Thursday - October 29, 2009

You Are Not Alone

People send me emails. Sometimes it’s for stories I could post, sometimes it’s jokes or great graphics. Sometimes it’s in Korean, so I have no idea what the email is about. And sometimes it’s someone reaching out. I guess that’s one of the interesting parts of the internet and of blogging; I’m here but not here, personal but not a personal part of your life. And I’m cool with that. It feels a little odd at first, but there are advantages.

So anyway, some of our BMEWS readers have problems. Life issues. And they need a place to vent, or to hide out, or to admit things that would otherwise be tough to admit face to face. And I’m cool with that too. It’s a big tent, and the door is always open. “Keep talking to each other” said Allen, and that’s what we do.

Drew, I did something stupid over the weekend.  The ramifications aren’t pretty.  Frightening, actually.  My wife is pissed, and not too happy about the situation herself.  One of the “fruits” of this is that I finally admitted that I’m an alcoholic, and actually went to my first AA meeting within an hour of determining that.  I need a lot of prayers so said ramifications aren’t the most severe possible.

While I am not an alcoholic personally, I probably could be one. I have an addictive personality. I just don’t like to drink all that much, and I’ve never felt the need to. But I never would have even known about the Friends of Bill W if other BMEWS readers who are alcoholics hadn’t written to me and clued me in.

There are no easy answers. There are no quick solutions. It’s a long painful road to recovery, and like Glen Beck - himself an alcoholic - says, it’s one step at a time, every day. Sometimes every hour. And you will fall down every once in a while, but the important thing is to realize you’re down, and to get back up again and take that first step once more.

This is the link to AA:  http://www.aa.org/?Media=PlayFlash
AA is also in the phone book. Always. Every phone book.

They have their 12 Steps and their 12 Traditions. I’m not sure if it’s right for me to publish them here. But they’re good ones.

Admitting you have the problem is only the start. But it’s a good start. Go to a meeting. Talk to people. Find a sponsor. Get help. You are not alone.

I’m going to see if I can allow for open comments for a week or so, so that folks can comment here without having to log in.
UPDATE - that’s a can of worms I’d rather not open. Instead, I have created a user and given him a password. If you want to use it for this post, you may do so.

user: Bill W
pw: guessed

Posted by Drew458     on 10/29/2009 at 07:49 PM   
Filed Under: • Personal •  
• Comments (8) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner