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A sober acquaintance of mine once shared at a meeting that he was hoping people could pray for his friend, who had recently relapsed after deciding to go out drinking for one night—and one night only. You can probably guess whether the relapse was limited to one night only.
Anyway, this guy shared that his friend (we’ll call him Billy) hit a nearby bar for a few drinks. Then he went to another bar for a few more drinks. Then he went to a strip club, where he had a few more drinks and also did some cocaine. Unfortunately, the cocaine was laced with fentanyl and Billy overdosed in the bar.
Lucky for him, he was revived somehow within a minute of overdosing, and he shook off the cobwebs sitting at the bar. Then… he bought the entire bar a round of drinks to celebrate that he didn’t just die.
That is exactly the kind of drunken preposterousness that seems made up… but us alcoholics can all empathize. To be honest, when I heard that story, my first thought was that it made total sense, that not dying of an overdose is a reason to celebrate with more substance abuse.
That story was fresh in my head when I brought a meal into a local homeless shelter and there was a flurry of activity. Turns out, a man overdosed and passed out on the toilet in the men’s room. The staff used NARCAN to bring him back, and he came roaring back to life… and was furious with the staff. He said he was just sleeping, not using anything. I couldn’t believe how mad he was at the staff, saying they overreacted, that he was just asleep.
Then the EMTs arrived and the guy only got more and more angry. The lead EMT listened to him spew against the staff, using some very choice language, and she eventually jumped in and say that he should be grateful that the staff cared enough to try to save his life. He reiterated, even louder this time, that he was fine, that he was just dozing off in the bathroom.
He eventually waved off the emergency crew and told the staff to piss off, that he wasn’t staying at the shelter that night. He grabbed some food from us and then left the shelter, saying he would just walk around outside all night.
I can’t say for sure… but I didn’t buy the sleeping story. I used that same bathroom and it was about 41 degrees in there, so I don’t think anybody could take a quick nap while sitting on a cold toilet seat. My guess is, he did indeed overdose and was just pointing the finger at everybody but himself as he ranted and raved. And then he let the shelter door slam behind him in anger as he waded out into 20 degree weather, all while professing a pretty hard to believe story.
Again, another example of a story that would be very confusing to a regular person but makes perfect sense to an alcoholic. It’s a good reminder of just how absurd the active alcoholic’s mind can be. Thank god I don’t have to live like that any more.
This newsletter is a place of joy and laughter about the deadly serious business of sobriety. So, as I will often do, let me close with a joke:
The drunk went to the police station to speak with the burglar who had broken into his house the night before.
“You’ll get your chance in court,” said the desk sergeant.
“It isn’t that,” said the drunk. “I want to know how he got into the house without waking my wife. I’ve been trying to do that for years.”
(Credit: AA Grapevine, April 2000, Shirlene H from Bountiful, Utah)
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