A 40-Hour Manic Journey

What is the most intense thing you've ever witnessed? I had to get my manic

father out of a psychiatric facility in Mexico and back home. Since his passport

was expired, we traveled overland for forty hours straight through Mexico and the U.S.

From the moment we left, he talked nonstop. I mean literally nonstop,

for forty straight hours. He talked to strangers, border agents,

and even people who weren't there while smoking constantly. In the hotel, he paced and

talked all night while I slept with earplugs in. After twenty-four hours, his voice started

to give out, but he kept going for sixteen more. By the time