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" I want some more beer ..." Sam turned around and saw a dirty, unshaven
drunkard mumbling in coherently as he wobbled aimlessly along the road.
Shaking his head, Sam continued his way back home. Sam did not bother to
switch on the lights at home. Everyone must be asleep at this late hour, he
thought. He tiptoed into Marie's bedroom and found her sleeping soundly,
snugly tucked under her pink comforter. Sam bent over and kissed his beloved
five-year-old daughter's forehead. "Thanks, dear. If it was not for you, I
would never have turned over a new leaf,"
Sam whispered in gratitude, recalling the drunken man he saw a while ago.
A year ago, after being retrenched from his computer company, Sam felt
dejected and worried about how he was
going to provide for his family. The situation worsened when he failed to
secure a job after months of intensive searching. Soon, Sam began to indulge
in alcoholic drinks to drown his sorrows. His savings which was used to
sustain the family expenses during his retrenchment was tremendously
depleted by his drinking habits. Soon his wife, Catherine, became the
family's sole bread winner.
Catherine's efforts to stop Sam from drinking were futile. Alcohol had
transformed the once-gentle family man into a violent beast. Sam began to
hit his wife when she refused to give hi money for his drinks. Once
Catherine tried hiding his drinking bottles, hoping to stop Sam from
drinking. Sam was so agitated when he could not find his bottles that he
locked Marie into her bedroom and threatened her into revealing the hiding
place. The incident instilled terror in Marie and thereafter, she tried her
best to avoid Sam.
These traumatic incidents continued
until the launch of the "stop Drinking" campaign by the government. Striking
and persuasive posters were put up in the public to persuade alcoholics to
kick their habit. None of them succeeded in bringing Sam to his senses
except one. The poster illustrated an alcoholic man abusing his wife while
their terrified daughter cried helplessly. The slogan accompanying the
poster was: 'Will Your Children Be Able To Draw A Happy Family Again?'. Sam
suddenly recalled a poster entitled 'Happy Family' drawn by Marie for school
before he began drinking. As if released from a spell, he realized how
irresponsible and abusive he had been. Overcome with guilt, he quit drinking
totally.
"Sam, why aren't you going to sleep?" asked a concerned Catherine.
"I'm coming, Catherine," Sam replied with a smile as he headed for his
room. |
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Sam became a drunkard after failing to find a job following
his retrenchment. His savings was reduced so quickly that Catherine had to
work to support the family. Despite Catherine's advice, he persisted hi
drinking habits and even extorted money from her, hitting her when he
refused to give in. He once locked up Marie in the bedroom, forcing her to
reveal the whereabouts of his beer bottles which Catherine used to hide. The
event instilled terror in Marie and thereafter she tried her best to avoid
Sam. During the "Stop Drinking" campaign launched by the government, Sam
came to his senses when he saw a broken family of a drunkard. From then on,
he quit drinking..
( 117 words ) |
