Have you ever seen a demolition crew raze a tall building? How’s it done? An iron ball — called the wrecking ball — is fastened to a chain and hurled through the air by the arm of a towering crane. The wrecking ball strikes the face of the building, delivering blow after blow. Then, it slams into the shoulder and sides of the building, causing the steel support beams to shimmy and shake, until — just like snapping a pencil in half — crack! Down she falls.
You are about to meet a man who will become the human equivalent of a wrecking ball. Meet Jack O’Connor, 39, the new director of air traffic control, O’Hare Airport. He is married to Lana, 39, and they have three children: Kevin, 16, Kyle and Mandi, 10.
Everything about Jack — big smile, white teeth, firm handshake — is normal. The only remarkable aspect is a streak of white hair on an otherwise full head of dark brown hair. As the “Top Dog,” he will oversee a massive airport expansion, which will place enormous pressure upon his shoulders. Watch him carefully, as spots emerge on this tawny leopard, for the true beast is about to be revealed.
Meet Lana, a woman whose childhood memories — growing up on her 90-acre farm located 60 miles west of Chicago, riding ponies, fishing with her Irish Catholic grandfather Charley O’Gill — have matured into a dream: having just inherited the farm, she will restore it to its original splendor. All that stands between her dream and its reality is a down payment to secure the new home loan.
Thirty days later: “Jack, its Bernie at the bank. Your loan was denied …” Slam, goes Jack’s phone! See Jack. See Jack sweat about his secret, which burns up money. How much? $289,000. Their new tri-level home, is a 10,000 square foot palace, costing $2.75 million.
Panicked, Jack thinks, “If Lana discovers I’ve lost the down payment, she will leave me.” Jack suddenly remembered that Lana’s deceased mother had left her money, held in a joint account. Jack drained it dry.
See Jack. See Jack at the track, as he bets on ponies and horses.
Four months later: The airport expansion demands increasingly more of Jack’s time, so he begins to stay overnight at the airport hotel. See Jack. See Jack party with the painted ladies of the night, as they swarm over him and sting him with their white powder venom.
Lana, Mandi and Juno, Mandi’s Husky puppy, decided to walk around the lake. When the car stopped, Juno dashed to the shore and began to bark. “Mom, what’s Juno barking at?”
Twenty yards off shore, stood a large brick structure, elevated three feet above the lake’s surface. Lana said, “That’s a muskrat standing on the original well my grandfather dug, before he made this lake. When he sank the well, he discovered an underground river. So, he capped the well and made the lake. As a child, while fishing with him, he’d row the boat up to the well, so I could toss in a coin and make a wish.”
Mandi beamed, “So, it’s a wishing well.”
One month later, Lana told Mandi the bad news: “Mandi, we’ve lost everything. Our home, the farm, all our money. I’m so sorry.”
That night, Mandi and Juno snuck out and took the boat to the well. Standing on the cap, Mandi made a wish. Suddenly, the cap shifted and opened. Down they fell, into the black shaft. When Mandi opened her eyes, she was lying on a cot, in a huge cavern, where a giant rainbow was glowing. At each end of the rainbow was a black kettle, full of gold and silver coins. She heard Juno bark, and then she saw ...
“There you be, Lass, how are you?” Her mouth fell open. A man who looked like pictures of her great-great-grandfather, stood before her. He was only 3 feet tall. “Darby O’Gill at your service, your highness. I hear you got some troubles, and I’d like to help.”
The next morning, Lana and Mandi walked to the pasture, where a new pony was grazing. When they approached, the pony raised his head, causing a lock of pure white hair to fall down his forehead. “He always loved the ponies, poor man,” said Lana.
Conclusion: Can broken family relationships be repaired? Just like a broken fence, every human relationship can be mended. But, it’s a tough road. Here’s how it’s done.
1. Lana tells Jack to leave the family.
2. Lana tells Jack the harm he caused. “Jack, you stole money, lied, and used it to gamble. You abused alcohol and drugs, had sex with other women, plunged us into financial ruin.”
3. Jack must acknowledge that, yes, he did these acts. If he refuses, or minimizes them, Lana walks away.
4. Jack must be in a treatment program for at least one year, so he can stop his destructive behaviors.
5. If Jack does all of this, Lana may open the possibility of Jack returning home.
The content of this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for treatment by a professional. The characters in this story are not real. Names and details have been changed to protect confidentiality.
Dr. Richard Elghammer contributes his column each week to the Journal Review.
