Most of Reich’s efforts went into preparing briefs for the Supreme Court after the
negative decision of the Court of Appeals on December n. It was a grim and lonely period.
Peter has mentioned the quality of “waiting” that suffused their mood—waiting for some
kind of intervention that would dispel the nightmare of Reich’s imminent prison sen-
tence^12. Reich often said that if he went to jail, he would die there. He was preparing his last
will during late 1956 and early 1957.
There were moments of relaxation. Peter recalls seeing two western movies with
his father in one day. Ilse and Reich continued to talk on the telephone and correspond.
Reich wanted Peter to carry on in public school. Ilse agreed in principle but thought that
under the circumstances a private Quaker school in Poughkeepsie, New York, would be bet-
ter. Ilse’s wish prevailed.
Reich always liked to celebrate Christmas, but the celebration of 1956 was a sad
one. Reich, Aurora Karrer, Bill, Eva, and Peter spent at least part of Christmas Eve in
Reich’s suite. There is a snapshot of Reich during that evening, dressed in a tuxedo. He has
a highball in his hand and a bottle of liquor on the desk in front of him; the desk is covered
with books and papers and a tall plant stands in front of it. Reich’s look in the photo is inde-
scribable. There is just a trace of a smile, but it is a very tentative one. His eyes are bright
yet questioning and plaintive. Their expression reminds one of the last scene in City Lights:
Chaplin has helped a blind girl obtain an operation through which she has recovered her
sight. Now for the first time she sees her tramp-benefactor. Chaplin watches. What will her
reaction be? He hopes for the best, but fears the worst. So it is in this photo of Reich. Yet
he would remain his own man to the end.
The sense of abiding by his principles and winding up his aifairs in as clean a way
as possible was apparent from Reich’s dealings with the orgonomic physicians in his last
meetings with them. In January 1957, Reich arranged to see about twelve doctors (in some
cases singly, in others two at a time) to discuss their future role in orgonomy and any prob-
lems.
Morton Herskowitz,who saw Reich with Dr. Charles Oiler, told me about his last
visit with his teacher^13. One of the issues Reich emphasized was the length of patient treat-
ment.He asked the two men how many patients they had had in treatment longer than three
years. Each gave his answer. Reich then asked them to consider terminating those cases. He
implied that to keep patients in treatment more than three years without significant change
was a mistake. Herskowitz was amazed that Reich could be concerned about this on the
verge of going to jail.
He wanted to know what problems both had. They mentioned one physician who
they felt was destructive. Reich said: “Why don’t you get rid of him?” According to
Herskowitz, this question was consistent with Reich’s general attitude toward the doctors;
they should make their own decisions and govern themselves.
Baker, who saw Reich alone toward the end of January, put a different construction
on Reich’s handling of the particular interpersonal problem Herskowitz and Oiler had
raised. According to Baker, Reich himself told this physician and one other that they did not
430 Myron SharafFury On Earth