> Let me say right off that I'm sorry for having to post such a message to this mostly cheery board. I just need some folks to talk to. See, my dad almost killed us tonight. He's been having these really weird, unexplained mood swings lately, whether from the pressure of having had cancer or a brain tumor or what, I don't know. Tonight my family went to our local pizza parlor (the only restaurant in town) just to play a little Ms. PacMan and have some pizza. On the way home, my brother and I weren't getting along the best, mostly my fault (condition normal), and all of a sudden, Dad pulls over the car and literally starts SHOUTING at my *brother* for being rude and obnoxious (which he was, but not THAT rude and obnoxious). Mom got him to stop his tirade momentarily. He pulled the car jerkily back on to the road, and, in the supreme case of road rage, took off down the street and 70 MILES PER HOUR. We live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, where the roads are VERY WINDY to put it mildly. I remember screaming something like he was going to kill us all, and somehow Mom made him pull over again (he nearly hit a fence in doing so) and she took over the wheel. Then she asked him what was wrong, and he said she must be drunk, he hadn't said anything out of line. For the rest of the 20 minutes home, no one said anything, and it was all I could do to think, "Oh, Lord God..." and "I can't wait til I can leave for college," over and over. I have never been truly afraid of either of my parents, so this was a first and hopefully a last for me.
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> The strange thing is that Dad is a very sweet, kind, gentle person who is dead set against violence. Lately he's been fighting my brother more and more. My brother has a pretty abrasive personality, but even when he's being fairly decent, Dad gets on him. Fortunately, I've always been his favorite, so he hasn't actually shown any anger toward me yet. I hope he never does.
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> Not all of his unexplained behaviour is violent. The other day, he was contemplating taking my brother and I to get--of all things--karate lessons. The last time I showed interest in karate was 1994.
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> I have a flying lesson in the morning, and I'm not at all sure I want Dad (who usually takes me) to drive me anywhere.
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> Those of you who are God-believers, could you pray for him, please?
>

Sorry, no help there. But I will hope for you if that helps...

> La"If anyone wants to start a Ms. PacMan thread from this, please do so"Zorra

I can only give you my best wishes. I know what it's like when your father starts to act a little crazy, although I've never dealt with the cancer issue. I know my family troubles made me closer to my sister, so remember that some good can come out of anything. I don't know anything about cancer, but I imagine it could cause severe stress if not the actual symptoms you saw. Hopefully your father will get better, or at least not threaten your lives again. All my best goes to you and your family.

Melanie