Saturday, March 7^th, 2020

Admiration

“What’s up with your stepbrother and the car dealership?” I asked Rudy.

“Turns out the police have been watching him for some time,” Rudy said. “We had two sets of books. One he showed me and one he kept at home. He owed some coke dealers money. So he started selling for them.  People would test drive a car and get a gram.  He’d work the cost of it into our expenses a bunch of different ways. Buy a car and he’d up the price to cover the five grams in the glove box.”

Rudy shook his head, took a sip of coffee, and shook his head again.

“I hated my stepbrother, but I admired him. I thought he was a better salesman than I would ever be. I wondered why I couldn’t be as good at customer relations as he was. Guys would stop in all the time after they bought a car. I had no idea they were buying coke.”

Today I’ll be careful who I admire.

2020 Vision ©2017 & 2018 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Saturday, March 7^th, 2020

Time Takes Time

MaryJo was sitting in her usual spot when I got to the AA meeting. Nothing but crumbs rested on her plate, and her face looked a little fuller. She was smiling.

I said hello, and pointed out that she seemed happy.  

MaryJo said, “I went out on a date. We were like a couple of teenagers.”

“You had sex in the parking lot and told everyone you were at the movies?” Rudy asked.  He yelped when she kicked him under the table.

“We got something to eat in the food court and walked around the mall,” MaryJo said, “Like a couple of junior high kids.”

“Are you going to see him again?” I asked.

“No. He’s a wonderful man, but I’m just not ready.” She paused, and then said, “It’s been years since my husband died. Do you think there’s something wrong with me, that I’m waiting too long?” 

“I think time takes time,” I said.

“So, when he walked you to your car, did he get in?” Rudy asked. This time he yelped even louder. 

Today I will remember the AA slogan, ‘time takes time.’

2020 Vision ©2017 & 2018 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Wednesday, March 4^th, 2020

Alive and Kicking

Not only was there a full Catholic Mass, a Lutheran minister read from the Old Testament and 1 Corinthians. The soloist was from the First Baptist Church, accompanied by the youth pastor on keyboard.  

“Jack was an atheist,” I said to Jill afterwards.  “Did he want a church funeral?”

Jill wiped a tear away. “No, but I always joked that if he died first, I’d make his funeral as churchy as possible. My cousin is a priest. He’s friends with a bunch of clergy in recovery. I told him to invite them all.”

She laughed a little, wiped away another tear, and added, “Some days life is a celebration and you kick up your heels.  Some days life kicks you. You can curl up or you can kick back.  I’m alive, I’m kicking by getting  the last laugh on Jack.”

Today I’m alive, and kicking.

2020 Vision ©2017 & 2018 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Free Kindle Workbooks (can be read on any Mac or PC)

Forgiveness in Early Recovery by Ken Montrose

Written for people new to recovery, this workbook helps the reader develop a realistic outlook on forgiveness. Basic, and sometimes difficult, truths discussed in Forgiveness include:

▸ The people we hope will forgive us don’t have to.

▸ Seeing the other person’s point of view isn’t always easy, our point of view may not be easy for them to see.

▸ We do well to practice the AA slogan: ‘clean your side of the street.’

▸ Forgiveness is a wonderful gift, but one we may have to give judiciously.

▸ Part of recovery is learning to forgive ourselves.

Available free of charge  January 29^th – February 2^nd at: https://www.amazon.com/Ken-Montrose/e/B001K8MG0S

Smart Bears, Angry Rats: A Somewhat Sci-Fi Daily Recovery Message Novella by Ken Montrose

Smart Bears, Angry Rats is another in a series of thought-for-the day books, focused on recovery, but applicable to everyday life. A book within a book, Smart Bears, Angry Rats tells the story of a scientist seventy-five years into the future trying to cure cancer. He hopes to win back his estranged wife, but becomes addicted to a drug called “Lil' Bit” instead. Carelessness leads to chemically enhanced mice escaping, with dire consequences 150 years from now. The reader peers over my shoulder in present day through the eyes of my wife and children while I conjure up the daily messages.

Here's an excerpt:

Somes

Blondie was reading over my shoulder. "If the world is as bleak as you paint it to be," my daughter asked, "then why does Sonya seem sorta happy?"

"She believes in 'somes'."

"Sums?"

