"WHAT HAPPENED" MY STORY CONTINUES WITH EMPHASIS ON RECOVERY-Part II

My first year of sobriety was far from easy. I was faced with many monumental obstacles and traumas, that without the 12-Step Programs and steadfast support of its members, I'd have certainly faltered and, in all probability, drank and drugged myself to death.
As I said in the first installment, I attended meetings upon meetings, never less than three a day, for the first decade. Often times I'd be half-asleep, sitting propped up in a folding chair in who knows how many church basements and school halls around New Orleans and Mississippi. But, I was willing to be there and some way, some how the messages shared by my peers made a deep impression on my mind. I didn't just listen with my ears, I listened with my heart and gut.
I voraciously read any and all material I could get in an earnest effort to learn and develop a better understanding of my disease and how I could better apply the steps and principles of Al-Anon, A.A., and N.A. (Its Big Book came out in the early 80s.) in keeping it's deadly manifestations in check. I did journals, and workbooks, and written assignments as my sponsors directed me to do.
I was not permitted to moderate, let alone chair meetings, until I had over 365 days, a full sober year in the rooms under my belt. I was allowed to share, but if I dared to lapse into venting, I was immediately silenced. You went to a sponsor with that type of personal verbage. A meeting was not a dumping ground or place to feed my ego with ill-founded ideas I was profound or wise, since I was no more than a struggling newcomer with a lot to learn.
I was in constant contact with my sponsors, plural. There were times I didn't think I could take a shit without checking with one of them beforehand. But, the phone calls, the one-on-one visits, the dependence on these caring mentors reinforced that I was worth saving and I did have a chance to make it as they had. I was not alone and never needed to be alone again. If I hesitated or balked at a suggestion made by them, you can be assured my obstinence was dealt with severely. I loathe to remember how many times I was made to clean the kitchen floor with a toothbrush because I made the mistake of saying, "But". One especially memorable occasion was when I threw a tantrum in front of the three drag queens, who were my first sponsors. I think I mouthed off perhaps a couple minutes before they threw their boas off and butched up. From out of thin air they pulled a sleeping bag and zipped me up to the neck in its confines. To make matters worse, they broke off the zipper making it clear I wasn't going anywhere. Then, if that wasn't bad enough, I had to lay there and hear their tough love critiques of my behavior for hours and hours and hours. But, it was a lesson well learned. Perhaps, they didn't have all the answers and maybe they too were capable of mistakes, but there was one thing they knew how to do and could teach me. They knew how not to pick up a drink or drug and for that I was willing to go to any lengths, no matter how bizarre.
"What's a 'slip'," I casually asked the guys one day. I thought for a second my lips would be ripped off my face and whipped with my tongue. "There is no such word in your vocabulary," they screamed in unison. "Maybe there is a different definition in Webster's, but in your dictionary, Cherie and, that's the only one that counts, it means just one thing. Slip=Death. There is no going back out and strolling back in. You get no second chance. You'll hear people say, if you can't remember the last time you used then it wasn't. Well, you better recall every detail of that nightmare on July 15th, because that was it for you. You may still have the luxury of being crazy, but you can never drink a drop or pop an aspirin again." The men were livid, but through the ranting I saw the fear in their eyes that I would even broach the subject. "Slip! How ridiculous," they continued to yell, "You don't just trip and fall and end up back out there. It's a deliberate, self-sabotaging decision a person makes. A person that wants to run from the scary world of living sober and clean because it takes guts to follow the steps and be rigorously honest. It's nice and Pollyannaish to throw around the slogans 'One Day At A Time' and 'Just For Today'. But, you better wise up, Honey this isn't a 24 hour proposition for you. It's forever. It's a lifetime. Get that through your thick skull and you will never consider for a moment gambling with a 'Slip'."
If there was one thing that made the most of an impression with me throughout my years in recovery it was that lecture. Tragically, these guys couldn't practice what they preached. Each went back out and never returned. I buried them all.
