Guest Post: Tina and "Rita"

Tina and "Rita" sat by each other in my class and decided they would check in with each other after the class so neither would get another DUI. Great strategy, ladies. Below is what each wrote.

Tina wrote:

Well my DUI was 20 years ago. I was 23 at the time. 

It happened. I have learned from this class that Carol taught that drinking and driving never mix. I could have killed myself or someone else. 

Since then I have had to depend on others for everything. THE LAST TWENTY YEARS! I have had to get rides to work stores, and even this class. Lots of money I have had to fork out over the last twenty years, yet God has really blessed me.

"Rita" wrote:

This experience humbled me because now I give more thought to the next person before I get on the road. 

I've spoken to my child about this experience on what to do and what not to do. I've talked to others so they can get a better idea of what could happen in you get on the road with alcohol in your system. 

It humbled me. Hope my experience can help someone else.

Guest Post: Father Fails to Take His Own Advice

I recall days prior to my DUI when I felt I was invincible. I had a top paying job, a wife that loved me and three beautiful kids.

Then I made a decision to have a few beers with some friends and co-workers after work. That night changed my life. While making the hour drive home from Orlando, I lost control of my truck. I could blame it on the weather, but I won't. I should not have been driving.

I totaled my truck and spent the night in jail. My kids are aware of what happened. I have spent or am going to spend a small fortune. What a wake-up call this has been!

I can promise you this. That was the last time,  and it will not happened again. My family need to see me home alive. I try to do right by my children and had given them good advice. I say,

Call me before you drive. It is better to call me than to end up in jail. 

They noticed that I didn't heed my own advice. For this I am forever changed in their eyes because they know that Daddy went to jail for driving drunk.

I totaled the workshop truck we were building. Two years of work down the drain.

Travis

Guest Post: Alcohol No Longer My Choice for Socializing

Even in my darkest nightmares I never imagined this would happen. I couldn't believe that I was getting arrested. As soon as I saw the flashing lights behind me, I knew. The night wasn't going to end well. A smack in the face of reality that would only get worse.

I started planning how I was going to get out of jail when I didn't have my cell phone or wallet as they were in my car. I began to freak out. This night I spent in jail was the longest night of my life and it changed my life forever.

I thought that once I got out, things would get better. But they didn't. That next week I was really down and so ashamed of my actions and the decision I had made that night to drive while intoxicated.   Every day after that I told myself I would never drink and drive again. In fact I really haven't felt like drinking at all as I hate alcohol and all the trouble it has caused me. I don't need to go out. I have found that hanging out with a select few friends and my younger brother is a better way and I don't have a hang over the next day.

Yes, I used to think that drinking alcohol was how you are sociable in society. I have since realized that it is the easy way to have friends and those drinking buddies are not real friends. I have decided to focus on getting all of this trouble behind me and saving money to pay for this DUI.

In addition, I am going to sign up for online classes to finish my degree, get my promotion that I am in line for, and hopefully purchase my first home in the near future. I am scarred to death of getting arrested and getting jail time for a second DUI. I really know I have changed and will not drink and drive again.

John

Guest Post: DUI Signals the End of a Drinking Career

This DUI was the last wakeup call in my drinking career. I knew it was a sign that I must change my life. I ended up going to rehab shortly after the crash. The reason being was that I was on crutches, but still drinking.

In rehab I learned about the twelve steps and I got a sponsor. Now I avoid

people, places and things

that will tempt me to drink. My life is 100% better now that I am learning to live alcohol free.

This new lifestyle will allow me to actually achieve my goals instead of just dreaming about them. I have the best job I ever had now that I am sober. I also feel better physically and mentally.

Rolf

Guest Post: DUI Only Made a Bad Situation Worse

My DUI couldn't have come at a worse time. I had just broken up with my fiancé, moved back in with my parents, and had been diagnosed with lymphoma. I was attempting to drink my problems away every night.

I couldn't see how destructive my drinking habit was until that night I crashed into someone else while intoxicated. I realized finally that I was extremely selfish by being negligent to the point of effectively forcing my problems onto others. Drinking impaired was not the solution to my problems.

