4 Years Sober

As of July 8th I have abstained from alcohol 4 years. That's quite an accomplishment for someone like me who drank pretty consistently for well over 45 years. i certainly tried to control my drinking over the years, even stopped completely for a few months at times, but always went back to drinking. I'm grateful for the friends I have met in AA meetings, along with the insight I get from going to an average of 5-10 meetings each month. When I initially quit I worried that friends who knew me as a drinker would give me grief over not drinking, but that just did not happen. At social functions it's clear to me that no one really cares what I drink (or don't drink). Family reunions, post ride parties, and my recent high school reunion are just a few experiences that I've weathered without any real temptation.

I have over 20 cousins and as I've spent time with many of them it's clear that alcohol was an issue on my mother's side of the family. Several cousins like me no longer drink, and there are at least a few who still do but probably should not. In retrospect genetics plus building up a huge tolerance were the main reasons behind my addiction. The comments I originally posted after 15 months still ring true today. Whenever, I think about whether i could drink normally it's easy to remind myself that I can't and the urge passes fairly easily. However, I have learned that it is very dangerous to get too cocky or complacent about this since I've seen individuals with much more sobriety than me slip off the slope.

Back to the Future--High School Reunion

Last weekend I drove to my hometown of Danville, Virginia for my 50th high school reunion. This was the fifth reunion for the class of 1964 and I have attended all but one. I enjoyed reconnecting with classmates, and there were a few at this reunion that i had not seen since high school graduation. There are several though that seem to have disappeared and about 50 have died. My brother mark also came back and we had a chance to ride bikes all over town on the roads we road on so many years ago. Whenever i visit Danville I'm reminded that it's a better place to be from than at. The Dan River runs right through the town and it has always amazed me that the town has never really taken advantage of that. on the north side of the river there is now a paved bike path/trail that is pleasant but otherwise the river is wasted. Now that Dan River Mills is gone there is a lot of river space that could be developed especially near the old downtown area. Danville just doesn't seem to be able to take advantage of it, but that's always been one of the problems with Danville.

I enjoyed cycling with my brother and another classmate (Dick Smith)and was reminded that since there's a river in the middle of town there are plenty of hills on either side. it also seemed like I could ride from one end of town to the other in a matter of minutes. I saw virtually no other cyclists the entire weekend except on the river trail. It reminds me of how many folks in Atlanta favor cycling on the Silver Comet Trail which like the trail in Danville is fairly narrow. The difference is that there are a lot fewer folks on Danville's trail which makes it somewhat more tolerable.

So it was an overall good weekend ecept for the actual drive up and back. It was my first road trip without Greta and it was pretty lonely. Even now i'm still adjusting to life without her.