I was taught, from the beginning, the importance of giving back what was freely given to me. In the early days, I accompanied old-timers on hundreds of 12th-Step calls. I, likewise, joined them on visits to various hospitals and institutions in the greater metropolis. Of course, I was not permitted to personally deal with the patients and inmates because of limited experience in sobriety and chemical freedom, but I was allowed to set up chairs, dump ashtrays, and make coffee. After a year or so, I graduated and was given the honor of being a greeter at the door of Intergroup.
I watch people come and go in large numbers these days because they are rushed and expected to "get it" in a six week period or god forbid, before their insurance runs out. I was told I was a work in progress and it took me a long time to get sick and it would take an even longer time for me to get better. I was once told by a newcomer that he had a month in treatment and that was equivalent to five years in the program. Needless, to say he didn't make it.
Living in the solution and not the problem was making my life far different than anything I had ever experienced before. Of course, I still made many many mistakes and used horrible judgment. However, I never picked up a drug or drink and learned from those transgressions and was constantly trying to be the healthiest and best person I could possibly be.
Perhaps, I became too confident or lax in practicing the teaching of my Programs, but when I was three years sober, I really put all I had worked for in jeopardy. It should come as no surprise a woman was involved, and insult to injury, someone in N.A. and A.A.
The dark-haired, sexy, little Italian woman instantly caught my attention. She was not a familiar face around the tables, but she sure talked the talk and seemed to be pretty centered. I must have reached her also with what I shared because we made a b-line to each other as soon as the meeting ended. Within fifteen minutes we were laughing and talking over coffee and before the waitress came by with a refill we were in bed at her place. And what a place it was-pool, jacuzzi, tennis court. Holy Shit, I always attract the wealthy ones and this one was a psychologist. Jackpot! When she informed me she was just three months clean (I later learned she was using the entire time we were together.) I faced a terrible dilemma. It wasn't like I hadn't 13th-Stepped in the past, but my affairs were always with women with over a year at least. This was a baby not even six months around the rooms. I gave in to my passions and let myself believe I could handle both my and her recovery. It wouldn't take me long to learn my selfish decision would have dire consequences.
Our honeymoon existence was short-lived. Pointing to her credentials on the wall, gave Bev the authority, in her mind, to criticize my time in the Programs and quality of recovery. She was a Primal Therapist and decided the 12th-Step groups fell by the wayside in truly addressing all the maladies that plagued Cherie. She would sensory deprive me and then proceed with reparenting. As if my first parents from Hell weren't enough now I had her and the padded room to contend with where she did her thing.
The E.R. staff and the Police stood by the gurney as I was being worked on. "I count 13 stab wounds so far," a nurse said, "There could be more, but the two at the bottom are the worst. They are deep and her intestines could be perforated." "Tell us who did this to you. Just say her name," the officer whispered in my ear, "Don't let her get away with this." "I fell. I fell. Please get Bev," I pleaded, "No, no drugs. I'm in recovery. I refuse any drugs." "Yea she fell over 13 times on a butcher knife," I heard the surgeon sarcastically say, "How can someone so protective of their recovery be so self-destructive?"
I was healing and threw myself into my work at the University. I went to breakfast, lunch and evening meetings outside of the Quarter and began to make new acquaintances.
The voice on the other end of the receiver sounded so weak, so fragile. "I have cancer, Cherie. Come home, please. I promise I'll never hurt you again. I disregarded my sponsors' objections. I reassured my concerned friends I'd be fine. I returned to Bev and a fate I could have never imagined.
It was devastating watching her deteriorate physically and mentally. I did everything in my power to make things easier for her, but to no avail. She was terrified and angry and I was the only one there for her to take her frustrations out on. It all culminated one morning when instead of having scheduled surgery she fled the hospital with her ex and mother. Upon my arrival at the house, the three of them as a group attacked me. They were in mass denial of the malignancies eating away her body and my concerned presence was the rude awakening they sought by any means to escape. They beat me and kicked me about the head, face, neck, stomach, and back. They went inside to get a gun, Bev telling her co-horts, "I'll shoot her and say she was one of my crazy patients. It'll be self-defense." I crawled away as fast as I could and hid in a neighbor's yard.
I was rushed to the hospital and was in very bad shape. I had broken ribs, large clumps of my hair were ripped from my scalp, my right eye was dislocated from its socket. I had a hair-line fracture in my cervical spine and another one in my lumbar region. But, I managed to refuse drugs again as the doctors and nurses did their procedures. I might be a total fuck up in every other regard but I would not let anything or anybody get me to pick up again.