"Somes. Somebody, somewhere, is working on something better. When your grandmother was a little girl, cancer was a death sentence. She was diagnosed at forty-five and lived another thirty-five years. Why? Somebody, somewhere, working on something came up with better cancer treatment."

"Wasn't it somebody working on something in a lab that caused the whole world to collapse in your story? In fact, wasn't he working on a cure for cancer?"

"Yep. You can focus on bitter ironies, or you can have hope. Sonya has hope."

Today I will have some hope, and hope in the somes.

Available free of charge  January 29th – February 2nd at: https://www.amazon.com/Ken-Montrose/e/B001K8MG0S

Wednesday, March 4^th, 2020

Tough

Her name was Katie, and when she let go, we saw she’d left two make-up smudges and glitter on my white shirt. Wiping her eyes, she said, “I’m so sorry.”

I shrugged. “You’re really struggling with this,” I said. “I’m glad you got to cry it out a little.”

A half smile crossed her face. “A lot of my life has been a swirling puddle of suck.  This is just the latest miserable whirlpool.  Losing my dad to heroin, and watching my mother drink herself stupid, toughened me up.”

She grabbed a tissue from a box on a table by the casket. “I know I look hard and a little crazy, but I kept my heart. I have a boyfriend. Two years – that’s an eternity when you’re in high school. I take care of my mother, even though she never took care of me.”

Today I’ll be grateful for whatever toughens me without hardening my heart.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Wednesday, March 4^th, 2020

Father Figure

Ten minute later I was at the funeral home, standing in front of an odd combination of musicians. Jack’s friends played the guitar, violin, and flute so softly I didn’t recognize the song. A pale young girl - pierced lip, nose ring, and a star tattoo on the shaved side of her head - stood next to me.  She saw the puzzled look on my face and sang a little bit of the chorus: “I don’t like you, but I love you. You really got a hold on me.” We listened to the Smokey Robinson classic together in silence for a minute until she broke into the final verse:

“I wanna leave you, don't wanna stay here.

“Don't wanna spend another day here.

“I wanna split now, I can't quit now.

“You’ve really got a hold on me.”

“Heroin killed my daddy,” she said.  “Jack was his sponsor. After my daddy died, Jack sent me a present every year on my birthday. Ten straight years. Sometimes my drunk-ass mother would forget, but never Jack. Called me at the start of each school year to encourage me. Came to a couple of my talent shows when I first started singing. Doesn’t sound like much, but he was the closest I ever got to having a real father.”

She buried her face in my chest and wrapped her arms around me. Spasms of abandonment, anger, and pain wracked her body as she sobbed until she couldn’t anymore.

Today I will stay clean, knowing the pain addiction causes loved ones.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Wednesday, March 4^th, 2020

Yellow Light

Jack’s funeral was held in his hometown, a place I’d never been before. My mind was clouded with sadness as I came over the crest of a hill. Thinking my GPS had gotten me lost, I hardly noticed the traffic light at the bottom had turned yellow. It turned red before I got to the intersection. I had to swerve to miss a truck that would have squashed me like a bug.

“That yellow should have been longer,” I yelled to the steering wheel. ‘Or I should have been paying closer attention,’ I thought. ‘You don’t always get a lot of warning.  Jack didn’t. He relapsed and a few months later he was dead.’ 

Today I’ll remember sometimes Life’s warnings are brief.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Tuesday, March 3^rd, 2020

Before You Hit the Wall

When we got home I pulled out my computer.

“What are you doing?” my wife asked.

“I always get a little work done before bed,” I said.

“Nothing like a little quality time with your laptop late at night, after a long drive, with your friend’s funeral the next day.”

“I’m just going to check my emails.”

She shook her head. “You are such a creature of habit. You’re worn out, but rather than listen to your body, you’ll stick to your routine until you’re exhausted.”

She was right of course. “I’m just a little tired,” I said. Mentally and physically, I thought.

“Why don’t you try resting before you hit the wall,” she said. “Or the basketball hoop – again.”

The last time I’d been this tired, I’d backed into a pole that had been in the exact same spot for fifteen years. I thought she’d forgotten.

Today I will rest before I hit the wall.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020

Letting Go to Hold On

On the ride home, my wife said, “You’re quiet. You OK?”

I said, “I was thinking about Jack. His success made him really anxious. He needed to learn to overcome the fear, or let go of the writing.”

Dr. Deb frowned. “He worked so hard to get a book printed by a big publisher,” she said. “Letting that go wouldn’t have been easy.”

