High School Years:
I have described in detail the exact place that I took my first drink at age 14. I know what car I was in, who was riding in the vehicle and what intersection we passed through when that drink occurred. Later that night I passed out from drunkenness. This would be to familiar an experience throughout my drinking over the next 23 years. I believe I was an alcoholic from the start, in waiting, if you will.
From an early age my Dad had been grooming me to be a professional golfer. I had become pretty good at the game and garnered a lot of attention and some success. I didn’t really care for the game but my Dad pushed me. I would continue to compete for some years into my adulthood. I can recall in high school sharing a bottle of Thunderbird during daily practice. We would just hide it from the coach. Every tournament we went to was a drunken affair. Always separating ourselves from the coach in which rooms we stayed in. We would party and one instance I broke my thumb in a motel room wrestling match and had to withdraw from the event. In the van with the coach drive were even so bold as to sneak in a drink on the ride home You see, alcohol took precedent over everything for me.
My early school years consisted of getting drunk on the weekends and escalating to getting drunk any day I could. We would even sneak in a drink during our lunch break at the local restaurant before returning to 5th period English class. The drinking age was 18 years old and we usually to get alcohol with no problem. I managed to skid through high school and graduate. Didn’t have good grades and didn’t score well on any tests.
You might ask how I did all this drinking. I had part-time jobs and would come in late to the motel. I had no rules or curfews. My dad did the best he could at the time. I realize that now. I have no ill will toward him, He has since passed but I was able to reconcile any differences with him before that. I will discuss that further when I write about my sober years soon.
That is just a few examples of how I lived during my high school years. I was an alcoholic early on and the progression that occurred as I grew older could only be described as nightmarish.
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