English Radio Program

16 July 2008

I LEAD THREE LIVES

But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23

"PROFESSOR LEADS 3 LIVES -- WITH 3 WIVES" read the headline describing how Dr. Norma n J. Lewiston, a professor pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine, married three different women, then used his responsibilities at the hospital as the cover for moving from house to house without arousing undue suspicion—that is, until he died, suddenly and unexpectedly, at the age of 52. Lewiston believed in marriage all right, so much so that he married three times. Neither did he believe in divorce, which meant he ended up having three wives to mourn his passing.

Now, trying to cover your tracks as he did could well produce a heart attack in any man, but in Lewiston's case, he managed to juggle teaching classes, treating patients, and working at the hospital, and kept a secret well enough to avoid exposure. But the stress and strain of leading three lives and handling a busy profession finally caught up with him; and when it did, people who knew the doctor were absolutely in shock, to say nothing of the anger and pain which came to the three Mrs. Lewistons.

Richard Paddock, writing for the Los Angeles Times , said, "To many who knew him, he was a caring person who could not say no; a doctor who often witnessed the death of patients but who had difficulty parting with people; a man whose life went quietly out of control and who did not have the inner strength to be honest." Actually, his life began to unravel shortly before his death when his third wife put one and one together and it came out, well, more than two. The hours didn't fit. Using the excuse of his medical work, Lewiston would usually go home to wife number two, then around 10 P.M. he would use the excuse of returning to the hospital when he would actually go home to wife number one who eventually suspected that something was not quite right but still put up with it, provided he eventually came home and supported her.

He would then leave early in the morning and go back so that he could have breakfast with wife number two, and managed to spend at least two weekends a month with wife number three. No wonder the man was overweight. Robyn Phelps, wife number three," said, "I know for a fact that there was one Thanksgiving when he had three dinners. Of course he was overweight--he had three wives feeding him."

Lawsuits divided his inheritance among the three women, but there is one thing for sure, they will never assuage the pain and grief which the kindly but undisciplined doctor occasioned. "It was a tremendous shock," said Katy Lewiston, or wife number two, who knew nothing of this until his death. "It has caused a lot of unhappiness," she said—which was a gross understatement of the situation.

Scores of people grimaced as they learned their warm-hearted friend had been a polygamist who couldn't say, "No!" One business associate said, "It knocked my socks off. When I look back at Norm, I've got a picture of a guy who was brilliant but just never learned the no word."

Lewiston will long be remembered by the community in which he practiced, but sadly enough, his personal life will always eclipse his professional one.

The sad thing is that the happiness which he could have had escaped him as he fished for alibis to cover his tracks, and the heritage which he could have passed on to his children became the raw material for comedians who poked fun at the institution of marriage. Charades always have a high price tag attached. Don't forget it.

Resource reading: Colossians 3.