Good afternoon;
I went to the Starbucks up at St. Thomas this morning, got there around 7:45 am., have to get used to a different class of 'regulars' here. I felt like I was back in Florida during the 'season'. A large percentage of golf shirt and skirt clad, upper middle class, upper middle age couples, (among others). And the Giant is just a nice normal slightly cramped food store, not the "Gucci Giant" I am accustomed to, and no self check out either....ahh well, life is tuff when 'you've died and gone to the suburbs', sacrifices must be made......LOL!! I had stopped up there last night, and my 'reputation' had preceded me, Morgan, who I knew from when she filled in at Pikesville a few times, introduced me to the other girl, Courtney...(Gen 'Y' names or what??), as Famous Dave,....LOL, and said I was the guy that Melissa, the Mgr. had been talking about, who would be coming up when Pikesville closed....I wonder if I can get the new glasses I've got coming with a dark tint.....DON'T Applaud....Just Throw Money......(autographs will be available at the end of the post..........rotflmao ...)
In a more serious vein, I ran into an old friend and housemate from 10 years ago, Jerry Sutton, (see I told you I would mention you) and his wife Ellen, who I had not met...Mazel tov to you both.
We caught up on life and circumstances, and on his way out as he shook hands, I felt a crinkly piece of paper, that I thought was a phone number or contact info, I was both embarassed and gratified to find out it was $10.00. Thanks and God Bless. I went up the the 24 hour, combination Laundromat, Latin American live soap opera, Owings Mills alcoholics convention, and freak show, after thecoffee shop closed last night, did my laundry, had a drink, and people watched. I got into an extended conversation with a nice guy, Joe, who is an admitted alcoholic, a certified horticulturist, (not working at the moment), and also homeless. I have seen him at the laundomat before, it is both his hangout, and 'home', (he sleeps in the wooded area in the back, or on the concrete pads at the rear of the buildings, and does odd jobs around for the barber shop, liquor store,and laundromat to keep beer money in his hand, and panhandles when he can find a customer who is out of sight of the video suveillance cameras the rest of the time. He asked if I had any change, so I bought him a 40 oz. of beer, because I know what it feels like and mainly, because he did not try a con job, but was straight & up front about it. As we talked I saw where I could have ended up if I had kept on or if I go back to, the dopes and cokes. His 'camping out' tends to be more of a 'passing out' in consistent locations on a regular basis. He is supposed to be leaving to go to Kentucky on Wednesday to live with his father, since his mother has recently passed away. He was talking about stopping drinking beer all the time, and only drinking " one or two mixed drinks, when he watches a dvd on Saturday nights", I once thought that I could go back to 'recreational heroin use'...(HAH ain't no such animal!) on the weekends with a leetle-teeny--weeny bit of cocaine to balance it out...I am unashamedly proud that I chose to search out the 'bupe' on the last 3 occasions that my body and my cash flow would have permitted usage....may not seem much to be proud of to you...but when was the last time you actually, really, truly, had to "Just Say No" to the most powerful force that ever controlled you, and at the same time was the most wonderful purely physical sensation you ever enjoyed? Yeah......imagine that! Taking back control is hard but reasonably easy compared to keeping that control in light of the pressures faced on the street, combined with the mental and emotional stresses that threaten to overwhelm. the good thing is that while addiction is a progessive disease.....so is recovery!.........Okay I think my time is about up for today, I'm gonna go look for a shower or a filled swimming pool....it's 80 dgrees out side now.......See you Monday........Dave
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