From The New York Times of January 3, 2016:
... For Mr. Trump, a presidential candidate whose appeal is predicated on an aura of toughness, personal achievement and perpetual success, the story of Freddy, a handsome, gregarious and self-destructive figure who died as an alcoholic in 1981 at the age of 43, is bleak and seldom told.
I found it interesting that Donald Trump's brother had been an alcoholic air line pilot who had eventually stopped flying of his own volition. Having met more than one active alcoholic who was employed as an airline pilot, I believe he was an exception.In a telephone interview last week, Mr. Trump said he had learned by watching his brother how bad choices could drag down even those who seemed destined to rise. Seeing his brother suffering led him to avoid ever trying alcohol or cigarettes, he said.
(For the skeptics: I learned many years ago that there is a sub-group within AA of pilots who were alcoholics in recovery. They call themselves "Birds of a Feather." Moreover, Buzz Aldrin, who was a test pilot before becoming an astronaut and going, literally, to the moon, has disclosed that he was an active alcoholic while performing those challenging jobs.)
