anyone remember intake room herding?

[Mung]

did this only happen in springfield? I was there 86-88. I can't remember if it was every night or only on Fri. nights. That crap was worse than sitting in yer chair for 12 hours. Buncha sweaty guys all manwiched against their will in a tiny room, waiting for an eternity to get the hell out of that room and into the parking lot for fresh air. It must have been only on fri. nights, cause of the parents being there. God those were some lame ways to spend your weekends as a kid.
I have to admit that the guys rap after the parents left was usually entertaining (unless the focus was on YOU...)

My feelings on straight are that yes it fucked some people up, others it helped.
Was way too long of a program for me, I learned a lot , but not anything that I couldn't have learned in a few month program.
I remember people there who definately needed
psych. help, people who shouldn't have been there in the first place (partied a few times
-parents overreacted). I remember some kid spreading empitago (sp?), crabs etc. That
was wonderful (I never got it though).
I remember that most of the staff there seemed genuinely concerned about people (at least when I was there). Ones that I remember are Steve Tourney, Brendan ? , Rob Hockersmith, Brady or Grady?, Karen ?, anyway it's wierd that I remember these names after all these years. Steve Tourney was definately the best rap leader.
All in all, I disagree totally with the straight methods. I got "honest", graduated and all, but never quite forgave my family
for putting me there. Treating chemical dependency is a little more complicated than
one rehab/method fits all. I feel I lost out on what could have been some fun years. Oh yeah, after graduating I found out that the confidentiality/honesty part of the program which is supposed to be the "cog" of recovery was basically bullshit, when my brother (never in the program) asked me about some crap that I talked about in a rap
group. Hmmm, confidential?- those staff guys notes were going STRAIGHT to the parents.
great.
props to Hank Israel and Guy Youngberg for their entertaining "performances" in group during my stay.

[ladyjerrico]

Hi Mung,

I remember being all huddled together in the intake room.. I think it was called the infermary or something like that though. It was near the intake room.. (it might as well be, they had a huge table in there that took up most of the space and a lot of us girls had to be huddled together indian style on the floor before morning raps).

We ususally stayed in group on Friday nights after the parents left in the large room.. girls rap and guys rap were held on Sundays.

Some woman (including myself) had some vaginal problems because we wern't allowed to have medication for it.. and we only were allowed to take showers once every two days.. most of the time my clothes were still at other host homes and some parents never brought them back to the building, so I would be stuck wearing the same underwear for a few days :sad:

I never graduated the program, I only made it to 2nd phase and signed myself out when I turned 18.. I was upset and frustrated for the fact that I couldn't go to a normal school, they bribed me into staying (or tried to) by saying that if I do stay they would see if they could automatically put me on 3rd phase so I could go to school.. yeah, for what? to be set back again if I did something wrong?


I wanted to graduate from high school and move on with my life. I was told that I would be dead in the streets and using again right after I left.. NOT! I showed them! I have been clean for 12 years (on April 20th will be my 12th year). And drinking maybe one drink on occassion, mainly going out with family and friends on New Years Eve.


It's been almost a year now since I drank anything alchoholic.. I don't go to church or AA meetings.. I find that my strength and will power are strong enough to say no.. I should attend church though, but I work on Saturdays and by the time Sunday comes along I'm dog tired.


Plymouth MI Straight 1990


[ This Message was edited by: ladyjerrico on 2002-04-09 07:16 ]

[ This Message was edited by: ladyjerrico on 2002-04-09 07:17 ]

[bettypills]

O yes, this happened in Cinci. too... why were Straights always in hot, humid states? Can you even imagine Houston? (shudder!).
To sum it all up, which it almost seems like Mung is playing with, I did get one thing out of it that I think was good, and that is:I never, pre_Straight, felt like I fit in with everybody who was "normal" (you know, that amorphous "THEM", post-Straight, I knew I never would, or COULD! Most people  (the amorphous THEM) had quite different teenage years than we did.... I guess what I mean is, well one day it hit me..... YEAH I've (we've) passed the point of return.... I don'ty have to worry anymore about it, I'm a freak now and I can"t quite describe how liberating this felt. Fuck 'em.

[ladyjerrico]

I understand what you mean.. the girls side called that "clicks" and I felt like I would never fit in there.
Since leaving I have met so many people and they are like ships that pass through the night unfortunatly.
I have made a few good, faithful and wonderful friends now and they are very good people at heart.

Sometimes I feel that I somewhat don't fit in because I might look awkward to someone and I'm a bit self-concious, but not as bad as it used to be.. I found a good place to live, a wonderful fiance and I couldn't have asked for a better working environment.
I don't think I'll ever be that "executive" person I dreamed I would become when I was 10 years old (I always pictured myself in a tall building in a city working in my own office).. I'm far from that right now.. but you never know what the distant future holds

[shaneunc]

delete

[ladyjerrico]

Well, then again Shane.. what you explained about that staff member may just cover all the ones I've encountered myself too (in Straight Inc. Michigan Plymouth).

[Diane B]

Hey-

I think his name was Brendan Macnamar (mungs first message) I remember Steve T. before he was on staff, He liked picking on me it sucked even worse when he made staff no fond memories here.

Diane

[Mung]

by "best rap leader" referring to Steve T. I guess I should clarify, the raps were a little more entertaining (unless u were the focus). Somehow, he never really gave me any shit, so even though it sucked sitting there all day, when he would show up for a rap, I knew I see some shit go on that would crack me up (even though I couldn't laugh out loud).

