What
is sobriety? Sweet, I just started this piece of literature (if you want to
call it that) with a question, one of the most mundane and boring ways to start
any form of writing. We teach it as a hook to get the reader’s attention, but
really, how much does a simple question such as; “What is sobriety?” hook the
reader? Are you hooked? Do you want to keep reading or are you already bored
and want to switch on reruns of Alf
on the Hub network? Now, I could have extended that question to; “Is sobriety a
form of physically and mentally functioning without the aid of alcohol, drugs,
or any other substance that creates a sense of pleasure or out of body
experience?” How about a thesis to answer that question! Yowsa! I probably
could have started this writing off much better such as utilizing an anecdote
that is colorfully illustrated or straight to the point. I could have just
started with my thesis and delved right in to what I really want to say. Let’s
start over, that is if you still are reading.
Late
February of 2005 was a chilly, sobering, and eventful period of time. I was
evicted from my efficiency apartment in Sioux Falls, SD and sleeping in the
back of a red Ford Explorer at the rugby pitches along Highway 50 in
Vermillion, SD. I chose to partake in the transient/hobo experience because I had
to wait a week to move in with my new roommate in the apartments across from
the Coyote Student Center. Now, if I would have known that I would spend three
and a half months attempting to fall asleep to the sounds of his girlfriend’s
obnoxiously loud screams of fake orgasm as he drilled her for oil, I would have
performed a manhunt for a roommate who was single, but I digress.
Aside
from the cold nights in the back of the exploder, damn if only that thing
retained the heat of an explosion at night, life was not too shabby. It had
been almost seven months since I last had a drink, bump, or hit. My eyes were
open as wide as a newborn on day number two after escaping the womb. I felt a
sense of urgency and excitement that permeated in every nervous conversation I participated
in with whatever individual chose to speak to me. At night’s as a carder at the
Main Street Pub I would get asked, “Why did you stop drinking?” or “How can you
work in the bar and stay sober?” The replies those poor, inebriated souls received
were generic and generally revolved around the fact I was too crazy or it was
just time to stop. I never expunged why I quit drinking, or how I can work in
the bar and stay sober. My extremely close friends knew, my future wife knew once
we started hanging out that spring, and that was about it. Why did I sober up?
What was the point of it? Aside from speeding up the process of dying, why do
it? Oh, one more digression, the drunken jock, meth-head, shit-faced soho who
gained sixty-five pounds since turning twenty-one would bawl to me about how
he/she/it needed to quit drinking and was wondering if I would help. This
generally happened ten to fifteen minutes after twofers ended. What a Foxtrot
Charlie that turned out to be! Now, back to the spewing of words that hopefully
create some form of majestic message that can give a new meaning to why I exist
or will eventually save a person, or that will simply entertain the poor
individual that decided to spend forty-five minutes to read about the hydrogen
bomb mushroom clouding in my mind. If you do not understand this metaphor, I am
truly sorry and you need to go back to sixth grade English class and study
metaphors all over again. Yikes!
Let’s
go back to the very first question that started this drivel, what is sobriety?
I ask that question every morning when I wake up. Is it just not having a
substance of some sort to get through the day? Is it dealing with whatever
issues that re-side in one’s mind? Is it telling yourself you can do it? What
the hell is it? Is it attending AA meetings and whining about how awful your
day was and that you wish you were normal and could have a drink like a sane
person? Is it dealing with the fact you are completely insane and are one
stubbed toe away from a wrist slitting campaign? Is it a twitching foot to keep
from running to the liquor store, alley, shady apartment on Elm Street, or
dilapidated farmhouse? How do you know? The answers to all of these questions
are yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Quick Disclaimer: what you are
about to read may hurt your feelings, make you cry, make you think differently
of the author, will contain disturbing images of your friend, brother, uncle,
nephew, husband, son, teacher, or any other way you would describe the role of
this author in your life, proceed if you have the intestinal fortitude but be
wary, and I apologize for the vulgar language in advance.