“Sometimes you have to let go of something, maybe someone, to hold onto something else.  If he couldn’t deal with the anxiety, Jack needed to let go of the writing to hold onto his sobriety.”

“Easier said than done.”

“I know,” I said. “You always think whatever you let go of you’ll never replace, or you can’t live without. But you can and you do.”

Today I may have to let go to hold on.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Tuesday, March 3^rd, 2020

If Nothing Changes

My wife I drove two hours to see Brat Boy’s volleyball rematch. The lanky kid with the wild hair and the gold headband started this time. Once again he glared across the net at Brat Boy. Once again Brat Boy got the better of him, blocking his shots and smiling at his antics.

“If nothing changes, nothing changes,” I said. My wife looked at me, puzzled. “They say it in AA. People stop drinking, don’t change anything else, and wonder why life doesn’t get better. It goes along with ‘more, louder, harder.’ If something doesn’t work, people tend to up the intensity of what didn’t work long before they try a new approach.”

Dr. Deb said, “Got it. Gold headband boy was even more intense, more out of control this time. That’s why he got embarrassed again.”

Today I’ll remember the slogan, ‘if nothing changes, nothing changes.’

 2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Monday, March 2^nd, 2020

Death and Healthy Habits

Jack’s death shook me. He was only 44 years old.  In the past I might have gotten drunk. I wrote a gratitude list instead. It wasn’t easy. I wasn’t feeling grateful, but I wrote it anyway. I added a list of five people I was grateful I was not, starting with Jack. 

I sent Dr. Deb, Brat Boy, and Blondie texts telling them I loved them. I wanted to remind myself of all the wonderful people in my life.

I hadn’t felt like doing any of it, but eperience had taught me healthy habits can be sort of an autopilot for steering through grief, anger, and depression.

Today I will develop healthy habits.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Monday, March 2^nd, 2020

Three Texts

When I got to work the next day I saw I had three text messages. I hadn’t heard my phone ring, even though it had been resting on the seat beside me, ringer turned up loud. “You are going downhill Montrose,” I said to myself.

My wife had texted to say we were out of cat food. ‘So give the cat $20 and directions to Pet Smart.’ I texted back.  She texted me, ‘lol, if he can’t find a mouse, what makes you think he can find Pet Smart?’

Brat Boy sent me a picture of a Physics exam with ‘100%’ circled at the top. ‘I get my smarts from my mother’ he texted. I laughed and texted back, ‘Smart is doing well in Physics. Wisdom would be not poking the old bear who helps pay your tuition.’

The third text was a group message from KC. Jack had suffered another stroke and died in his sleep. Funeral arrangements to follow.

Jack had said he was going to get completely clean on March 1^st, the day before he died.

Today I will remember death from addiction often strikes suddenly.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Sunday, March 1^st, 2020

Little Improvement

After the hospital, I went to the gym to burn off some of my sadness and frustration. I got onto a stationary bike. It was linked through the internet to others all over the world. Riders competed on 45 computer-generated courses. Times were posted and I could see where my time ranked.

I finished a 6.9 mile course, cutting a second off my best time, one second slower than the fastest time posted. During my first couple of months riding the bikes, I often cut my times by ten seconds or more.  Five years later, being a second faster was just as satisfying.

In the early years of sobriety my life improved by leaps and bounds. Decades later, I noticed my life getting better in small ways. Each day I was just a little more grateful, a little less worried, a little more grounded in the present moment. In some ways, small improvements seemed more satisfying.

Today I will be satisfied with small improvements.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Sunday, March 1^st, 2020

Emotional Emboli

Jack wasn’t dead, but his life had gotten a whole lot worse.

Injecting heroin can cause endocarditis, the doc explained. Bacteria get into the blood stream and attach and grow on the heart valves. Septic emboli, little pellets of bacteria, can break off.  When they travel to the brain where they block a blood vessel, causing an embolism in the brain, a stroke.

As he explained, I wondered about emotional and intellectual emboli. Harmful emotions and beliefs gettting attached to the heart that could break free. Too many people I knew let resentment build in their hearts until it traveled to their brains, killing their ability to think. Maybe a ‘fit of rage’ was really built up anger breaking free of the heart in an emotional embolism.

Likewise, I’d heard people talk about toxic chemicals and people, remembering only the ‘good times.’ They let the idea they could use those chemicals again, or be with those people once more, grow in their hearts.  Relapse could be their hearts’ desires building up and breaking free, blocking their brain’s warnings.

