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Wine And Roses

Summer and backyard parties would seem to present great times for wine and roses.    I’m a fan although I lean towards the sweeter varieties such as Moscato and Riesling.  Roses have a prominent place in my backyard.   I always go for the Peace Rose.   Love the color, and the name. 

But my childhood memories always bring me back to a movie I saw in the 1960s – “The Days of Wine and Roses” (1962) starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick.   It was about alcohol addiction with Jack introducing his girlfriend Lee to social drinking that eventually destroyed them both.

To this day decades later I still have trouble watching those great actors portray a couple spiraling out of control, especially Lee as she becomes an alcoholic.  The movie ends badly.  My early years were affected by my father's addiction - with wine and roses meaning not opportunity for love, but sadness and disappointment. 

For this reason, when I read of alcohol abuse, and opioid addiction that is rampant throughout the nation, I wonder how these families survive, including on Cape Cod.   It takes great faith and love to handle the ever-present shadow of addiction with its outreached claws and open maw ready to grab and swallow its victim – whole.  

Prayer helps, but nothing is more effective than the Christ-like people in addicts’ lives – those who never give up and walk with the burdened, be they family members or not.  Jesus cast out demons through his care and compassion. We are to do the same.  

Deacon David Pierce

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