Now I focus on working out and turning my negative thoughts and emotions into positive actions. Late at night when I get alcohol cravings, I have found alternatives. I drink carbonated beverages instead. I play my guitar or video games. That crash was a huge wakeup call.

Tyler

Guest Post: 911 Call Gives Me a Wakeup Call

I am very glad to be here because I felt that God had an angel watching over me. I had a few drinks not knowing that it would come to this [my DUI],  but I'm glad I'm here because I could have lost my life or killed or hurt someone else. 

I had been driving while intoxicated, not knowing where I was going or remembering so little. A lady followed me while I was intoxicated. she called 911 and followed me until the police took over. She saved my life and I'm grateful in this situation. It really shook me up, but I appreciate this lady.

GOD BLESS! 

Anonymous

Guest Post: Emmette T.

My life was never what it seemed. I look back at what my life became--a slave to addictions and all the excitement they brought.

Drugs can be used for good or bad. Knives help us in our daily life; however a knife can be deadly. 

So with alcohol. Alcohol can lower blood pressure, but in excess its use is a mood altering emotional roller coaster. I know. I have learned that I cannot have one drop of alcohol because I do not have the self-control to know when to stop.

In December of 2014 I gave my heart to the Lord and I am not saying that faith is the only answer to this problem of addiction, but Jesus is my answer and my choice to follow him is the catalyst to change my life forever. 

Guest Post: Julie Andrews

When Impaired Drivers Collide! 

What an experience! Getting a DUI has totally changed my outlook on being so careless. I know in the past I had driven under the influence and I thought at the time I was okay. But after seeing the video of rookies participating in the BAC study [in Carol Johnson's DUI class] I know now that on several occasions I was putting myself and others at risk because of my decisions.

I do enjoy having a drink every now and then. I am not an alcoholic, and can honestly say I don't use any substance as a "happiness device". So many things are effected when using drugs or alcohol. Truthfully being that intoxicated is not only unhealthy, but it can make you not feel well and can make you forget things.

Some of the things that can trigger one to use drugs and/or alcohol could be the company you keep, and emotional stressful situations. There are many other things that can cause someone to run to these substances. Triggers are keys--keys that can open doors to problematic situations. So to being aware of what causes you to have to have a drink or to use drugs can help you make changes to avoid those situations. This awareness will usually help you overcome the needs.

Now those who are addicted, have a range of triggers or keys again. Identify what makes you want or need your substance will enable you to address the underlying issues. I have watched friends and loved ones be taken over by these substances.

Personally, I keep the mentality of mind over matter. Too much of anything isn't good for me.  I choose a different lifestyle because of these experiences. Having to deal with my DUI, for sure,  has made me really think before I act. I never want to go through this again and I won't! That is for certain!

Guest Poems from Recovering Alcoholic Charlie

Charlie shared these two poems in my DUI class today and gave me permission to post on this blog. 

Charlie about his Step 12 AA:

All my life from God I've run

And never have I good things done

When I was the worst that I could be

He blessed my life and protected me

Trading a good and righteous Son

For me a no-good-rotten one

The price for me that Jesus paid

For Him I would have never made

How is it LORD that I, not He,

Escaped that cross at calvary!

For all the men and women 

who dedicated their lives helping others in

a substance abuse programs from Charlie: 

I didn't know that you would come

But called on God--you came

And by His Spirit encouraged some

While from His Word hope gave.

Thank You LORD for faithful servants

Their gifts made room for Thee

Behind prison walls and jail house bars,

The soul you saved was me!  

Alcohol and Parenting

A student I had many years ago tried to find me through Oprah. Then came Facebook and she contacted me to tell me the difference I had made in her life when I was her fifth grade teacher. She has given me permission to post her contact to thank me.

___________________________________________________________

Hi Carol, I wanted to forward this letter to you. This is a letter that I wrote to Oprah in the hopes that she would find you and provide me an opportunity to thank you (before the days of Facebook). Making sure you knew what a wonderful and positive influence you were during a very dark time is something has always been on my "bucket list". So, here it goes...