I
am a bastard, alcoholic, addict, stud, leader, athlete, fuck up, loser, geek,
dweeb, hopeless, helpless, hopeful, genius, ass kicker, ass kickee, asshole,
softy, piece of shit, best dude ever, sweetheart, lover, Star Wars nerd,
animal, somebody who needs to be loved, a king, a peon, dedicated, regretful,
and strong man. Every single second, minute, hour, day I am awake, I go over
each of these identifiers. I explain to myself how I am each of those, how I
can overcome the pain that some create and how I can utilize the joyous/positive
ones to strengthen my being, strengthen my manhood, strengthen my abilities to
care for others, strengthen my ability to care for my beautiful wife, my two awesome
sons, and all who else may come into contact with me. I rely on this strength
to make it through each and every day. I am strong! How strong am I? The shit I
have been through mentally and physically, going to the depths of hell as a
child, teenager, young man, and adult and then coming back to provide for my
family, take care of my young ones, give love to all who need it, and conquer the
evil demons that permeate through my freaking mind on a regular basis are just
the starting point of my freakish strength. I am just discovering how to tap
this strength to help or care for those who need it. I am tapping into this
strength to hopefully discover some form of inner peace. Right now, at this
writing, I am a few years away from reaching that point. There is a riot of
emotions, descriptions, and thoughts bum rushing my heart and mind.
I
am a bastard. I do not care what people attempt to say. I hate that fucking
word more than I hate Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Stalin, Satin, rapists, chomos, and
murderers combined. From day one I was told how I was different from everybody.
It started off that I was special because my mother loved me so much that she
gave me to a family who could take care of me. It evolved into being a bastard
that was not a real son, a real brother, an outcast who could be taken back
anytime I misbehaved. Mistakes that were made in later high school years and in
college would never have been done “by any son of mine”. “You’re not my real
brother, you know that don’t you? Just think, Mom and Dad can take you back
anytime.” These words are packed with more force than the United States
military and cut into your chest with a dull spoon. Bastard, BAstard, BASTARD! Ugh!
If I ever hear somebody call another person a bastard in my presence it will be
a right hook to their jaw!
There
is a part of me that has embraced this bastardhood. I was in limbo for a good
decade and a half, especially after meeting my biological parents. Was I a
Messmer, a Jones, a Novak, a Santori, a Martin, a Marks, a Somadossi? Who or
what was I? One side tugged here, another tugged there. I felt torn, I wanted
to treat my bio mom like an aunt or a friend in order to not step on my adopted
mom’s toes, to show her respect. The same went for my two dads (what a bad 80’s
show that was). I could not do that. Satan had a massive grip on me. I did not
know who to be and the selfish me told me that I was not a part of any of these
families. I am me, I am alone, I am a bastard. Part of that was freaking
self-pity, but the other part was truly confusion. I honestly did not know. For
six years I wished to die, that is how messed up my mind was from this. I did
not have one clear explanation about who I was, there was no respect for me or
my feelings from either side. I had selfishness from all three parties; bio
parents, adopted parents, and me. What a conundrum I faced. Yeah, I drank and
drugged so I would not have to think about any of this. Instead of figuring it
out, getting help, talking with all parties involved, I flushed the end of my
teens and the first half of my twenties down the toilet. Those seven years just
floated and swirled on by. Confusion was at the epicenter of the Sparky toilet
bowl. And in case you did not know, I am an unbelievable actor. I can act
soooooo happy, which is what I did all throughout those seven years. I didn’t
start drinking till I was twenty (what a funny story that is), but I gave up on
my and where I belong in the later part of my eighteenth year of life. Train
wreck. So I drank, drugged, and slept through my life. I had potential, at
least I reminisce that I had potential. Hopefully I did. But I pissed that away
at that time. Well, maybe it was more like I dumped it down the crapper. Like I said, I should have reached out,
attempted to find help instead of try to ruin myself but I didn’t.
I
eventually hit rock bottom. I was broke, drunk, and had a girlfriend who
totally sucked ass. Seriously, she was evil, wicked, and one hell of a snob.
She sucked! I hated my life, all aspects of it. So, I ended up hanging out in
the hospital for a few days. C’mon, what do you expect to happen after a case
of Budweiser, a 1.75 of cheap scotch, and a quarter of a bottle of Sapphire. To
think that I was shocked I ended up in the hospital after that episode seems
absurd. After all, I once guzzled down thirteen car bombs as I drank gin and
tonics one night at Carey’s and came out having only a nasty hangover. I gulped
down some charcoal, ate some pudding and Jello, and evacuated my insides every
couple of minutes. Come to think of it, I had a colonoscopy a few years ago and
I am still one clean dude! The nurse, I feel bad that I cannot remember this
person’s name or whether or not the nurse was a male or female, recommended I go
to the Keystone treatment facility and seek out help because I had an obvious
problem. Damn, it was obvious. I remember thinking that because I thought I
concealed it quite well.
