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Order this writing in the collection book Breaking Silences available for only 1650 |
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This appears in a pre-2010 issue
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I KNOW AN ADDICT
Robert William Myers
I think everyone knows an addict. They are everywhere. From the chocolate addict to the toilet hugging heroin addict to the workaholic to the internet junkie to the drunk in trailer four... everyone knows an addict. However all those people that know those addicts will have to write their own piece because this story is about MY addict.
Yeah, I know an addict. I’ve known him quite a long time actually. We’ve been here and there, we’ve done this and that. I watched in amusement when he struggled with his first addiction. What a trip that was, thirteen years old without a clue. We were at the arcade with buddies just shootin the shit and playing pinball when a couple older guys lit up cigarettes. No one said a word, my boy just watching as they inhaled, French curled up their nose, blew smoke rings and generally acted real cool. My addict was as affected as the rest of the kids and in that second he had his first addiction in the bag. This addiction would follow him for a long time. This addiction would be responsible for many other addictions. This addiction would be the hardest to kick. Yeah my addict was addicted to something that they didn’t even have a name for yet. In the years to follow they would put many names and labels on this addiction but the one most people know it by is; PEER PRESSURE.
Time for my addict to accept his mission. He stole a pack of smokes, went home and locked the bathroom door. It wasn’t easy of course, forcing your body to do something it knows is wrong, but my addict was on a mission.
Time went by and my addict went with it. Soon enough another addiction would present itself disguised as an addiction he already had in the bag! Well it was similar to a cigarette at least and it burned too, but this one made my addict feel pretty good, yeah, now we’re talkin’! Shit man if you’re gonna shove smoke down your throat you might as well get a buzz right? Cha Ching another addiction in the bag! We are cruising now. Oh! That’s what the music is about!
Time was plentiful for my addict...but there is that word time, tricky that time huh? Time was when a couple hits did my addict just fine, now a double clutching bong hit don’t do it. But my addict ended up at a party and yes there may have been some beer there. Not only that there were girls as well. Ok I know what you’re thinking, and you are probably right; two addictions in one fell swoop? My dog was howling that night! SEX? who knew? Oh man beer was good but sex? My addict knew what he wanted to do with his life! Yeah man two more addictions in the bag so that’s uh, how many now? Ahh worry about it later, there’s plenty of time.
Time went by as it has a tendency to do and my addict moved around quite a bit so he got to sample a little flavor for his weed and sex addiction. Smokes and beer remained constant and that was good, kinda like old friends that were there when you needed them. The other addictions came and went as he could find them, if they were there cool, if not he wasn’t gonna rob grandma to get them, (that would come later).
Time for graduation! How the hell he made it is beyond me! Well two summer school courses and a phony transcript, to make up for all the stoner days he had accumulated is how he made it! Whew... time to relax man! Schools out dude lets party! Man, the coke was flowing that summer! Yeah buddy another addiction behind and life ahead. Indeed it was sweet, sugar sweet.... too sweet!
Time to wake up young addict! That sweet life? Just turned sour! Hey what’s the harm in selling a little sugar to friends? Keeps him in cola, talk about a victimless crime? But, jail isn’t so bad if you have the right attitude!
Time out! This ain’t what my addict was gonna be! No He’s smarter than this shit, uh huh. Time for a change your honor, oh yes sir, He’ll serve his country.. right now, sir. Where does he sign?
Time was on my addict’s side for a good while there but now, time was his worst nightmare. Looking down the barrel of a long stint in the service; time becomes a bitch!... time can be daunting indeed. My addict was gonna need a lotta help from his addictions to get thru this time. WHAT? Drug tests? Oh nooo. OK well lets see uh he had the old stand bys right? smokes and beer, sex when he could get it. Uh yeah about that, no one told our addict but beer just wouldn’t do it anymore! Really now we are talking about my dawg here. Whiskey vodka gin, oh? Hmm warm feeling? Yeah, quicker than beer, OK. Alright... kind of an adjustment but hey when in Rome right? The tricky part was being just buzzed enough to want to do the job but not so buzzed you can’t do it! A fine line to walk but with only eight or ten write ups, a couple busts for trying to buy pot and the time went by.
Time to get out! Yes my addict made it, whew! This was more of a miracle than high school! Not exactly an honorable but then he was drunk most of the time and he was out now so it didn’t matter right? Time to party now dude, time to forget those people telling you what to do. Time to do what you want for a change! The problem with this scenario was that the only thing my addict wanted to do was all the drugs he couldn’t do in the service! So? What was stopping him?
Time to...uh what was we talking about? MYYYYY Dawg! If a buzz could be found by anything being; drunk, eaten, snorted, smoked, based, huffed, injected, dissolved or applied with a mudpack, my dog would hunt! Yes sir, my addict hit the world ready to rock the place! Well lets get looped first then we’ll rock the place. Either you do drugs or they’ll do you right? My addict even said now that he’s able, he’ll try and get high one way or another every day... for the rest of his life! Lofty goal dude! Go for it! Party on man! The password is fun!
Time to set the record straight. My addict had a life going on while all this partying was happening, in fact he went through two marriages and divorces and had several kids. Luckily these responsibilities didn’t interfere with his intake of drugs and alcohol. Yes sir, time marched right on for our party animal as he worked different jobs, even had a couple of his own businesses, one lasted nearly two years until he got blitzed and told his biggest client what to do or where to go or told him something funny. You had to have been there but it really was funny.
Time to grow up young man. Young? My addict has made it to his forties! He still has that childlike attitude that everything is going to be alright. My addict needed to take a look around and figure out what’s up. He’s in the middle of a nasty divorce which normally he would simply walk away from but he had a son and the idiot addict our addict hooked up with was not equipped to raise him.
Time for my addict to straighten up. HRS was involved because; well we are dealing with a couple addicts here. My addict wasn’t gonna let that addict take his son. He began taking the classes that the agency made him take. Anger management? He was the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet! Drug classes? AA meetings? Urinalysis? What the hell? These people thought our addict had some sort of problem or something! This was worse than school or jail or the military. My addict was out in the free world but couldn’t party?
Time dragged on through the divorce. My addict did the best he could. He peed hot a couple times, went to one AA meeting drunk. Did I mention that my addict had the luck of the dumb on his side? Yes sir! My dawg got lucky! The stupid female addict went to prison. The judge had no choice but to award custody to my addict.
Time to get back to living. My addict moved close to his mother who could help take care of his son. Whew! Dodged a bullet on that one. Lesson? What lesson? Ain’t no lesson. My addict is just smart. Or lucky? Hey it’s...
Time to party! Yes sir a new place, new people to party with, rock on pilgrim! Yeah my addict was right back to the program.
Time to wrap this sad tale up.
Time; two thirty five on a Friday night. My addict is staring up at the stars. His harley is laying on his right leg dripping gas all over the place. My addict is too blasted to realize he’s gonna die if he don’t move.
Times up.
Time to get real. Yeah I lived and yeah the addict is me! But I think you knew that. It was just hard to write this piece like the foolish idiot addict was me! I am clean and sober now. I’m proud of myself. My son is proud of me, my Brother (Christ) is proud of me. What else do I need?
Time to help. To all the young addicts out there, it’s your choice man. I am living proof that your life will go by whether you are aware of it or not! Brothers and Sisters of the smoke or the powder or the drink or the pharmaceuticals or the...well you get the picture, learn from my mistakes...please. Or I just wasted all my time researching this piece.
Y’all be cool.