 ___________________________________________________________

     Dear Oprah, 

I know that you honor teachers who have gone above and beyond in providing support to their students. I began this letter three years ago and when I heard that 2010 would be your last year, I realized I had to send my story about such a teacher. 

In 1976 my mother passed away after a horrible struggle with pancreatic cancer. I was 10 yrs old and during the time she was ill and the time following, my family fell apart. My father was not around and my mother was a single parent and while she certainly was not a great mother when she was healthy, her death made a sad situation even worse. 

I was born into a middle class family of six children making me the youngest of seven. Around the time I turned 5 my parents began fighting, horrible, physical fights fueled by alcoholism. Soon they separated and my father disappeared, and my older siblings moved. I ended up living alone with my mother in a dilapidated flat next to a prostitution house in a less than ideal part of town. The alcohol and cancer diagnosis consumed her and I learned to become self sufficient. 

During her illness, I was in 5th grade attending Selby Lane School in Atherton, CA. Selby Lane was located in an affluent area and I was one of the kids bussed in from “the other side of the tracks”. Surrounded by such affluence, with a dying mother, I found myself not belonging. I became an introvert and delved into my schoolwork. I was blessed at the time to have Carol Noren as my teacher. She was young without a family and took me under her wing. I don’t recall much of that year but I do remember how she would bring me to her cozy apartment after school and work with me to get through the assignments. For the first time in years, I felt I had an advocate. She spent hours outside of school providing a safe haven. 

After time out of school when my mother died, I returned to a “Welcome Back Emily” banner with signatures and pictures from my classmates. Always flying under the radar, I felt overwhelmed with love and support. In retrospect I am sure that I should not have passed 5th grade based on attendance alone, as I spent much of the year at the hospital. Fortunately for me, Ms. Noren recognized that I was a bright student in a dark place and holding me back would not have benefited me in any way. 

I then finished the 5th grade and moved to another city with one of my sisters. Time passed and it wasn’t until I had my own children and recognized the gift she gave me. Now that I have school aged children, I see how the influence of strong and loving teachers can make all the difference in the world and being a parent, I find the need to locate and thank her imperative. Saying that Ms. Noren “went above and beyond” is a great understatement. I have no idea where she is as that was over 35 yrs ago. I do know her influence and love kept me on the straight and narrow, not wanting to veer down the wrong path.

Oprah, I hope that you can help me in celebrating her warmth and compassion and let her know that she did a make a difference-a very big difference. Thank you for taking the time to hear my story.

 Emily Franchi

When Alcohol or Drugs Take Over

A young man in his twenties in my last class gave me permission to post what he wrote. I wish the best to this young man and thank him I could post. Here is most of what he wrote.

The Account of My Life-Changing DUI

Before this experience I had slowed down on drinking and ended my drug use. . . . I had no idea of the pain I could cause. I had no regard for others' feelings, at least those closest to me, nor how the world viewed me.

I now see how bad I had gotten, how far I had fallen doing things I swore I never would. I lived as if tomorrow was the end, like nothing mattered. I had many vices. I never felt addicted, but I also didn't see the problem I had. I remember the first time I turned down X and coke. I remember blocking numbers [of people who were my triggers].

Now, [he wrote],

I have hope.

I have inspiration.

I learn.

I question.

I wonder.

I dream.

I pray. . . .

There has been too much of my life wasted, spent on numbing myself to the beauty that the world holds--unknown but bright and new. . . . I'm happy to be becoming myself, finding the answers to my questions.

Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous help many who do not have this young man's resolve. Christians also have Biblical Counseling. Treatment and support groups do help. I am losing weight through Weight Watchers. I love this sign about losing weight:

Choose your hard indeed! Change is that--hard. Yet it will be very hard if you go to jail like a Largo, Florida driver who just last week got 44 years in prison for four DUI deaths. The paper reported that DUI driver said, "I'm just lost. I'm terribly lost."