Take those drugs and lose those smiles.

One of my nieces is doing 'crack'. It really makes me upset. My son had an addiction and it was part of what took his life. Not sure what to think about my niece. She is a good person doing an awful thing. I wonder if there is anything we can really do. I see shows on tv called Intervention and another tv show called The Cleaner that deal with drug abuse intervention. I wonder if intervention really works? It sure looks like it could work.

I now think back to my own youth and the things that I did. I am not proud and quite ashamed of my actions. I was not a bad person, but I did some things that would make anyone think the opposite. I did some awful things. Some things I did while I was under the influence of some drug or booze, while a number of bad things I did stone cold sober. I was never one to think of consequence. I know my mistakes are mine. Maybe I can blame others, my childhood or society for my mistakes. I know that would be a lie. My Mom was a great person. She was the best human being I have ever met. It would be an insult to her and all she was to try and blame anything other than myself for my mistakes.

I still hear grown ups talk about the old days (Remember when you did this, and remember when we did that). It's sad actually. We think that the stupid stuff we did under the influence has good memories for us. Granted some of the stuff is funny. In the end there is no use to it. Flipping a car because we were drinking and grabbing at the steering wheel. Dog piling a couple of poor guys because there were four of us. Wrecking some poor guys car that was parked in the wrong place. It makes me sad and ashamed. And these are tame things we did. In the back of our mind there are bad things that haunt our memories. That is why we lose our smiles. Why we know that the bad we inflicted is going to come back and grab a hold of us. It sounds crazy that it should happen that way. That is what balance is all about. Some suffer and some benefit.

I really wonder if we can hate things. Can we hate drugs? I know it is just a thing. But almost all things have some kind of life in it. If Crack has life, it is a dark hideous life. Consuming all that it comes in contact with. Sounds dramatic and crazy to talk about a drug like that. It's only a drug, it can't harm you if you don't take it. But it does harm you even if you are not taking it. The people who take it become it's agent. Stealing from you. Beating you. Lying to you. Disappointing you. Leaving you. Crack extends it's tentacles way beyond that pipe.

Please don't take that drug it takes your smile from you. And much much more.