giving back

recently at a local meeting where
the speaker failed to show, i was
asked to share my story.

it's been suggested that we should
always be willing to be of service,
so i naturally agreed.

it was a fairly large crowd, complete
with a group from the local rehab.

my journey started differently from
most; no alcoholism in the family,
i didn't start at a very young age
and was basically a social imbiber
for many years.

i shared my slow transitions from
social, to moderate, on to heavy,
then eventually compulsive.

friends and family found it hard
to believe i had a problem after
so many years of "normal" drinking.

this slow, insidious progression made
it very difficult for me to admit i had
a problem.

the result was my starting a pattern
of rehab, a few months of sobriety,
and eventual return to drinking.

i hoped sharing my vain attempts at
"recapturing the magic", might sway
some of the newcomers away from
that deluded thinking.

my experience has proven that there
is nothing that a drink or drug will
improve; sure it can be a bumpy
ride, but my advice was to "hold
on to your seat...you earned it"