Sober 37 years since 9/12/1957, Dave has received many benefits beyond his sobriety but the main one is his sanity. He had about everything he needed growing up. At 12 years old his parents divorced as a result of his father's drinking. He promised his mother he would never drink like his father.
He started drinking in high school with the big boys coming back from WWII. He went to college and became a coach who often got in trouble outside and inside school. A marriage lasted a year and a half. He moved from school to school drinking in the morning to stop the shakes. His mother sent him to a number of drying out places but he never dried out but did lots of tapering-off. He went on a two week black out and woke in jail for the first time.
He dried out naked with the DTs in a padded cell in Dick's Hill state mental hospital. He went to Dick's Hill five times in the next six months because of his drinking. He and two others escaped. He made his way home. His mother had a nervous breakdown and the family gave him lots of money to leave her alone. He burned through the money.
Then he went to the chain gain for crimes he committed in blackouts. He began his AA journey in prison. Once out, even with second chances, he wound up drunk on skid row in Roanoke. He cried out to God for help. A man in town was looking for him, found him and helped get into AA.
He has never had a drink since.
