64. Lucky as a Mild Heart Attack

Dave was the next to arrive.  “You know I’m working on not being such a jackass?” he asked me.  I nodded.  “I’m not doing very well.  On Sunday I was in line for communion. The line moved slow.  By the time I got communion I was mad. Afterwards, I thought ‘what kinda jerk gets mad in communion line?’  Ken, I’m tellin’ you I felt so hopeless about myself, I almost drank over it.  Went to a bar and ordered a Coke. Thought about ordering a shot – told myself if I’m gonna be a total ass my whole life I might as well be a drunk too.”

“Going to the bar was courting disaster,” I said, “but the whole episode was also a blessing in disguise.”  He shook his head, and stared at his shoes, but I went on. “Sometimes a near miss is a wake-up call.  Like barely avoiding a wreck makes you drive more cautiously, or a mild heart attack convinces you to change your diet.  Neither one is a good thing while they’re happening, and both should be avoided, but in the long run they might do you some good.  Likewise, don’t go back to the bar, learn from that near miss.”

Today I will learn from near misses before they become direct hits.

Sober Not Somber © 2015, 2016 by Ken Montrose

(Just a reminder: Sober Not Somber is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to anyone you might know is purely coincidental.)