. Some had a great deal of hair or fur. Some were bald. Some had beaks instead of mouths. But they all had two things in common: All were flying; and all were mocking him. He decided to put a stop to all of this the best way he could. He started drinking again. He started drinking beer. He drank until he passed out. Passing out is paradoxical. It is the body's own response to the one trying to kill it. Passing out prevents death by alcohol poisoning. "The drunkard turns to drinking like an infant to the breast, coming to the age of weaning, only when he's laid to rest." (anon.)