Repressed Memories

REPRESSED MEMORIES, OR HOW TO GET RICH QUICK


Scene I: Kitchen at breakfast, in modest home. Wife Lynn, husband Pat talking.


Lynn: “Your looking depressed to me”. “What’s wrong”?

Pat: “I don’t know, but I’m getting that same feeling I had with my previous three wives.”

Lynn: “You don’t love me anymore?”

Pat: “I don’t know, but you are beginning to disgust me just like happened with the others.? “You also are not kind to me anymore.”

Lynn: “Don”t be such a baby.” “You haven’t been interested in sex since we stopped living together and got married.” “I”m down right frustrated by this situation.” “My previous two husbands had lots of problems, but never this one.”

Pat: ”Yeh, I know.” “It is strange the minute we got married I lost all interest in you, just like what happened with the others.”

Lynn: “Have you ever seen a psychiatrist?”

Pat : “No way, I’m not nuts.”

Lynn: “Well I can’t stand much more of this.” “You either get some psychological help or I’m out of here.” “You’ve just lost your third job in two years and I’m getting sick of being the only reliable bread winner.”

Pat: “There you go, kicking me when I’m down.” “All I can tell you is that I am not attracted to you anymore.”

Lynn: “You either agree to see a psychiatrist or it’s over,”

Pat: “Who’ll pay the fee these bastards charge?”

Lynn: “As far as I’m concerned it’s a good investment” (Hesitates) “My mother says she will pay.”

Pat: (Explodes) “WHAT” “So, you’ve been talking to your mother about us and our sex problems!” “You know that witch called me a queer once?” “I’m going to kill myself, I can’t stand this.”

Lynn: (Alarmed and shocked at his threats) “Please honey, we all love you.” Please let’s the both of us go to see a psychiatrist marriage councilor.” “Mother has already talked to a friend who can recommend one that really helped a couple she knew.”
Pat: “Oh, for the love of god, OK, if you come I’ll go.”


SCENE II. A sumptuous professional looking office replete with many bookshelves, a free standing globe of the world, floor and wall mahogany paneling, some original Picaso’s, oriental rugs, a leather couch with raised head end, some recording equipment and several telephones. Pat and Lynn are sitting in a small circle with this very kindly looking man.

Kindly Man: “Well,let me sum this up.” “Pat, I may call you that. I like to keep this informal.” You have been married two months after living together for some three years. Sex was not that great when you were living together, but you thought that was because as Catholics you had feelings of guilt about living in sin.” “You also had your previous three marriages annulled by the Church because of similar problems.” “ And you Lynn you have not had success with marriage either, but for reasons that are not clear to me at the moment.” “But, with you Pat the matter seems reasonably clear.” “Pat, didn’t it ever cross your mind that your previous problems with sex might stem from a deeper root?”

Pat: “I don’t know what you mean.”

Kindly Man: “All I’m saying is that this revulsion toward your wives is a persistent thing and is not confined to Lynn.”

Pat: “Here we go, now everything is my fault. I knew she had a preconceived reason for getting me to come here.”

Kindly Man: “Not at all, please calm down, we are friends. Nothing is your fault. We are just trying to get the facts on the table so we can solve this problem once and for all.” “Let me continue the summary, but feel free to interrupt.” “You are a Catholic, right?”

Pat: “Well sort of.” “I grew up Catholic, and have been married in the Church, and of course my three annulments have been done by the church, but we don’t attend mass regularly.”

Kindly Man: “Why not?”

Pat: “I’m too depressed.”

Kindly Man: “Now we are getting somewhere.” “Were you close to any priests as a child?”

Pat: “Sure, In fact several of them tried to help me when my mother said that she was worried about my behavior when I was about thirteen.”

Kindly Man: (Suddenly comes alert like he smells an opportunity) “What behavior?”

Pat: “This is embarrasing.”

Kindly Man: “Nothing that is said inside this room leaves this room.” (While fumbling with the recording equipment) “What behavior?”

Pat: (Hems and haws, coughs nervously and finally starts to talk in a whisper) “I was caught by the school principal showing myself to another boy.’

Lynn: “ What the hell!!”

Kindly Man: “Please, please let’s not be judgmental.”

Lynn: “What the f---- do you mean, my mother was right, I did marry a queer!!”

Kindly Man: “Calm, Calm, all boys do things like this.” “This does not mean you are a homosexual.” “Now, please go on Pat, tell us everything.”

Pat: “Well actually, this was not the first time I had been caught fooling around with boys.” “In fact the boy was not really a boy it was the gym teacher.”

Kindly Man: (Seems quite agitated himself) “Pat, let’‘s get back to the priests that were trying to help you.” “What did they do/”

Pat: “They asked me to confess what I had done.”