I
am discharged and the following day I go to Keystone and take a survey. I wish
they would have given me a copy so that I can see my results and answers today.
I am fairly certain I lied on a few of the questions because I was in denial,
face it, we all are. I then meet with a man who was a recovering alcoholic. I
do not remember how long he was sober for at the time, but I remember it was a
long time. He and I had an incredibly long discussion, as in an afternoon long.
He asked me questions and told me about his life and his life mission. He
recommended that I seek outpatient treatment so that I could work at my
spectacular job of building windows in a factory. I figured what the hell? I might as well go
but had not fully bought in to the program that afternoon. I went to the first
treatment session that evening. It was a Monday. I walk in this room, everybody
is my age or relatively close to my age. I am twenty-five and still a punk
douche. I was scared out of my gourd after the first person spoke. He was a
former meth dealer/user who had just spent the past few years in a federal
penitentiary for distributing meth and had to go through the treatment program
as part of his release. He was serious about it. He wanted to be clean. This man
opened up and shared some pretty disturbing secrets about his childhood. My jaw
was unhinged, my tongue rolled onto the floor, and a waterfall of drool
streamed to the floor. Here I am, a complete stranger sitting next to this man
looking at me and telling the entire group of people, thirty of us, details
that seared into the brain the way a branding iron sears the logo of the
rancher onto the cow’s ass.
Then
comes my turn to speak, yeah, I got to go second on my first night in treatment.
I utter the words softly, “Hi, I’m Mark, I am an alcoholic/addict.” I sat in
astonishment for the duration of a millennium. Actually it was thirty seconds
but felt like ages. I had to grasp myself. I was not going to cry. I promised
myself that nobody will ever make me cry again, including myself. After the thought
of not crying passed over me, I took in the fact that I indeed was a complete
and total user, abuser, fuck up. I proceeded to tell how I got into the
treatment program because I did not know what to say. Next thing I know,
twenty-nine other people are walking over to me and hugging me! It was bazaar
and I got extremely nervous. Not because I did anything wrong, but because I
was getting hugged. For those who do not know me as well, hugs freak me out. I
can do it with my wife and other family members. I make myself do it with my
friends because they are huggers. Body contact freaks me out a bit for some
strange reason. I felt good, I felt good that I was finally not alone, that
there were freaks out there like me. I attended outpatient treatment at the
Keystone facility every Monday through Thursday from August 3rd
through October 18thish. Wow, thinking about that time, it’s
amazing. The feelings I still get, I shudder as I type this. A tsunami of
emotion overcomes me, no I am not crying. I was so lost, misguided, and
destroyed at that time. My foundation as a human being was rebuilt through this
sublime program. I will forever be grateful for the patients and staff of the
Keystone treatment facility.
Every
August 3rd I celebrate my sober birthday. My last drinks and usage
were on July 31st, but my true sobriety began on August 3rd.
That is when I realized how powerful of a disease I was fighting. I was
consumed and defined by that dreadful disease and will be for the entirety of
my life. I am an alcoholic/addict who stands up to this issue and fights it
tougher than Mike Tyson’s knockout right hook. I am a scrapper who will not go
down ever. In AA and treatment they always say never say never. No, that is
fucking bullshit! I can honestly say that I will NEVER consume alcohol ever
again. It is that easy, if a person, especially an alcoholic give him/herself a
little opening, that is all it takes. I have sealed that crack in my
foundation. Hell yeah, I can work in a bar, I can go to a bar with friends, I
can be at family event where everybody is drinking an alcoholic beverage of any
type. I do not have an urge to drink. Why is that? Okay, let’s go back to what sobriety
is. We all know that I do not drink, but sobriety is even more than that.
