Rude Awakening

This morning I was awaken by someone shouting my dad's name in front of the house. It's not unusually that people would approach my parents in odd hours, asking for help. After all, they are pastors. And more often than not, I'm the first person to meet / speak to that individual, then I'll wake up my parents up...

I got out of my bed & meet this person at the gate. He said he lived with us before, so that's how he found our house. I couldn't recognise him at first, plus he said his name was David. He requested for a cup of cold water, after which he drank & vomitted just outside my house. Before I called for my mother (my dad isn't around), I probed him to make sure that he wasn't trying to trick me.

He had been wandering on the streets for days, & whenever he had some money, he would buy Toddy (Indian alcohol) and drink with some Indian buddies. It was easy to tell that he had some before coming over. What happened this morning was that he decided to go back home, but his family wouldn't let him in. He climbed into the house, which led to the family calling the police to take him to the hospital. The police, however, sent him to the 7-11 near my house. God knows why, and only God knows if he was telling the truth. And there he was, asking me to send him to the hospital. He kept saying that if we don't help him, he'll commit suicide.

After giving him his fourth cup of water, I called my mom to come down & meet him. Immediately my mom was able to identify him as Peter Lim. He did stay in my house for a while. My dad was trying to help him get back on his feet, & of course get rid of his drinking habits. Twice we tried to help him set up a business. He was good at cooking, so once he did catering, the second time he set up a char kui teow stall. Both started off well, but ended up with him falling back to alcohol.

I forgot how he left the house, but I remembered the many times when he took me out for mamak. Almost every night he'll give me a treat. At that time my favourite was Roti Sardin, so I would call that everytime. I can recall one night he said he didn't have enough money, so I need to call something cheaper. Looking back I think it was his way of thanking my parents for taking care of him & also to not use the money for alcohol.

We tried to call his family, to get confirmation of the story, but no one answered the phone. He agreed that we should call the police & send him to the hospital. He even said we should take him to a mental hospital. I made him a cup of milo & my mother gave him some biscuits as we waited for the police.

2 things I want to highlight here. 1, is that we called the police at 7.30am, & the guy at the other end actually said that we would have to wait for 2 hours for them to come, as they were changing shifts at that time. Ermm... so the police isn't ready 24/7 is it?? My mom had to call the second time at 9am. Finally they arrived at the house around 10am.

Second thing is really simple. Peter started drinking at the age of 12. And now he's in his 40's, a burden to his family & the people who know him. Friends, whatever befalls you, don't turn to alcohol & drugs. Forgiveness frees you from hurting yourself more... An occational drink is alright, but don't ever assume you're not addicted. That's where the fall begins. Surround yourself with friends who know how to have fun, but at the same time can look out for one another. Don't let yourself be vulnerable to alcohol abuse.