whitelighter
Telly Talk Member
author's note: a follow-up on two 'Dallas' characters whose storyline many felt was cut short.
Setting: Fall, 1990, Community Center, Knots Landing, California
Frank Williams sat and listened as, one by one, each of the room's occupants came to the front and told their story. It brought him some measure of comfort to know that he wasn't alone; others were going through the same thing as him. The lives of every one of these people had, in one way or another, been changed forever by the actions of a drunk driver. Telling his own story hadn't been easy, but he'd made it a point to say the name of the man who'd taken his wife from him loud and clear so everyone all the way to the back would hear: Danny Waleska.
After a while, a man who Frank judged to be about thirty years old got up to speak. He had wavy brown hair and grey eyes. Because the man was on crutches, he didn't try to go the front of the room. He just spoke where he stood."Hi," he said. "My name is Mickey Trotter." He had a very subtle, but distinct, twang in his voice. "About seven and a half years ago I was living in Texas, and was paralyzed when I tried to stop a lady who'd had too much to drink from driving. I jumped into the passenger seat and tried to pull the keys outta the ignition, but she kept pushing me away. ” He paused a moment to take a breath. Reliving this clearly wasn’t easy for him. “And then this other car hit us...we were flipping over and over… I don't remember any more until I woke up at Dallas Memorial Hospital. I couldn't feel anything below my neck. The docs told me I'd be a quadriplegic for the rest of my life. That was the most depressed I’ve ever been. I broke up with my girlfriend, even though she'd come every day to see me. She was angry and hurt, but I just couldn't stand the thought of her being tied down to me. It's all kind of a blur after that. I woke up at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, musta been weeks later. I couldn’t even talk. I had to learn everything all over again. The doctors and nurses were good to me. I could tell they really cared. I finally told myself I was gonna beat this thing, and now here I am. I still got a ways to go. But hey, the docs never thought I'd get this far. My ma just moved out here to LA, and I came with her."
"Thank you for telling us, Mickey" said the lady who ran the group. "Would you like to tell us the name of the driver?"
Mickey hesitated. "Sue Ellen Ewing," he said slowly, obviously not comfortable sharing that information.
The name Ewing caught Frank's attention.
"But the accident wasn’t Mrs. Ewing’s fault," Mickey continued. "The way I heard it, another fella rammed into us on purpose, thinkin' her husband was driving. Seems this guy had been double-crossed by Mr. Ewing in soe business deal. But Mr. Ewing did helped pay for my treatment at the Mayo Clinic. He even came to see me once. He was real good to me and my ma, but she didn't trust him. She said he was just trying to avoid a lawsuit.”
Mickey had the attention of everyone in the room. This was not your typicle DUI story.
As the meeting was breaking up, Frank stopped Mickey at the door.
"It was nice meeting you Mickey," he said. Obviously Mickey couldn't shake hands, so Frank kinda slapped him on the shoulder.
"Uh..yeah, same here. Frank, right?" replied Mickey.
"Right."
"I'm sorry about your wife," said Mickey.
"Thank you," said Frank with effort, looking down at the floor and fighting the tears welling up inside. "Say
Mickey," he tried to say in a lighter tone, though his voice was still shaky, "this lady who was driving the night you were injured... you say her name last name was Ewing?"
"Yeah," Mickey answered slowly. “Sue Ellen Ewing.”
"Do you know if she's any relation to Gary and Valene Ewing? They're good friends of mine, and I think they moved here from Texas."
When Mickey heard those two names a change came over his face, as if old memories had been stirred up. "Yeah," he answered. "I think Mrs. Ewing was Gary's sister-in-law." He suddenly looked alarmed. "You won't tell them you saw me here, will you?"
"Hey listen man," Frank assured him, "whatever you say in here stays in here. But if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm glad to listen." The truth was, Frank needed a friend to talk to as well, but he was also curious exactly what connection this Mickey Trotter guy had to Gary and Valene Ewing…
Setting: Fall, 1990, Community Center, Knots Landing, California
Frank Williams sat and listened as, one by one, each of the room's occupants came to the front and told their story. It brought him some measure of comfort to know that he wasn't alone; others were going through the same thing as him. The lives of every one of these people had, in one way or another, been changed forever by the actions of a drunk driver. Telling his own story hadn't been easy, but he'd made it a point to say the name of the man who'd taken his wife from him loud and clear so everyone all the way to the back would hear: Danny Waleska.
After a while, a man who Frank judged to be about thirty years old got up to speak. He had wavy brown hair and grey eyes. Because the man was on crutches, he didn't try to go the front of the room. He just spoke where he stood."Hi," he said. "My name is Mickey Trotter." He had a very subtle, but distinct, twang in his voice. "About seven and a half years ago I was living in Texas, and was paralyzed when I tried to stop a lady who'd had too much to drink from driving. I jumped into the passenger seat and tried to pull the keys outta the ignition, but she kept pushing me away. ” He paused a moment to take a breath. Reliving this clearly wasn’t easy for him. “And then this other car hit us...we were flipping over and over… I don't remember any more until I woke up at Dallas Memorial Hospital. I couldn't feel anything below my neck. The docs told me I'd be a quadriplegic for the rest of my life. That was the most depressed I’ve ever been. I broke up with my girlfriend, even though she'd come every day to see me. She was angry and hurt, but I just couldn't stand the thought of her being tied down to me. It's all kind of a blur after that. I woke up at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, musta been weeks later. I couldn’t even talk. I had to learn everything all over again. The doctors and nurses were good to me. I could tell they really cared. I finally told myself I was gonna beat this thing, and now here I am. I still got a ways to go. But hey, the docs never thought I'd get this far. My ma just moved out here to LA, and I came with her."
"Thank you for telling us, Mickey" said the lady who ran the group. "Would you like to tell us the name of the driver?"
Mickey hesitated. "Sue Ellen Ewing," he said slowly, obviously not comfortable sharing that information.
The name Ewing caught Frank's attention.
"But the accident wasn’t Mrs. Ewing’s fault," Mickey continued. "The way I heard it, another fella rammed into us on purpose, thinkin' her husband was driving. Seems this guy had been double-crossed by Mr. Ewing in soe business deal. But Mr. Ewing did helped pay for my treatment at the Mayo Clinic. He even came to see me once. He was real good to me and my ma, but she didn't trust him. She said he was just trying to avoid a lawsuit.”
Mickey had the attention of everyone in the room. This was not your typicle DUI story.
As the meeting was breaking up, Frank stopped Mickey at the door.
"It was nice meeting you Mickey," he said. Obviously Mickey couldn't shake hands, so Frank kinda slapped him on the shoulder.
"Uh..yeah, same here. Frank, right?" replied Mickey.
"Right."
"I'm sorry about your wife," said Mickey.
"Thank you," said Frank with effort, looking down at the floor and fighting the tears welling up inside. "Say
Mickey," he tried to say in a lighter tone, though his voice was still shaky, "this lady who was driving the night you were injured... you say her name last name was Ewing?"
"Yeah," Mickey answered slowly. “Sue Ellen Ewing.”
"Do you know if she's any relation to Gary and Valene Ewing? They're good friends of mine, and I think they moved here from Texas."
When Mickey heard those two names a change came over his face, as if old memories had been stirred up. "Yeah," he answered. "I think Mrs. Ewing was Gary's sister-in-law." He suddenly looked alarmed. "You won't tell them you saw me here, will you?"
"Hey listen man," Frank assured him, "whatever you say in here stays in here. But if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm glad to listen." The truth was, Frank needed a friend to talk to as well, but he was also curious exactly what connection this Mickey Trotter guy had to Gary and Valene Ewing…
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