I like humor.

I like how humor can relieve tension in an otherwise stressful situation. I like how humor releases endorphins and makes one feel better.

Sometimes there isn't enough humor. Like Saturday night for example.

It started out fun enough. A big group of us went to a local "sweet corn festival" for the afternoon. Before I go any farther, I'm going to make a list of characters for you to help keep things straight:

• Me, just me.
• Hubby, my hubby
• Frodo, my kiddo
• Medicine Man, my best friend since high school
• Nurse in Space, Medicine Man's wife
• Princess, their daughter, aka Frodo's "sister"
• Auntie, no relation, just a great friend from hubby's work who is now an honorary family member
• Pretty Woman, a friend of Medicine Man's who lives near Dallas
• Texas girl, Pretty Woman's daughter

Refer back to the list as needed.

All of us were at the festival except Nurse in Space who had to work a day shift on Saturday. We had fun putting the kids on rides, playing games, browsing a craft show, and eating festival food. (Mmmmm... Mini Donuts....)

After the festival, we picked up Nurse in Space who was now home from work and we all went out for dinner at Red Robin. After dinner, we all ended up at my house. Most everyone was having some drinks, the kids were playing and having a good time, and there was lots of laughter. Life seemed good. About 10pm, Nurse in Space headed home since she had to work again on Sunday morning.

Late-ish (I won't even tell you how late it was as I am embarrassed to admit having my child still up at that time!), Medicine Man starts getting a little *wonky*. He's been known to get a little *wonky* after drinks. When he first starts showing signs of having consumed a bit too much alcohol, he gets all mushy, sentimental, and deep. If the night continues, he suddenly crosses a line and becomes irritable, cantankerous, and eventually re-opens a 7 year old wound of his. Well, the night continued past the sentimental part and he started on his usual soliloquy....

The wound that is the sponsor of his occasional drunken monologue has to do with the fact that he was fired from a job 7 years ago. He used to be a deputy at the sheriff's office with Hubby and Auntie. Hubby and Auntie still work there. Medicine Man was fired after an excessive force incident while he was working in the jail. From the stories I've heard, he wasn't fired so much for the actual use of excessive force, but for the fact that he lied on a report in regards to the incident.

Saturday night we had all been sitting and standing around the kitchen island chatting and laughing. Medicine Man's voice started turning towards a familiar direction, so I walked out to the living room where the kids were and sat with them. (They were playing video games and having loads of fun - completely oblivious to what was going on in the kitchen.) His voice started escalating and I heard the diatribe start. This time he sounded so much more angry and upset than usual. I could hear Pretty Woman yelling his name. Then I heard her say a few times, "Is this normal?" I was >this close< to escorting the kids outside for a 'night time fun hike' to get them away when Hubby escorted him out to the backyard so he could cool down. Fortunately, it didn't come to blows between the two of them, but it very easily could have.

While the two men were outside, Pretty Woman sits on the couch next to me and once again asks, "Is this normal?". As she sat wide-eyed, I described how this happens on occasion with him. We talked about how much of the story of his firing she didn't know, how often does this happen, and how I think he has a drinking problem. I still don't know what was contained in the conversation between Medicine Man and Hubby, but after a bit, Hubby came in and had Auntie come outside. (Auntie had been the one to take the brunt of his indoor yelling - he was right in her face.) He apologized to her, to Hubby, and then asked to speak to Pretty Woman. He apologized to her as well.

Auntie started getting Princess and Texas Girl ready to go home. She walked them home and got them into their jammies and tucked in. Medicine Man and Pretty Woman walked home and from what little I have had a chance to talk to Pretty Woman, they had just a little bit of a chat Saturday night, but decided to go to sleep and talk more in the morning. They had a big talk Sunday morning, and then Pretty Woman and Texas Girl had to get going to the airport for their flight home. I'm waiting to hear from her about the conversation the two had. She is going to call me soon.

I know I'll be having more discussions with Medicine Man about this. I'm not really looking forward to it. But it's one of those things that HAVE to be done. He and I have had many long, deep conversations. We often think along the same wavelength. We share a history of being raised in an alcoholic family. We understand each other well. I never could've married him or even dated him because he's more like a brother to me, and well, dating your brother is icky.

Do we need to change the name of our street to Wisteria Lane? I feel like I'm in the middle of a soap opera....