When I left the hospital I needed to be cared for and turned to a woman with whom I had had a brief affair over a year prior. She and her husband were both members of N.A. and were warned by Bev to steer clear of me or they would be sorry. When the cab dropped me off at their doorstep, I was met with a very cool and highly suspicious reception. I didn't understand what was going on, but found acceptance in a mysterious young woman they had over for backup should trouble ensue with me. I decided it was better for me to be alone with the mess I had let happen and so, despite their transparent objections I prepared to leave. The quiet woman, who I had seen at many meetings but did not know, stepped forward and appeared to want to come to my aid. But, she was stopped in her tracks by a glance from the couple. I left and headed to my apartment with no earthly idea how I would survive the night.
I did everything, save take a drink or drug, to alleviate my physical agony. But, my mental and spiritual pain and anguish, at that moment, were beyond soothing. I had survived far worse atrocities in my 30 years, this I knew. As far back as I could remember fate dealt me cruel and near fatal blows. Perpetrators far more devious and maniacal had done their damnedest to annihilate the child, the teen, the woman I was. Yet, I had risen each time, perhaps not like a phoenix, but I did always manage to struggle to my feet and persevered. This time would be no different.
"That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger," I had heard said. I certainly didn't feel strong, anything but. I was long past tired and totally disgusted not with what others had done to me, but what I had done to myself.
No, this time would definitely be different. I felt something stirring within my ravaged body and throbbing brain. This time would be totally and unequivocally different. I felt a strange warmth in the pit of my belly and it was getting hotter with each passing second. By the time the fire consumed my being I realized I was angry. I was seething with rage. I was still around for a reason, I had no idea what, but I would damn well fight for my right to be, I would fight for Cherie. If I had to crawl on all fours I would be at Sunday's N.A. meeting and then, I would join the members of the group and hang at Bob's for dinner and fellowship. I was going to take a stand and defend my place in this world, my freedom to exist. And I could only do it fortified with my Programs.
The still anonymous young woman looked at me with compassion as I entered the room and sat down. Although she said nothing, I was bolstered by the caring concern in her glance. I told Bob after the meeting to set another place at the table. "That is if it's still an open invitation for me to join you and the gang today. I could sure use some good company." He smiled and winked. Then, in turning to the woman of mystery, who was watching me from a distance, Bob said, "Angie you are expected at my place. No excuses."
Neither of us spoke for what seemed like an eternity. We sat near each other and toyed with the food on our plates. But, despite the tension you could cut with a knife something else was passing silently between us. She stood and readied to leave. I felt my heart sink. "I'm going for a ride. You want to come," I barely heard her mumble. "Oh yes, please that would be wonderful," I quickly replied trying to pull my broken body out of the chair. "Wait here, I'll get the truck and then, help you." She had no idea how this simple extension of her hand in friendship had already helped.
A word here, a phrase there and finally, the deafening quiet was broken. Soon, we were ending each other's sentences. We listened to music and drove around New Orleans for four, five, six hours. I was attracted to the long haired hippie chick, but it went beyond that. She had an understated intellect and superficiality was totally alien in her persona. I felt in communion with her and sensed the feeling was mutual. Another couple hours and many miles passed. Neither one of us wanted this interlude to end, but we knew with the approach of dawn it had to. She drove me back to my car and insisted on following me home to be sure I got there safely. I watched her leave and was overwhelmed with loneliness. I turned and slowly started to walk to my apartment with heavy heart not knowing when or if I'd ever see her again.
I heard the sound of the Ford 150's chugging engine getting louder and louder. A truck door slammed and before I could utter any exclamation of surprise Angie was back at my side, taking my elbow and giving me support. I was enveloped with gratitude and a true sense of hope for the future. If someone this honest and good and wise could take a risk on me, maybe she saw a glimmer of light I had never seen. Maybe I indeed wasn't worthless and deserved saving, as I never quite believed. Angie never left my side or withdrew her loving support and so, began our ten years of life as a couple. And so began the true growth and recovery promised in the Programs.