“It’s sad,” the doctor said to me in the hall as Jill sat by Jack’s bed, “This was preventable and treatable, but only until it broke away.”

Today I will beware of letting toxic emotions build in my heart.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Sunday, March 1^st, 2020

Hard Enough

I enjoyed the party right up to the moment Jill called to say Jack was in the E.R.  He’d had a stroke.

After we hugged in the hospital lobby, Jill said, “We have a kid about to drop out of school.  The furnace needs to be replaced. The teachers’ union doesn’t think we’ll settle the contract before next year. And just to add fuel to the fire – so to speak – I started having hot flashes. This is the last thing I need.”

The doctor came out to tell Jill about Jack’s condition. He mentioned an abscess at an injection site on Jack’s foot.  Jill seemed puzzled, but I knew immediately what I should have realized much sooner. Codeine hadn’t been his drug of choice. He had been using it to avoid withdrawal when his supply of heroin dried up. Most likely he was eating another opiate as well. The cough syrup had been a smoke screen.  

Jack had shot up places Jill wouldn’t notice right away, like his foot. The doc explained how injecting drugs had contributed to his stroke, and how the withdrawal symptoms would complicate treatment.

“As if life wasn’t hard enough,” I said, shaking my head. Jill started to cry.

Today I won’t let drugs make life harder than it has to be.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Sunday, February 29^th, 2020

Alcoholics Unanimous

My wife wasn’t really late for work.  We were getting dressed for a retirement party. We planned to take two cars. If the party turned out to be an Alcoholics Unanimous meeting I wanted to be able to leave early.

Alcoholics Unanimous was that small group of people committed to everyone drinking.  There were several types. The Just Ones, Just Once folks believed everyone could drink socially if they tried. They wanted you have just one, just once more.  As a crude friend once said, “For us alcoholics, social drinking is like cuddling with a hooker-- just teasing, not pleasing. And a waste of money.”

Glass Slippers were the reason you never put your cup down. They might slip a little booze into your glass to help you get started.  They were convinced they were doing you a favor, showing you a drink wouldn’t hurt you.

Be Happy Fairies seemed to flutter around every party. No matter how happy you seemed, they were convinced you could be happier. They saw getting you to drink as their sacred duty as host or hostess.

My last encounter with a Social Lube Job was at a graduation party, sitting on a couch, tie loose, shoes off, contented smile on my face, listening to friends reminisce.  The graduate’s cousin appeared, bottle in hand, freshening up drinks.  After the fourth time I refused, he told me I needed to loosen up. 

Any time I heard the words ‘you think you’re too good to drink with us, I knew an Angry Flaskhole was about. Like the clock striking midnight, that phrase told me it was time to leave, no matter how early.

Today I’ll avoid Alcoholics Unanimous members.

2020 Vision ©2017 & 2018 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Sunday, February 29^th, 2020

Little Lies

The next morning I was weighing myself when my wife walked into the bathroom.  I wrote ‘252’ on the chart attached to the wall above the scale.

“The scale said 253,”my wife pointed out.

“I usually weigh myself in just my underwear, so I’m subtracting the weight of my socks,”

“You think your socks weigh a pound?”

“I have big feet,” I said.

“So take your socks off and weigh yourself again,” she suggested.

“The whole getting dressed process has begun, I don’t want to interrupt it. Could be bad luck.” She rolled her eyes, but smiled.  I took my socks off and stepped back onto the scale.

“Take your hand off the sink,” she said, laughing. I had been resting a little of my weight on the cabinet. The scale read 252.9.

“I’ll just round down,” I said. “252.”

She shook her head. “Honey, it’s one pound. Accept it, move on. Aren’t you the guy who says the worst person you can lie to is yourself? Don’t you also say little lies count?”

“Aren’t you late for work?” I asked, knowing she was right.

Today I’ll beware of my desire to avoid truths, big or small, that I don’t like.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Saturday, Februay 29^th, 2020

Suffering by Proximity

Rudy laughed, “Do you know what my wife suggested? My gentle wife, who sings in the church choir, volunteers at the shelter, and serves lunch at the soup kitchen, said we should do?”

“No idea,” I said.

“She said we should watch prison movies and pretend the terrified new inmate getting shanked was my stepbrother.”

“Well, that’s cold.”