Remember when I was discussing my identity crisis? Sobriety is dealing with the
emotions, the thoughts, the pain, the demons, the joys, the angels that rumble
around in the heart and mine and finding ways to identify with and develop a
concept of peace with each. Some of it may be as simple as solving a problem.
Some of it may be seeking therapy. Maybe you just need a hug that day, blah! But
sobriety is first admitting there is a problem, fixing who you are, as in
dealing with all issues, and then working towards helping or being kind to
others. Let’s call it spreading love.
So,
the past eight years, I have dealt with my problems and my identity crisis.
Some of that is via the tap method. Now, I conduct it differently than the
psychologists who are recommending it. I cannot just sit there and tap my own
arms while thinking through my issues. I listen to music, preferably
sad/depressing music or lovey type of punk, instead of crossing my arms and
tapping my shoulders I play video games. I prefer to do this with sports games
so that I do not have to think about the game. Then I go over every thought I
may be having at that time and analyze why, what sparked it, why it happened,
how it happened, how I can overcome it if it is a negative, how can I ensure
that I will not cause others to make me feel that way, and how I can convert it
to peace.
This
summer has been the summer of alliterationofm seeking identity. Who am I? What
am I? I want this peace so damn bad. My beautiful and all too precious wife
gave me the greatest birthday/sober birthday present I could have ever
received. It was perfect and the timing was perfect. It was a trip to Kansas
City to go to Kaufman Stadium and watch the Royals play, visit the Negro
Leagues Baseball Museum, go to Chiefs training camp, and to spend time with my
aunt and uncle and their children which two are married and have children the
other two do not yet. Visiting the K, NLBM, and training camp was spectacular.
Great memories and my son has a new favorite Chief. But, the key portion of the
trip was visiting with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. I do not know if this was
intended by my wife, or if this was a by-product of this positive trip, but my
identity issues, my family pain was set to peace. This family (my aunt, uncle,
and cousins) are on my adopted mother’s side of the family. We were talking one
evening, and my aunt and uncle said to me, “Although you are adopted, we don’t
care about that, you are our family. You are blood,” with a conviction that I
have never, ever heard in my life. They were adamant that I was their nephew,
that I was extremely loved by them. They show it too, the way they speak to me,
the way the teach me about our ancestors, the way they act towards me, and the
fun they have with me and my family. I am a Messmer, Marks, Jones, Novak,
Martin, Santori, Somadossi. I am the
railroad crossing that connects seven strains of families. I have found
familial peace for the first time in my thirty-three years on Earth.
Now,
how could I work in a bar and be sober? I like to say, if it is easy, it is
probably not worth doing. You see, my buddy JFMcF the third got me a job as a
carder at the bar. I put bouncer on my resume because it looks tougher but I think
I had to actually perform bouncer type duties three or four times. I mostly
checked id’s, pushed drunk girls away from me, and cleaned up glasses. I like
challenges. I also figured that if I am going to be sober and survive in the
world we live in, I need to be able to be around drinking. No problem! I was
fired later that summer because the other carder called in with a tooth ache
and the owner of the Pub was crazy and I think may possibly have a personality
disorder of some sort. I am not doctor but those mood swings, damn!
Thank
you for reading through my attempt at stream of consciousness writing. I am
doing my best attempt at pulling a Jack Kerouac minus the coffee, cigarettes,
heroin, and countless days without sleep. I am staying up a few hours past my
regular bed time, sucking on butterscotch candies, and drinking copious amounts
of ice water. I promise you that future writings on this blog will be planned,
detailed, funny, not depressing, and a thesaurus will be used. I will also be
attempting metaphors, similes, alliteration, flashback, foreshadowing, and a
multitude of other literary techniques that I am sure you do not care about but
I find to be fun to list! I love you all, now go eat a breakfast burrito or
some tacos depending on the time of day you are reading this.
PS) no corrections were made to
any misspellings, grammatical errors, or other stupid mistakes I probably made.
Stream of conscience baby!
PSS) Thank you Uncle B, Aunt S,
Beautiful J, L,M, C,J,L,M, JFMcF the third, Mom, Mom, Dad, Godfather, S, E,
R,J,D, Uncle J, Uncle J, Aunt J, Aunt D, Aunt T, Uncle T, Uncle J, Aunt A,
Uncle C, G, and anybody else who helped form this lump of coal into a shiny
diamond!