I had a horrible feeling that late October Friday in 2012.
God knows, I’d been in that situation many times before – wondering if Austin was OK. But this time felt different. That Wednesday, he left voicemails that sounded confused – from a friend’s phone, because Austin had misplaced his, again. On Thursday, Austin sent texts from that same phone. Something wasn’t right. I called the friend I didn’t know and told him I was concerned about my son, and asked him to have Austin call me. Several hours later the friend called to say he went to Austin’s apartment but no one was home. I thought about getting on a plane to New Orleans to make sure everything was all right. I don’t know why this time seemed so different; I just knew it was. A few hours later I received a blocked call. I couldn’t answer in time, and there was no message. Three minutes later a call came in with a New Orleans area code. It was the coroner saying my beautiful boy was found slumped over his kitchen table, dead from an opioid overdose. Austin’s journey was over; mine was just beginning.
Like every son or daughter, Austin was a wonderful person. He had his issues, but mostly he was just a kid trying to grow up in a world that throws endless challenges at all of us – some we understand, some we don’t; some we share, some we keep hidden deep within. A loving boy with a huge heart, incredible mind, and amazing sense of humor. He was on his way to becoming a world-class guitarist. Austin loved John Mayer and was nearly as good.
Denne historien er fra Issue 61-utgaven av Central Park West Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Issue 61-utgaven av Central Park West Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Megyn Kelly Settle for More
Suddenly, Megyn Kelly is everywhere. Her tell-all memoir, “Settle for More,” from Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins, came out in November and immediately hit the best seller list.
The Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center
IN the 1950s and ‘60s, when Lincoln Center was being built and Carnegie Hall was scheduled for demolition, few believed New York City could handle more than one performance space each for concerts, ballet or opera.
Saint In The City
Seeking the star man on the streets of soho.
Breaking The Fourth And Fifth Wall
How Dear Evan Hansen Has Gone Beyond the Stage to Impact Teen Suicide, Bullying, Mental Illness and Social Media.
Mah Jong Memory
I remember mah jong through a haze of memory and my mother’s Benson & Hedges cigarette smoke.
The Heirs
Eleanor belonged to that class of New Yorker whose bloodlines were traced in the manner of racehorses: she was Phipps (sire) out of Deering (dam), by Livingston (sire’s dam) and Porter (dam’s dam).
Colonial Day Along The Gold Coast
Do you know about colonial day?
Scott Swimming Pools
Scott Swimming Pools, Inc. is a luxury design-build swimming pool company celebrating its 80th year in business this year.
Women Create Their Own Opportunities in New York's Growing Weed Industry
On a recent Thursday evening in downtown Manhattan, nearly 50 women and a few men, ranging from millennials to baby boomers, gathered in a sleek co-working space to talk about weed.
Vice President Joe Biden Redraws The Battle Lines In America's Longest War
I know of no cadre of people in the world more desperately in need of hope than the sixteen million people with cancer,” Vice President Joe Biden told the nation’s leading cancer researchers and clinicians at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago on June 6, 2016.