Rudy chuckled, “I drank because I’m an alcoholic, but I drank more because of my stepbrother. My wife watched me take his abuse for years.  I don’t think I fully understood how much she suffered with me. At least not until a week ago when I put a stop to it.”

Today I’ll remember my loved ones suffer when I do.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Saturday, February 29^th, 2020

Better Yet

When I got to the AA meeting, Rudy was standing near the coffee pot, an empty cup in his hand.  He looked as if he had no idea what it was for. I watched him  for a minute or so before I walked over.

“Just a little rattled,” Rudy said when I asked why he was just standing there. “The police talked to me for about an hour today at my house.  They want me to come to the station to make a statement next week.”

“Are you in trouble?” I asked.

“I don’t think so.  They suggested I bring an attorney, but it seemed like a formality.  I got the impression my stepbrother is in deep.” He finally filled his cup, and staring at his shoes, said. “I thought I’d feel good about this but I don’t. If I was in trouble, my stepbrother would be laughing his butt off.”

“You’re the better man,” I said. “You can put yourself in his shoes. He’s the lesser man because he could never put himself in yours.”

“I guess being better doesn’t always feel better.”

“Not always,” I agreed. “But still, in the long run, it’s better to be better. You’re not in trouble.”

Today I will accept being the better person doesn’t always feel better.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Wednesday, February 26^th, 2020

No Excuses

The next day I sat down to write. I had researched the topic. The dog was walked, the cat was fed, there was nothing else I needed to do. I’d fallen into a situation I dreaded. I was out of excuses.

Oh, I could have manufactured lies to justify my lack of effort. The trouble was, lies weren’t as comforting as excuses. They didn’t hold that half-truth  I needed to hide the real reason I was or wasn’t doing something.

Excuses allowed me to believe I left the pan in the sink, not because I was lazy, but because it needed to soak.   Why did I eat most of the tub of buttered popcorn at the movie theater? Not because I had no self-control around the snack I told myself, but because popcorn has fiber.

No, I needed an excuse not to write. Not having one, I sat down and was able to write an outline for my next book.

Today I’ll be grateful for running out of excuses, it makes getting things done much easier.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Tuesday, February 25^th, 2020

Testing

“There are things you don’t test. I don’t eat lunch at the bar to test my sobriety. If you have to test your relationship, there’s already a problem with it.  If you have to test the ice, you shouldn’t walk on it.”

“You know what this reminds me of?” Brat Boy asked. “Wait, I’ll send you a picture.” The picture showed two men and a pickup truck on an ice flow in the middle of a river.

I said, “I’d bet they walked out on the ice to test it. Thought it was OK, even though they had been told it wasn’t solid, and drove their truck onto it.”

Brat Boy said, “KC and his girl are on their ice flow, thinking they passed some test, and floating toward Vegas.”

“Guys go to the bar, order a Pepsi, and leave thinking they tested their sobriety.  They don’t know they’re on thin ice.”

Today I won’t test what shouldn’t be tested.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Tuesday, February 25^th, 2020

The No Drama Club

Brat Boy called, which scared me. “Is everything OK?” I asked, thinking it must be serious or he’d text me.

“You have to talk to KC,” Brat Boy said. “His dad’s in an opiate haze, but his mother is going to kill him. The girlfriend isn’t pregnant.  She said she was late just to see how KC would react. Said she wanted proof he loved her.”

“You couldn’t blame Jill for being mad about this little drama,” I said.

“This drama isn’t over. Now that she thinks KC has passed her test, she wants to get married. In Vegas. In a month. They plan to drive there over Spring Break.”

Jill, through no fault of her own, had to deal with drama from both men in her family. I counted among blessings having no major drama of my own to deal with.

Today I’ll be grateful for whatever drama doesn’t come my way.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/

Monday, February 24^th, 2020

Fresh Start

I dreaded my Monday call to Jack. Nobody likes to see an old friend suffer.

“I’m starting over,” Jack said. “I spent four hours making revisions this morning.” We talked about his progress.

After he hung up, my phone rang. Without saying hello, Jill said, “He got his prescription filled. More codeine cough syrup.” She didn’t have to say more.  I called Jack again.

“You don’t start over by doing the same thing,” I said. “Put the cough syrup away and make a fresh start. A different start. A new beginning.”

Jack hung up without saying a word. 

Today I’ll remember a fresh start means doing something different.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/