Jorge

Jorge is having a beer on the steps of the high school stadium around sunset. He offers me one, but I tell him no thanks ..I haven’t finished my laps yet. He tells me that he just got through working-out in the weight room. He’s a former gang-banger who is re-directing his life to focus on his health and family. He’s got a kid who he wants to be there for. Seems to be working ..he’s 29 but looks like he’s 18. He tells me he had an uncle who died of cirrhosis. I tell him not to worry ..a couple of beers after work aren’t going to set him back health-wise, especially considering he’s got the resolve to wait until he’s finished with his work-out. He asks what the liver does. I tell him the liver is like the body’s ‘detox’ center. That’s its job. If it didn’t do its job ..his beer buzz that would last a lifetime. He laughs. He tells be about his high school days spent drinking and smoking weed. I tell him about my high school days spent taking hallucinogens and smoking weed. He says he’s done that too ..but now he’s worried about the long-term effects. I tell him not to worry, I think the mind is resilient ..it’ll recover from whatever damage’s been done. I mean, look at me ..no wait, bad idea. I tell him that the nervous system does something similar as the liver ..it cleanses itself in order to regain balance for the next round of punches. If it didn’t, we’d all be hallucinating still. He laughs ..but looks even more concerned. He says he often gets flashbacks and can’t tell if they’re real or not. I suddenly feel insensitive because I did not see this coming ..and maybe wasn’t taking him seriously enough. I backtrack and tell him that memory has it’s own filtration system ..past episodes that don’t fit-in today, will weaken and either get revised or cycled-out tomorrow. I also tell him I’ll take that beer he was offering.