Tuesday

August 5, 2014

 

Life on Life's Terms

The angel is in the details

              Normally hearing all about somebody else's wedding, even someone I really cared for, would have bored me to tears.  I'm not sure I was even hearing the details.  What I did hear was the way she savored every detail.

"I'm rambling on!" she said.

"I'm enjoying it," I said.

"Oh brother! Like you care about bridesmaids gowns!" she hugged me, and laughed.

 

Today I will savor every detail of my plans.

Life on Life's Terms (c) 2014 by Ken Montrose

Freebie

This week's freebie is the Kindle version of The Road Way Less Traveled: Starting Recovery Young, is available at  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S.


To read Kindle books on a PC or Mac, you can download a free app at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000426311

 

Upcoming

Burnout: Clinical, Ethical, & Supervisory Issues
September 12, 2014 at Greenbriar-New Kensington
9:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m
$30 payable in advance, at the door, or by invoice after the training

This three hour training is accredited for:

• Addiction Counselors by the Pa. Certification Board
• CRCs  by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification # 11938191652 and 11938191653 (one hour Ethics portion)
• Counselors by NAADAC #477 and NBCC #6352
• EAPs by the Employee Assistance Certification Commission
• Social Workers by the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work.

Other Blogs

 AArdvarks, a daily messages blog about a group of young people in recovery can be found at: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6762173-intuit

 

Smart Bears, Angry Rats

Dancing with gorillas  75 years from now

Over Olsen's objections, Ubutu called Sammy to offer him another chance.  Ubutu told Sammy that he had a month to show he was back on the right track.  He agreed to replace the mice that had run away or been killed.  Sammy would be randomly tested for drugs.  Any use would result in Sammy being thrown out of the lab the same day.

An hour after Ubutu called, the iWall chirped, but no image appeared.  At first Sammy thought T-Cell and his friends were hacking into his iWall again. 

The Caller, as Sammy came to know him, knew more about Sammy's research than anybody but Sammy. 

"We'd like you to work in our lab," The Caller said.  "Our lab is quite profitable, but exposes us to unacceptable risks. Curing cancer would be very lucrative, and would provide some cover for our other endeavors."

"You make drugs," Sammy said.

"We sell life enhancement," The Caller answered.

"I don't work for drug dealers." "But you're familiar with our products, or at least one of them."
 

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sammy lied.

"Where do you think Lil' Bit comes from?  Do you think it grows on trees? We are the sole producer of Lil' Bit east of the Mississippi."

"Should I be impressed?"

"No, you should wonder where you will get Lil' Bit if we cut you off.  With a few calls I can make sure nobody on either side of the Mississippi sells you so much as a strip of Lil' Bit."

"Let me think about it," Sammy said weakly, turning off the iWall.  There was, he knew, nothing to think about.  He just wasn't ready to face the obvious – he needed Lil' Bit to function. 

Sammy had never been to an NA meeting. If he had, he might have heard the slogan when you dance with a gorilla, the gorilla decides when to stop.  The gorilla could be food, sex, gambling, or any of a thousand addictions.

Sammy had asked his own gorilla, Lil' Bit, to dance, and Lil' Bit was not done dancing with him.

 

Today I will ask no gorillas to dance.

 

Smart Bears, Angry Rats (c) 2014 by Ken Montrose