Passion

“There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life.” — Frederico Fellini In August of 2012 I set out on a new venture,  My goal was to build a brick and mortar agency that utilized the recovery success principles I had been developing and refining over the course … Read more

Truth or Fiction?

I am loyal in my attendance, generous in my giving, kind in my criticism, creative in my suggestions, loving in my attitudes. Twenty-Four Hours a Day. Over the years I have heard so many “Truths,” “Facts,” “Musts,” in our Mutual Support Fellowship and quite frankly, there were times that not only did I believe them, … Read more

Chuck C Testimony to U.S Senate Sub-Committee Sept 27, 1969

Chuck C., a well-known early AA member in California, testified before the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Subcommittee in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 27, 1969. This is his testimony which has been copied from the official hearing records: Present: Senators Hughes, (presiding), Dominick, and Saxbe [members of the Subcommittee]. Also present: Senators Cranston and Murphy … Read more

Language

I met my lovely wife in 2007 in the Republic of Panama, Central America. She did not speak English and my Spanish was at a third-grade level, I could communicate but could not conjugate a verb for the life of me. Be that as it may, the first night we met we had a blast. … Read more

My Friend, Colleague and Spiritual Advisor

“Always have time for another person.” Brother Jack Moylan, OSF I met Brother Jack in March of 1980 at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility. He visited me on the tier as the Catholic Chaplain. He was on the job less than a year, the first full-time Catholic Chaplain at the jail. That meeting was the … Read more

Aloha!

To consciously manifest life joyously in the present! Aloha I do not remember the show I was watching but a few months back I heard the actor make this statement.  I thought, “wow that is wonderful, I want to write about that.”  So I jotted it in my notes and well, today is the day.  … Read more

Multiplication

Unless you have gone through school with the Common Core system you probably remember the “Multiplication” tables.  We needed to memorize those tables and had better learn some shortcuts and not with our fingers to assist in the process.  I recently saw a “gif” of the multiples of “10,” it went like this: 10 x … Read more

A colleague recently asked me: “What prompted you to enter behavioral health/social work?”

My response, “My family impressed upon me the need in our lives for community service. Helping others is essential aspect of our lives. Community and family are one!” He responded, “So it was really an internal/natural desire to help people, right?” Me, “Yes coupled with our family belief system.” We live in a complicated world, … Read more

The Stigma Fallacy

I have read the articles, heard the narrative, and it goes like this. We would never blame a patient with a serious medical condition for their condition the way we blame the addict or alcoholic for addiction or alcoholism. Or would we? How about a diabetic with a sugar relapse, or an overweight smoker after … Read more