First
Mistake
I went to a speaker meeting that night. The speaker had been five years sober when he
decided he wanted one more night out.
The next day he was still a little drunk when he saw
blood on his bumper. The bumper hung lower on the side with a dent in the hood.
He panicked.
The man got a gas can from his shed and soaked the
inside of the car, planning to destroy what he thought was the evidence of a
hit and run. He ran into his house to
get a match.
When he came back, he took one more look at his
bumper and saw tiny brown hairs. He’d
hit a deer.
He set the car on fire anyway, figuring he’d never
be able to drive it again because of the strong gasoline smell.
The insurance company’s investigator needed about three
minutes to figure out the fire was deliberate.
He spent 18 months in jail and two years on
probation.
“My first mistake wasn’t panicking at the sight of
the blood on my bumper,” he said. “My first mistake was thinking I needed one
more drink.”
I mentally made a list of initial mistakes that
often ended badly.
Trying the drug just once. Driving a little drunk. Ignoring the chest pain. Lying on a tax form. Texting the toxic ex. Taking one,
maybe two more than prescribed.
Letting the dog up on the bed just this once.
The list went on.
“It’s that first mistake that kills you,” I said to no one in particular.
Today I’ll try not to make that first mistake.
Novella 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:
• https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S
#addictionawareness #dailymessage #inspiration #odaat #recoveryposse #recoveryispossible
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