[infanalyst]

Mung,

I don't know who you are but man oh man I KNOW we were there in HELL at the SAME TIME. Steve Turney, I remember WELL.
Steve and I didn't get along too well, that was until I almost took his nose off whilst 12 people restrained me. I had just been started over again, I think for the third time or so. Anyways, I was in the front row and it was during the day because all of the 4th phasers were in school, and they moved everyone's chair closer to the wall when they were gone. Some people were trying to sit me up, I even think one of them was misbehaving himself. You know that lovely clenched fist straight down your back to the bottom of your chair, well I guess I must have turned around and when I did, the people next to me started to grab my arms. Well, Steve got down from his stool and started to approach me but I didn't see him, this was happening at the same time someone was grabbing my arm, I think it may have been Rob Frye or Jason Theune, I'm not sure. So as Steve is approaching me my head is turned in the opposite direction, and as I struggled to relieve my arms from the grasp of these people, I swung my arm loose and clocked Steve right in the jaw! Well, needless to say this didn't make him to happy and he told them to restrain me. Well, NO WAY IN HELL I wasn't going down without a fight. So I stood up out of my chair and like Hercules chained to the Earth, I swear to you it took 12 PEOPLE to drag me down to the floor! People were jumping from 3 rows away! Funny how after that incident Steve steered clear of me. I don't know if he thought I'd clock him again or if he felt he just had enough. I'll never forget it because I believe there were 5 to 10 of us misbehaving at this time! I distinctly remember Brendan McCann and Sam Mirkin, and how we had our own Air Rock Band. I swear the stupid shit we did in that place it always sticks in my head. POO..BANG! SQWAUK, SQUAWK! CLICK, CLICK! Remember those stupid sounds we made for different things. It was like talking in code to other P.O.W.s so that we could operate as a team! Mung if you remember me please reply with your name or e-mail me.
I still think the most FUCKED up thing about this whole program, is that my parents were host parents for approximately 14-15 months and during that entire time I spent only about 3-4 of those months as an oldcomer in my own house. My house was used by the program and my parents thought they were helping conbtribute to a good cause. All of this recent information I have discovered after 15 years really makes me want to ask them again how much they really knew. I know my parents were supposedly like the President and Treasurer of the Parents Assn. or something like that, because everybody, especially other parents, knew who my parents were. Yet after all of that time in there, I still doubt my parents truly understand what went on in the rap sessions in Springfield.
My host brothers, when I was actually there, were Donny Parker from NC, and Dan Kennett, also from NC. After Donny and Dan had graduated, I remeber getting a host brother from Va Beach, but his name has since left me. My parents are Tom and Kay Lewis.
I definitely remeber the intake rooms, Mung you must have been living with an oldcomer who was able to come in close to 9:00AM. I lived with one in MD, practically in Columbia. We would leave every day at 6:00AM to make it to Springfield by 7:00AM, so we could sit in the intake room until 9:00AM. It normally didn't get bad until around 8:15AM or so. There were enough times I remember were we would actually be split up into several intake rooms, since there was no way you could fit a 100+ people in a room 8' X 10'. We had to sit in the intake rooms until the actual "opening" time for Straight, at which time we would be led in like cattle into the group rap area. I even remember mooing like cattle when we would come in and I was misbehaving. This is all too trippy! I actually can't believe how much I remember and how much I have blocked out over the years.
Please e-mail back if you want to chat.

ALOHA,
Brent Lewis

[ This Message was edited by: infanalyst on 2002-05-18 14:33 ]

[Don Smith]

I remember being herded into the intake rooms in the morning.  In St. Pete it was really bad.  Way too many people in that small room and stinking to high heaven.  Then the morons started motivating in there so they can talk about the changes they were making.  I remember thinking to myself, save it for the group.

Don

[Anonymous]

i remember the intake rooms.
mostly i remeber doing reintakes - or being small grouped. that was always something, getting yanked out of group on friday night review - i never saw it com ing! and through the doors a screaming, only to be up in the little room with 5 barking heads. man the fifth phasers seemed big back then. and then all at once it would stop, the humidity and spit stayed, but the noise stopped. and there stood some staff member like Minick or Frye looking at you for to make pitance for some wrong doing. no one but the people in this place would ever understand - im really not that torn up now, its been 15 yrs since i went in - its somewhat humorous.

[Anonymous]

OH yes, St pete early 80's...Studying the dimpled stucco of the intake rooms up close and personal, as my face was jammed against it by a crush of other kids in the morning.  Gasping for that smallest hint of A/C.  Was this worse than living on peanut butter for weeks at LORD NEWTON's insistance that growing 14 yo boys should fantasize about FOOD!!! SICK Bastards.
Bill

[dreammagician]

You guys got me cracking up. What a riot. Studying the stucco. heheh. Peanut butter sandwiches. Remember Steve Mead or William Rollins and Alice. Dr. Newton walking around always with that look on his face. The silence of the room when he entered. The fear of being stood up or worse yet sat on. You guys remember ole' Mike who had to be in the intake room in front of group so he would have to hear all the raps all the time and no one was allowed to talk to him and he was allowed no light, only a candle light. Remember Paul Palmer, he is a good friend of mine. His brother committed suicide while he was in straight because he couldn't handle the pressure he was getting as a sibling. You know alot of lives were ruined in that place adn I really hate them for that. Sorry for getting depressed but it is somewhat funny to look back at all the crap we endured. Wow, time for a peanut butter sandwich, yummy hehe Jeff

[Tampa survivor]

Dream man.

Yo, I posted that bit above right before I logged in here and became T surviv.  My creativity switch was malfunctioning that night.  We HAVE to know each other.  Mark Gilley in the troll hole by front of group.  OH MY GOD.  William was always nice to me. When were you in?

Bill

 

[ This Message was edited by: tampa survivor on 2002-09-08 20:16 ]

[infanalyst]

This was another topic that I hadn't thought about in a while... Could explain my problems with claustrophobia today...  :flame:  :flame:  :flame: