An amends for Kirstie Alley.
Actress and “Dancing With the Stars” contestant Kirstie Alley gets a long-awaited public apology
Why is alcoholism such a tough disease to overcome? First, since 95% of alcoholics are “functional” during 95% of their drinking careers, why stop, when most everything seems to be going just fine? Second, few family members, friends and co-workers are willing to impose appropriate consequences for misbehaviors. Why seek sobriety when the pleasure of use is greater than the pain of consequences? Third, as explained in Drunks, Drugs & Debits: How to Recognize Addicts and Avoid Financial Abuse, the biochemistry in alcoholics is different: they feel “no pain” at blood alcohol levels where the rest of us are either flat on our faces, long gone to bed or praying to the porcelain gods. Why stop when they obviously don’t look plastered during most drinking occasions? Fourth, drinking and its glorification are all around us, from neon signs to movies to “the most interesting man in the world.” How can anyone stop when it permeates the culture?
Given these obstacles, the miracle is that many addicts do attempt sobriety and get to step 9 of the 12-step program, which requires that direct amends be paid to those they have harmed. It is beautiful when it occurs.
Usually, making amends is a private affair between the perpetrator and victim. However, an amends occasionally becomes public, as has just occurred in the case of Cherrie Glymph, now 57, who slammed into a car carrying actress Kirstie Alley’s parents in 1981, resulting in Kirstie’s mother’s death. Glymph admits, “I shouldn’t have been driving that night.” Because she was clearly under the influence (and no doubt got a plea deal), she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of vehicular homicide and spent about six months in county jail and another half year in an alcohol recovery center and a halfway house. In rehab, she wrote a letter of apology to the then anonymous survivor of the crash, which was never mailed because she didn’t know who he was—until now, with The Enquirer unearthing the long-forgotten account of the incident. Glymph, who long ago admitted to her wrongs by pleading guilty and paying for it (even if the sentence was too lenient by today’s standards), has been offered an opportunity to apologize to any surviving victims and, at the same time, serve as an example for others, both good and bad. The wonder of it is she has taken the opportunity: she is publicly apologizing to Kirstie. Glymph, a longtime fan of Kirstie on both “Cheers” and “Dancing with the Stars,” admits, “If it wasn’t for me, her mother could be in the audience watching her dance…. I want to publicly apologize to Kirstie for what I’ve done. I am so sorry for killing her mother. I hope and pray that one day she can accept my apology, and I can tell her in person how truly sorry I am.” Hopefully Kirstie, a recovering cocaine addict who should understand the challenges of sobriety, will acknowledge Ms. Glymph’s amends.
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