I drank from a young age. Sneaking and getting a sip now and then. There was always liquor in the house.  Always a beer left lying around, here and there.

When I was little my grandmother’s friend, Bo,  made some dandelion wine, and left it lying around in a jug. Yep, I took a sip every now and then. Heck, they probably let me take a sip and that’s how I knew I wanted more.  Even then it didn’t take much to get me hooked.

When I was a teenager I would spend the night with my girlfriend and we would get a bottle of Wild Irish Rose wine and get tore up. Once, I passed out from drinking so much and they carried me to the bed.

I didn’t like that my parents drank so much, but I did it when I could. I didn’t like their smoking,  but I tried it at 16 and it made me dizzy every time and I had to lie down. It took awhile to get used to. I was never a heavy smoker. A pack lasted 3 days. That’s about 7 cigarettes a day. A pack was 50 cents back then. I smoked Benson and Hedges Menthol. It lasted seven years and I stopped cold turkey, thank God. I told God that this huffing and puffing running for the train didn’t make any sense. I was too young to sound like that trying to catch my breath.

The smoking, the drinking and the drugs stopped cold turkey. Never fell off the wagon for any of it. That’s ALL GOD. He did that. I’ll tell you more next time. I have to get in the bed.