Kindly Man: ( Some what frantic)“Yes,yes?”

Pat: “That’s it.”

Kindly Man; “Not quite my friend.” “Was it dark where they talked with you?”

Pat: “Yeh, of course, it was the confessional.”

Kindly Man: “Did the priests touch you in any way?”

Pat: “Well, I don’t know.” After the confession one escorted me out of the church and had his hand on my shoulder.”

Kindly Man: “Did he touch you anywhere else?”

Pat: “Not that I remember.”

Kindly Man: “That’s just the point, Pat , he may well have touched you inappropriately and that may be the reason you have this homosexual tendency today.” “You may be suffering from RMS!!”

Pat: (Acts shocked like he thinks he has some sort of VD) “What’s that?”

Kindly Man; “REPRESSED MEMORY SYNDROME”. “In other words that priest sexually assaulted you, you blocked the assault out of your delicate childhood mind. but all these years this invisible memory has chewed at your subconscious and secretly dictated this behavior which resembles homosexuality.”

Pat: “You mean, I may have been made like I am by the fact that I was molested by a priest forty five years ago?”

Kindly Man: “Exactly” “And , there is something you can do about such a terrible influence that led to how you feel today.”

Pat: “God, I feel better already.””But, what do I do now?”

Kindly Man: “You need to find some means of closure to get well.”

Pat: “Closure, what does that mean?’

Kindly Man; “Your mind needs to experience relief, it needs to heal, the psychological boil must be lanced.”

Pat: ‘Relieve my mind, how?’ “Will it hurt?”

Kindly Man: (Ignoring Pat’s inane remark) “The people who did this terrible thing to you must be exposed and made to pay.”

Pat: “What do you mean?” “Look I’m a Catholic and I don’t want to hurt the church.’’ “Besides this happened forty five years ago and nobody would believe me any way.” “I’m not even sure anything really happened the way we are talking.”

Kindly Man: “Of course it did.” You also have a severe case of TDIDMAF ,traumatic depression induced by discovering mistrust in an authority figure that you and your mother trusted implicitly.” “In addition, did you know that one of the priests that was in your parish at the time you describe was in fact recently accused of sexually abusing a boy of your age?”

Pat: “No, I had no idea such a thing happened.” “Cripes he must be 100 by now.”

Kindly Man: “Well, it did,and coincidently I have a record of it here.” (He pulls out a five inch thick three ring notebook and thumbs to a tab in the middle.) “The priest is still alive, although he is eighty eight years old.” He has actually admitted to the other charges or at least he has said he thinks he may have placed his arm around some boys shoulders, even though he is a little confused.”

Lynn: “Sir,what is in this for us?”

Kindly Man: “A very good question my dear.” “Look I know this lawyer who is a good friend of mine.” “He is an honest and compassionate gentlemen. If you wish I will call him and see if he can be induced to help you regain control of your life.”

Lynn: “Yes, we like that.” “Do you mean sue the church for money.”

Kindly Man: “Lynn, the money is secondary, we are trying to put Pat back in touch with his deep psychological needs.” “If money happens to come from these activities that is irrelevant.” “The important thing is for Pat to be cured.”

Lynn: Of Course, but how much money might we get?”

Kindly Man: (Snap answer)“Between five and ten million.”

Pat: (Somewhat confused) “But I don’t want to hurt the church.”

Kindly Man: “Certainly not.” “They are super rich and won’t even miss the money a good jury will award.”

Lynn: “ That makes me feel a lot better”. “OK, now what?’

Kindly Man: “I’ll call my friend and beg him to help us.” “You go home now and think about that horrible experience with the trusted priest.” “I’ll get back to you later today.”

Lynn and Pat are ushered quickly out of the psychiatrists office and as soon as the door closes the Kindly Man grabs one of his phones, hits the speed dial and almost immediately a voice from the other end says Z.------- Attorney at-----

Kindly Man: “Zig, it’s me Nate.” “I got another one with repressed memory rejuvenation” . “I’ll fax you the details.” I get the usual 15% right?” “It’s a great case.” “His church owns three schools, three churches, some major valuable property in downtown LA and has already been accused of child molesting and coverup by the higher authorities.” “What makes this a sure thing is that the bishop brought this priest to visit me and I had no trouble getting the old guy to find his repressed memories.” “I doubt he really ever did anything, but since I’m not sure and he is completely confused, we have a great situation.” “This all happened 40 years ago, but I am sure we can get the state to roll back the 3 year statutes of limitations because this is now a heavily left wing liberal area with a deep seated dislike for the Catholics.”

Voice: “Sure, You are a wizard with these repressed memory cases.” “I don’t know how you do it.” “Is it OK if I work from my chateau in--------.” “I need a vacation.” “My third wife insists and boy is she stacked.”

THE END