5 ms·

The search for Jackie Wallace

61 points by merraksh 9y ago

arittr 9y ago
This was great - thank you. I think stories like this that truly personalize addiction are especially important today as the current opiate crisis gets worse. Everyone should read this.
- mirimir 9y ago
  Yes, indeed! One accidental interview with a reporter, and his life turns around. He's admittedly a special case, being so well-known. But that arguably wasn't enough, in that he could have blown it and ended up homeless again. And it arguably wasn't essential either.
  - keeler 9y ago
    Not sure if you made it to the end, but he relapsed and is back on the streets.
    - gwern 9y ago
      Maybe they have Noscript on. I do, and for me, the story ends on the high note: > But the real reason he had talked his way into the newsroom was to invite Jimmy and me to his wedding. On Dec. 5, 1992, Jackie Wallace and Deborah Williams, an executive secretary, became husband and wife. I had to check WP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Wallace#Post-football_life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Wallace#Post-football_l...) to figure out what you were talking about and, opening in another browser, see that the article goes on for 3x longer covering the relapses.
      - mirimir 9y ago
        Oh, I use Noscript, and the article ends with the wedding. I wonder what's up with that. In reader view, it ends about half way to the wedding, before they verified his identity. From Wikipedia, it does seem that he has issues. It's probably that he had too many concussions. I don't see anything about the fate of the NFL suit.
eadmund 9y ago
Anyone know how to read the rest of the story? It cuts off right as he gets married, with no link to the rest.
- trynewideas 9y ago
  There's a JS gate, so you might have a JS, ad, privacy, or similar blocker preventing it, or a shaky connection, or you might just need to scroll up and back down again to trigger the load. It's a mediocre practice executed poorly, but not surprising from a company like Advance. EDIT: To confirm, the true last line of the story should be: > “Yeah,” she said. “He left that, too.”

61 points by merraksh 9y ago

This was great - thank you. I think stories like this that truly personalize addiction are especially important today as the current opiate crisis gets worse. Everyone should read this.

mirimir 9y ago
Yes, indeed! One accidental interview with a reporter, and his life turns around. He's admittedly a special case, being so well-known. But that arguably wasn't enough, in that he could have blown it and ended up homeless again. And it arguably wasn't essential either.
- keeler 9y ago
  Not sure if you made it to the end, but he relapsed and is back on the streets.
  - gwern 9y ago
    Maybe they have Noscript on. I do, and for me, the story ends on the high note: > But the real reason he had talked his way into the newsroom was to invite Jimmy and me to his wedding. On Dec. 5, 1992, Jackie Wallace and Deborah Williams, an executive secretary, became husband and wife. I had to check WP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Wallace#Post-football_life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Wallace#Post-football_l...) to figure out what you were talking about and, opening in another browser, see that the article goes on for 3x longer covering the relapses.
    - mirimir 9y ago
      Oh, I use Noscript, and the article ends with the wedding. I wonder what's up with that. In reader view, it ends about half way to the wedding, before they verified his identity. From Wikipedia, it does seem that he has issues. It's probably that he had too many concussions. I don't see anything about the fate of the NFL suit.

eadmund 9y ago

Anyone know how to read the rest of the story? It cuts off right as he gets married, with no link to the rest.

trynewideas 9y ago
There's a JS gate, so you might have a JS, ad, privacy, or similar blocker preventing it, or a shaky connection, or you might just need to scroll up and back down again to trigger the load. It's a mediocre practice executed poorly, but not surprising from a company like Advance. EDIT: To confirm, the true last line of the story should be: > “Yeah,” she said. “He left that, too.”