Harry Goodman had been a good man.  Once upon a time, he loved his wife and kids, worked hard for his employer, enjoyed the company of his many friends, and played with the dog.

Now his soon to be ex-wife, sitting in church, wondered how it was that her life had all come crashing down.

Looking back, she remembered that it had started with small things, maybe a year before.  He would forget to shave, and he stopped fussing about how he looked, which was unusual for him.  He said things that hurt people’s feelings, and seemed to not care.  Gradually, he had started laughing and giggling at odd times.  And eventually, he started growling and barking during conversations.  Yeah, barking!

At some point, he started going out after work.  She never found out where he went.  Then, he started rude and inappropriate behavior at work.  He got fired for getting close to the pretty receptionist and dry humping her, several times.  He started going to strip bars.  And finally, he started in on his 10 year old daughter’s friends.  That’s when she told him to get out!  And that’s the last time she ever saw him.  It was crazy!  She hated him!  He had dishonored and abandoned his family!  She prayed to God for answers, but got none.

Harry lived on the streets for a few weeks.  He ate whatever scraps he could scrounge.  He grunted and screamed at passersby.  He would often start with rhythmic pelvic thrusts at any old time, even dry humping a street post.

Exactly what happened on his last day will be forever a mystery.  He was found beaten to death on a downtown street.  Had he offended the wrong person?  Was it gang violence?  Who knew. - - -  He was found with no identification, and would eventually be listed as a John Doe on the death certificate.  The cause of death, as determined by the County Coroner at autopsy, was intracerebral bleeding, due to head trauma, associated with a large, untreated frontal lobe brain tumor.  The coroner wondered if this had caused him headache or any behavioral changes before he died.

Good man Harry was buried in a plain pine box, in an unmarked grave, in a cemetery close to his family home.  While across the street, in church, his wife and kids were dealing with their anger and hatred as best they could.

Happy New Year!

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