Reunion, remember when and informing people

I just had a reunion with two guys I roomed with for a year in 1992 when I attended university. It was a great reunion with lots of stories and Remember Whens. It was at university where I laid the foundation for my drinking/using career. Some of the stories we were telling I didn’t even remember doing. Like mouthing off to a skinhead in a pub and getting decked by him. I do remember we used to do some crazy stuff. Part of my addiction was that I always thought I had to do crazier and crazier things. At university my roomies hung me off a 40 story balcony and swung me around. There was the time where I purposely set my hand on fire, thinking it would go out quickly which it did not.

My friends know about my entry into recovery and involvement in the 12 Steps. They had some interesting questions which reminds of me of how little those not in recovery know about the disease of addiction. My one friend asked me if I could ever see myself having one beer and when I replied no asked me why. I explained that I couldn’t predict what would happen if I had that one beer. I said it would probably lead to me having another and another and another and eventually I’d be worse off than I was when I entered recovery in 2005.

As the Big Books states alcohol is cunning, baffling and powerful. Part of that is the fact that while I’ve been sober for over 12 years if I were to take a drink it would be like I had been drinking for those 12 years. My disease would be that far advanced. Science is unable to explain this phenomenon. As Father Martin said, “only God knows why and he ain’t telling us”. I think that’s why many in the scientific community, some addictions counsellors and therapists as well, have such disdain for the 12 Step philosophy. You can’t quantify the effect of a spiritual awakening. All I know is that it worked for me.

Dave the Dude