Tuesday, June 17, 2008



Have one
for Me.


Please!




Before we move onto Step Nine (scary), lets talk a bit about how folks react to my alcoholism. Just recently, someone who shall remain nameless, sent me a virtual margarita on Facebook. You may ask why someone would send a margarita to a drunk. Let me tell you why. It is because alcohol is my problem, not theirs. Why should my problem change the way they think or act? It shouldn’t and I’m glad it doesn’t.

I have a disease, disorder, or disability, depending on whom you speak to. I really don’t care what you call it, the end result is the same; I don’t drink alcohol. Before anyone out there starts feeling complacent about their own lives, let me remind you that everyone, in some way or another, has a disease, disorder, or disability.

We all have things going on in our lives that through the grace of God, can be overcome. Take a quick trip through the Ten Commandments and you should be able to come up with a pretty good list of your own “disabilities.” We Catholics call it an examination of conscience.

When I finish my work tonight, instead of having a martini in a cut crystal glass with perfectly cracked ice and several anchovy-stuffed olives (I was a very fussy drunk), I will have a homemade, iced sugar-free coffee drink. If you don’t have a problem with alcohol, then I hope you will have a margarita or martini this evening. Maybe you should even have two, one for yourself and one for me. That would be nice. I promise I won’t hang over your shoulder, slobbering and speaking gibberish. Alcohol is a non-issue in my life and I want it to be that way for you too.

What I would like is for you “normies” to benefit in some small way from the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and my journey. We consider our “problem” to be 10% physical and 90% mental. That means you guys have a pretty good chance of suffering the same “defects of character” that we have.

Once I was complaining to a fellow traveler in the program about an annoying person in my life. After I was through with my rant, he turned to me and said, “Darlin’ you have to feel sorry for them. You have a program and they don’t.” My journey is guided and illuminated by the teachings of the Catholic Church. The Twelve Steps are a supplement and a tool that can be utilized by anyone.

And hey, if you want to be my friend on Facebook, you can send me all the margaritas or martinis you want.