Expert: Carl Fuglein - 1/2/2008

Question
Mr. Fuglein, I have a bit of a peculiar question for you that I was wondering if you might be able to help me with.

My husband and I have been married now for 47 years. We are both retired, my husband having been a professional for a number of years that retired from his longstanding profession some two years ago with no history of mental illness or drug/alcohol abuse.

He has been a fine husband throughout our marriage-well reserved, warm and loving, my true love from day one of our marriage. Up until his retirement two years ago, Jack had consumed perhaps a dozen alcoholic beverages throughout our married years. We certainly never attended bars or alcoholic establishments over our lifetime together, nor do any our grown kids to this day, two of which are married and in their 40's now.

Ever since his official retirement, Jack has stayed up later and later into the night. About a year ago, he talked me into staying up with him to watch an older movie called the "Blues Brothers" together with him late one night.

A day or two later he went out to buy the film on video and seemed to display some odd behavior originally by continually watching and rewinding a scene where a gentleman performs a song called "Minnie the Moocher" the family is all too familiar with at this at this point, unfortunately. Such was the definitive beginning point to Jack's peculiar pattern of behavior over the past year.

Within a few months, Jack began frequenting liquor establishments late into the night despite the fact he hadn't stepped foot into such an establishment throughout our marriage.

Last October while two of our kids were back, Jack slipped out of the house without any of us having noticed it. Soon, we received a call from him instructing all of us to drive down to a local liquor establishment where we told he had a surprise for us. Clearly, we were distraught by this but felt we had to drive down because we simply didn't understand what was going on.

The moment we entered, we heard the same song from the movie, The Minnie the Moocher song going while Jack was getting up to perform a rendition on stage through something called Karoke, a process where the establishment plays the music to the song and bar patrons sing along to such music if you can believe it.

Beyond all else, Jack had purchased a suit worn by the performer in the movie, a pure cream colored outfit that would hardly look decent on a 30 year old man, let alone one 69 years of age, holding a glass of liquor in his hand while he performed the song.

Our family has no relevant explanation to explain for his behavior. My daughter brought him in for a psychological visit a month ago, but they felt no need to place him on medication, and he seems to have passed a detection for the Alzeimer's Disease.

Without going into much further detail, is it valid to believe that such behavior may be to blame on the work of a demon? Is demon possession real, and if so, what might the remedy be?

I do thank you for your time.I must also apologize for the length of my letter. Unfortunately, without proper clarity into the situation I wasn't certain you would be able to address this concern in its full relevance.

I do wish you and your's the very best, and once again I thank you for your time.  

Answer
Margaret-

I don't think he's possessed by a demon.  I honestly think he was bored after retirement, and he found a new hobby.  Drinking and singing karaoke is not a problem I'd be worried about unless he gets drunk every night - then I'd worry that he'd become an alcoholic and needs help - perhaps a visit by you to Al-Anon might ease some of your fears or at least help you to understand his behavior.  It really doesn't sound like a psychological problem to me - if he likes a couple drinks, has some friends at the bar, and likes karaoke, I don't see an issue.  If he has a girlfriend, then I'd confront him, but since you didn't mention that, I'd assume he doesn't.

Have you gone with him?  Has he invited you and you refused?  Maybe you could take up some other hobby and invite him to go along with you.

As we grow older, our interests change some, and I think that that's all this is.  I'd just talk to him, maybe go with him a couple times, and keep the lines of communication open.  But unless he's getting drunk all the time, or driving after having a couple drinks, or has a girlfriend, I wouldn't worry about it.

This is perhaps not the answer you wanted to hear, but I gave it my best shot.

Blessings,
carl