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Monday, April 4, 2016

C IS FOR COCAINE, OR IS THAT CIGAR, OR IS THAT CANCER?

“I have found little that is 'good' about human beings on the whole. In my experience most of them are trash, no matter whether they publicly subscribe to this or that ethical doctrine or to none at all.”  
 - Sigmund Freud


Freud stroked his chin beard.  "Young man, I asked you -- what is the first thing you think when I say C?"

"Cancer" I said quickly and went cold.  

The word seemed to hang in the air in glowing neon.

Man, he suffered with 34 operations over long years struggling with that disease.

"Ah, no! I meant cigars," I sputtered in a panic, immediately making things worse.

I groaned inwardly.  

He had tried to quit to stave off cancer but never could despite his knowledge of psychology. 

He had quit for over a year but finally went back to it full time.

My mind groped blindly for something else to say.  "I mean cocaine." 

Ever have one of those times when the more you tried digging your way out of a hole, you only dug yourself in deeper?

Freud loved cocaine so much that he discussed it openly with his fiancé, and performed experiments centered on cocaine with himself as the subject. 

It took long, painful months to wean himself off it.

Freud pursed his lips. 

"You are a veritable walking parapraxis, young man.  

You resent what you perceive as my disapproval of your idol and so your unconscious lashes out at me in what you believe will hurt me."

I sighed, 

"Perhaps, I wanted so badly NOT to hurt you with those C words, they were the only things that leapt out at me."

Freud gave me an Apache face and said, “Where id is, there shall ego be.”  

He cocked his head at me expectantly.  "Shall we proceed to D?"


37 comments:

  1. I am lovin' these conversations. A superb idea. Thanks so much for another great post. Luckily, I don't have to dig myself out of a hole too often and even luckier, none of Freud's three words would ever trip me up :) Have a lovely day.

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    1. When younger, I was always putting my foot in my mouth! Foot In Mouth disease I called it.

      No, cigar and cocaine are not problems with me, but I have had 3 cancer surgeries on my face. Ouch!

      I am glad you are enjoying my posts. :-)

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  2. Hi Roland .. yes .. we all fall in the holes we start digging for ourselves ... I feel for anyone with any of your 'C's ... thankfully they haven't touched me ... and I can take in a new word 'parapraxis' ... Wishing you well with your A-Z .. C for cheers - Hilary

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    1. And Cheers to you, too, Hilary -- and comfort when you need it. :-)

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  3. I can't stop laughing, thanks for beginning this morning with the gift of laughter. D is for Drinking and Drugs, or Dead from either. I'd like to Dance around D, or take a seat, be quiet and read, watch, listen. Sit this D out.

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    1. Thanks, Robert. I tried to make this amusing and educational at the same time. So very glad you liked it. You will enjoy the D day I think. :-)

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  4. Oh yeah, it happens to often I'm afraid! Great post! 😊

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    1. I was given a plastic foot one Christmas by my friends as a gag joke since I put my foot in my mouth so often!

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  5. I slipped on Freud. VERY NICE!

    Welcome in the letter "C"... thank you!
    Jeremy [Retro]
    AtoZ Challenge Co-Host [2016]

    Stop over and find a free "SIX STRINGS: BLOGGING AtoZ CHALLENGE" Here: http://www.jmhdigital.com/

    HOLLYWOOD NUTS!
    You know you want to know if me or Hollywood... is Nuts?

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    1. LOL. Thanks for including me in the latest SIX STRINGS!

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  6. Great post, Roland - love 'Apache face'!

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    1. Look at the face! That stern, dissecting glare. :-) Glad you liked the term.

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  7. That quote comes over a wholly arrogant :). Most interesting conversation - that hole just got deeper and deeper and deeper didn't it.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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    1. It does make you wonder about the nature of his clients and his own nature, doesn't it?

      Yes, that hole has often gotten deeper and deeper for me! Thanks for liking my post!

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    2. I do like your posts ... and even more your novels. As for digging holes ... this had me laughing, and I need to laugh today.

