September 10, 2016 THE DAMAGE DONE

On my running route, I pass by some pretty interesting places-- one of which is the Lighthouse Inn--built in 1902 in the Colonial Revival style as a country home for an oil tycoon named Charles Guthrie.  The house was originally called Meadow Court. This magnificent home was turned into an

Lighthouse Inn

inn in 1927 after Guthrie's death. The Lighthouse Inn has gone through many transformations over the years-- at this point it has been closed for many years and looks like a shell of opulent self. It's really sad, especially, to the locals. I actually had my wedding reception there so it makes me doubly sad. Another historic site I pass while running my regular route is--Monte Cristo Cottage--the summer home of Eugene O'Neill. It is an impressive home--like stepping back in time.  After running by this National Historic Landmark hundreds of times, I finally decided that I needed to learn more about O'Neill and read a few of his plays--what better place to start than with his Pulitzer Prize winning play A Long Day's Journey into Night.

Monte Cristo Cottage

A Long Day's Journey into Night is actually a semi-autobiographical play of four acts set at the Monte Cristo Cottage. The interesting thing about the play is that it takes place in one day--hence the title. It's the story of a dysfunctional family-- The Tyrones--Mary, James and their  two sons--Edmund and Jamie. Each character struggles in some way. Mary has been addicted to morphine for twenty years and feels abandoned by a husband who travels. James struggles with abandonment, money, and alcohol  problems because his father left his own family when he was a boy.  Poor Edmund is afflicted with Tuberculosis, depression and alcoholism while his older brother wastes his time and his father's money  on drink and women. While each family member loves the other, they struggle with their own self-loathing and are unable to solve their own problems or change their behavior  This play is a brutally honest look at how dysfunction, alcoholism and drug dependence have torn this family apart. O'Neill captures quintessential New London beautifully too  as Jamie ambles down Pequot Avenue to catch a trolley downtown through the fog--while foghorns echo in the night. This classic is only 190 pages--a mere 5K--and well worth the read as it is considered one of the best American plays of the 20th century written by the only American playwright to win a Nobel-Prize. Enjoy.