r the event. She ordered champagne from Paris, Chinese foods from London, codfish from Madrid. She hired a shooting booth, fireworks specialist, flamenco dancers, waiters, barmen and cooks from all over the world. Guests included General C.T. Lanham from Washington, Ernest's old Paris pals, Italian Royalty and the Maharajah of Behar. The party went twenty-four hours strait, from noon of July 21st to noon July 22nd. Seeking a calm place to recuperate and continue work on The Dangerous Summer, Ernest and Mary relocated to their cabin in Ketchum. But for Hemingway, Idaho was a far cry from the comforts of Cuba. His eyes were failing him to the point of not being able to write anymore. Even if he did manage to put down words, they often were incoherent, lacking any logical meaning. He could not drink anymore due to his kidney injury. Slowly but surely Ernest degenerated physically and psychologically. Even while still living in Cuba, Ernest began showing signs of paranoia and delusion. He would often say that FBI agents were following him. Although he had large enough savings to cover any immediate financial problems, he was constantly afraid of being hunted down by the IRS for tax evasion. It soon became evident to those around him that psychiatric help would be necessary. They managed to convince Ernest to institutionalize himself. Fearing he would refuse, it was agreed upon to tell him that the treatment was for his high blood pressure (Hemingway had always been wary of his blood pressure). On November 30th in 1960, Ernest Hemingway was committed to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. During the month of December he was given electroshock therapy. In January of 1961, Ernest was released. At first all seemed well again. He had even managed to write a few coherent words for the jacket of George Plimpton's new book: On April 23rd, Ernest Hemingway tried to take his life for the first time. He had tried to put a shotgun to his head. It ...
