Thanks! Some great responses above which I never expected!
But I think that MPH said it best and what he recommended is the 'path' I failed to follow.
So Royalty's inquiry, "Were you violated?" which simply means " a failure to comply with some former agreement' just might be an appropriate question which I hope to respond to soon.
And to my good friend, WES, whose question was directed to Bhank, I have lived through a good friend's 'throes of addiction' for an extended period of time before I finally threw in the towel and walked away which was an act of VIOLATION of some sort on my part I guess / I think, Royalty.
Read on and you decide.
The following is a true story. Don't read it if you don't like true stories!
Especially stories with unhappy endings.
My sad drug related tale is a long one and right now I feel like I'm talking to a psychiatrist, so I'm gonna lay back and start my story in bits and pieces.
Here goes ...
I was stationed in Hawaii and met a friend of a fellow Jarhead who arrived from California to relax as he was in the process of recovering from a spinal injury which was caused by a heavy squatting incident.
As a result he spent numerous months in a California hospital undergoing numerous surgeries which overtime got him addicted to 'pain killers'.
So after a long period of time he gets released from the hospital with numerous prescriptions on his pocket and arrives in Hawaii with a solid metal and leather back brace which allowed him to stand and walk with lots of effort.
So a group of us are sitting on Waikiki Beach in front of Duke's and this 22 year old kid comes walking towards us walking very slowly like a Frankenstein stroll through the park.
This was the first time we met him.
So we are all sitting in the sun and I start questioning him about the monster metal and leather contraption he's wearing which started a very long conversation which concludes with one question:
"Can you swim?"
"No, I'd sink. My brace is too heavy!"
"Well take it off and let's go swimming!"
He laughed but myself and others persisted and eventually with his partial consent we walked with him into waist deep water and helped him remove the brace and he floated comfortably while one of us carried that brace ashore.
And with some help and encouragement we 'floated' him out to the reef, put a face mask on his head, and told him to take a look beneath the surface.
Those two or three minutes beyond the reef and the sight of some beautiful aquatic
creatures changed his life dramatically for the next few months because upon returning to the beach he asked if he could give it a try and walk without the back-brace.
It was slow going but he did manage and made the decision to keep on enjoying Hawaii and the colorful creatures beneath the sea without the back-brace which became a daily occurrence and a more than halfway, partial cure.
But the story continues which goes from this great day on Waikiki Beach to unspeakable hell just a few months away.
Gotta take leave and rob a casino!
