Hugh Page

Cardboard Angel Hugh Page

Can a loop legged, falling down, goggle eyed, puking, parking lot drunk restore himself to respectability? The Rev. Dr. Jim Blaine, with a mail order doctorate, went from being a fugitive from the law of averages to the pulpit. His brushes with the law over out of control drinking and car thievery lead to prison. He learns of a new way to live through the New Age Bread of Life church and other alcoholics. He accidentally finds his way into the "chief seat in the synagogue" where he uses his facile tongue and creative mind in imaginative ways. Three women worm their way into his life. His coffee sessions with Tom (Big Bear) Midnight are a preamble to his hilarious but heartfelt funeral service. A kangaroo court hearing by the church board causes Jim to say "goodbye". His encounters with Charlie who hounded him from the very beginning to his confession of an "alleged" crime committed in a blackout to his pact with Madeline, a retired Las Vegas hoofer, and the Bread of Life flock help restore him to sanity. Underneath it is a program of Twelve Steps showing him the way to sane living.