Dear Straight Talk: I’m 16 and my step dad “Frank” goes crazy when I talk to my friends on the phone. He recently “rigged” the phone so it wouldn’t work–I know this because I opened the phone up and saw where he had taken a wire off and I fixed it. This made him so mad that the next day he came home and cut the cord with a knife in the middle of my conversation! He wasn’t even drunk. How can I make him see that it’s normal for a girl my age to use the phone for 30 minutes a day. My mom is no help, she always sides with him and my brother never uses the phone. What should do?—Trying to be normal in an abnormal home
Dear Trying to be normal: It sounds like your father is an alcoholic. Trying to reason with an alcoholic—especially one with anger problems—will probably not work. The best solution is to get your own phone, preferably a cell. I also urge you to get a part-time job and keep your grades up. At 16, the best way to stay “normal” in an alcoholic family is to begin steps toward forming your own life, which means making your own money and providing for yourself in ways that esteem you. I also recommend you contact Al Anon at 530-268-4558.
——-