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  8. It's like riding a bike and seeing a rock or a hole in the road up ahead. No matter how hard you try, you still hit it.

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    1. Isn't that the truth. I took more falls as a boy learning to ride a bike. Ouch!! And oh, my twigs and berries!

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  9. I'm always amazed at Freud. When I read about him I wondered why he spent so much time trying to figure out mankind's psyche when he didn't like mankind at all?

    "Where id is there shall ego be!" What a statement.

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    1. Yes, perhaps Freud was trying to understand himself better more than trying to help others? And he did have a way with words at times. Other times his words just gave Mark Twain's mind the "Whim-Whams!"

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  10. I love this series of yours, Roland. Though I disagree with Freud on much, there really is a lot we see eye to eye on. Great man in so many ways. I'll be looking forward to the rest of your April posts.

    Thanks so much for the visit over at Life In Dogs , and for the beautiful comment. I hope you don't mind; I used it (duly attributed and linked) to introduce my C post... It was perfect :)

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    1. Abigail Adams and Carl Jung both amazingly wrote this sentence: "I have known many great men; none of the good."

      Thanks for quoting me and Mark Twain on your blog and pointing the way back to mine. :-)

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  11. Oh, Siggy baby, I don't even know what to say. You are too much!

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    1. Wait until you get to my W post; it is both sad and appalling at once. :-(

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  12. I was 20 and enamored of Freud's Interpretation of Dreams. Can't say at that pristine age that I knew anything personal about the man. Didn't know he didn't really like people. And then there's Abigail Adams and Carl Jung. But I still believe man/woman is inherently good.

    I always find something very interesting when I visit your place that puts me in ponder mode. :) And you always write something wise and perceptive on MY posts! Have a great A to Z week. I'll be popping in, for the fun and the wisdom ...

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    1. I was at the same age when I bought and read everything I could find by Freud -- usually in very small print -- luckily my eyes were keener back then!

      I believe most of us want to be good but somehow along the way, many became wounded and some feral. :-(

      I am glad you like my posts and the comments I leave on your fascinating blog.

      The ghost of Mark Twain will be back, along with Carl Jung and Rudyard Kipling further down the line. :-)

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    2. Oh, and C.S. Lewis, too. I wanted to shake up the mix a bit. :-)

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  13. It's interesting learning more about Freud from these posts. I didn't realize he had such a troubled existence, but knowing he was stoned on cocaine really explains some of his theories!

    Great post as always, Roland.

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    1. As the posts progress, Freud is illuminated more and more -- and not always to his credit!

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  14. Hi, Roland,

    Glad I dropped in today. I just had to say HI... I am not blogging as much lately with so much going on... as usual ... life...

    Really enjoyed the banter. Nicely done...

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    1. I was just wondering about you and if you were still pursuing your writing dream.

      Meilori's and its ghostly customers have almost become real to me! My kitten, Midnight, keeps telling me the ghost of H P Lovecraft scares him while I am gone on my blood runs! :-)

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  15. Your conversation with Freud about cocaine reminded me of how LSD was once legal and administered by psychiatrists. But what had been a good therapeutic tool (apparently) became corrupted and abused. Isn't that always what happens with us clay-footed humans?

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    1. I distrust all new miracle medications. My best friend contracted breast cancer when the new wonder hormone drug was later discovered to be a cancer causing.

      Experts think they know ... and are often wrong. Scary. Thanks for visiting and staying to talk a bit! :-)

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  16. did freud really have such a low opinion of all humans? himself included I guess!

    Zannie rose
    A-Z visitor

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    1. Zannie, he seems to have a dour opinion of most people. Tomorrow's post starts off with another such quote from his writings.

      The more I study great men, the more I find they seldom are good. :-(

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  17. Again, very clever, and Mr. Quantum also wanted you to know he's enjoying this series. Sam is one of his favorite people.

    Fim

    https://Fimnorawestcaw.wordpress.com

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    1. Tell Mr. Quantum that Samuel is one of my favorite people, too, which is why I put him in four of my novels. Look at the video right beneath my header to see two of them! :-)

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