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John Branyan's Comedy Sojourn Podcast


Oct 2, 2017

EPISODE - The most personal episode so far. My family talks about my Dad's mental illness.
 
To kick things off, we listen in as my Dad rants at police officers who have come to take him to the hospital.
 
** Audio of my Dad taken in his front yard early one morning **
 
My sister's kids are almost as noisy as their mother...
 
My brother makes an important point that Dad is not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. There are no chemical substances in his body.
 
Bonnie doesn't remember as many specifics about Dad as the rest of us because she was pretty little.  She does remember Dad's idea that the kids should buy their own groceries.
 
Dad has never liked being wrong. He's always thought he was smarter than everyone else too.
 
** Audio of my Dad admitting that he is 'The Lord' **
 
HERE'S WHERE I MAY UPSET YOU, PKARLGH.
 
Over the years my faith in psychology and psychotherapy has disappeared. I think mental illness is a spiritual problem.
 
Mom suggests that we perform an exorcism. (I don't know how to do those...maybe there's a tutorial on YouTube?)
 
David says demons aren't the whole problem.
 
Darkness and depravity are things Christians talk about a lot without thinking about what they might look like when we actually see them.
 
Mom talks about stuff that Dad did when he was younger. (She sort of says that science made him crazy but that's not what she meant so I let it slide.)
 
Lucid dreaming, bending spoons and other weird stuff.
 
Sometimes mental illness excuses bad behavior.
Bonnie kills a fly and almost knocks out the lights.
 
We ponder the question, "How do we know when we're 'normal'?"
...and we don't ever answer it.
 
Bonnie discovers that she is out of Zebra cakes. We're shocked.
 
We get nervous whenever anyone suggests that they completely understand the will of the Lord.
 
Bonnie makes no carb pizza.  Maybe because there are no Zebra cakes...?
 
Personal preferences thankfully, don't define Christianity. Bonnie accuses my Turbo of open hostility toward guitar players. We know that's not true but we pretend we don't.
 
We end up the podcast with our favorite stories of Dad's crazy exploits.