Jake Brennan

George shook his head and tried to focus on the road.

Suddenly, a second de-doodle was sitting across from him in the passenger seat.

He yelled at George to pull onto the shoulder and pass the minivan in front of him.

And then he reached under his seat and pulled out a half-empty bottle of vodka and took a swig.

George tried to ignore the voice he heard.

but the yelling kept getting louder and louder.

Finally, he slammed his foot on the gas and jumped onto the shoulder.

As soon as he swerved to the left, he saw the traffic cones, construction on the bridge ahead.

But he was going too fast.

He clipped two of them before swerving back to the right and nearly ramming into the van.

He slammed on the brakes and pulled the wheel back to the left, and the heavy sport utility vehicle groaned and nearly tipped before slamming back to the ground.

It spun around once and then slammed directly into a concrete pillar.

George could hear D-Doodle cackling as the airbag smashed into his face.

He felt the pain rip through his side.

He was pinned in the car and he couldn't move and it hurt to breathe.

George wondered if this time he was finally dying for real.

Stuck in his seat, waiting for the ambulance to arrive, George could still see the half-empty vodka bottle spinning around like a top before it came to rest on the floor under the passenger seat.

After George and Nancy married in 1983, George's demons disappeared.

He quit drinking, except for the occasional beer or glass of wine.

That's the story he told reporters or radio DJs when they asked.