Heavenly Cure

When the "morning after" rolls around, many an overachieving boozer prays for a hangover cure. Now there is a new answer to that prayer: Hangover Heaven. That is the name of a unique establishment opened in Atlanta by Chiropractor Erl P. Harris. In it, says Harris, any sufferer can cure his hangover for a mere $15, plus a routine $5 tip to an attending angel.

Intensive Care. It all began, according to Harris, "more as a joke than anything else." After pondering the plight of hangover victims, Harris last year took over an abandoned medical laboratory next to his clinic. He installed a whirlpool bath and a steam cabinet and set up treatment rooms with such names as Heavenly Gates No. 1, Heavenly Gates No. 2, and Intensive Care. Then he hired a host of angels, or hostesses, and passed out cards. Hangover Heaven has been overcrowded ever since.

On entering, each sinner is met by a hostess who offers a strictly proper degree of sympathy. First, she gives the sufferer a snort of oxygen and a secret concoction. "My chemistry's right," Harris says. "The drinks just replace in the system what's been depleted by the alcohol." Then the patient steams a while, undergoes a whirlpool bath, downs a second concoction and, according to Harris, that does it. "I can cure a hangover in ten minutes," he claims, "but with the sympathy, it takes from 30 to 45."

Some heavy drinkers have taken to booking appointments in advance, anticipating trouble after parties or holidays. The clinic's busiest days are Sunday and Monday. Clients (30% of whom are women) are enthusiastic: "It really works," says Mrs. Billie Clarke of Atlanta. "The first time I went in there I would have paid for a mercy killing. Cost is no object--thank goodness there's something for relief for us drunks."

Before going into business, Harris foresightedly patented the recipe for his special bracers and trademarked the clinic's name. Now he is building a second Hangover Heaven in downtown Atlanta and negotiating for an airport site. He also is planning spots in such hangover-producing cities as New Orleans, St. Louis, Las Vegas and Miami.

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